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Şahsen ben çay tercih ediyorum.

Şahsen ben çay tercih ediyorum.
Personally, I prefer tea.
FromLesson 79inHardcore Turkish
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Breakdown of Şahsen ben çay tercih ediyorum.

ben
I
çay
the tea
tercih etmek
to prefer
şahsen
personally

Questions & Answers about Şahsen ben çay tercih ediyorum.

Is this sentence natural as-is, or would a native tweak it?
It’s acceptable and understandable. For a timeless, general preference, many natives would more typically say: Şahsen çayı tercih ederim. Your version with -iyor (present continuous) is also used in conversation, especially if you’re talking about a current choice or stance in a specific situation. Including both şahsen and ben is a bit redundant but not wrong—just extra emphasis on “I, personally.”
Do I need the subject pronoun ben?

No. The ending -um in ediyorum already shows “I.”

  • Neutral: Şahsen çay tercih ediyorum.
  • With emphasis/contrast: Şahsen ben çay tercih ediyorum. (I personally, as opposed to others)
Why is it çay, not çayı? What’s the difference?
  • çay (no accusative) = an indefinite/generic object: “tea (in general).”
  • çayı (accusative) = a definite/specific object or a contrasted category: “the tea (we mean)” or “tea (as opposed to something else).”

In comparisons, çayı is very common:

  • Kahve mi, çay mı? — Çayı tercih ediyorum.
Should it be tercih ederim instead of tercih ediyorum to state a general preference?

For general, habitual preferences, the aorist is the default: tercih ederim.
Your tercih ediyorum is fine in speech, often implying a current/specific context or a conversational tone. Both are widely heard; ederim is the textbook “timeless preference.”

Why is it ediyorum and not etiyorum?

Because of consonant softening when a vowel-initial suffix is added:

  • et- + -iyor + -um → ediyorum (t → d).
    In the negative, the suffix starts with a consonant, so no softening:
  • et- + -miyor + -um → etmiyorum.
What exactly is tercih etmek? How do I conjugate it?

It’s a light-verb construction: noun tercih (preference) + etmek (to do) = “to prefer.” The auxiliary etmek carries the tense/person endings.

  • Present continuous: tercih ediyorum/ediyorsun/ediyor…
  • Aorist: tercih ederim/edersin/eder…
  • Past: tercih ettim/ettin/etti…
  • Future: tercih edeceğim/edeceksin/edecek…
  • Negative: tercih etmiyorum/etmem/etmedim/etmeyeceğim…
Can I change the word order? Does it change the meaning?

Yes; order signals emphasis/focus, not basic meaning.

  • Şahsen çayı tercih ediyorum. (neutral with “personally” up front)
  • Ben şahsen çayı tercih ediyorum. (heavier “I, personally”)
  • Çayı ben tercih ediyorum. (It’s me who prefers tea, contrastive)
  • Çayı şahsen tercih ediyorum. (focus nudged onto the object “tea”)

Turkish is flexible, but the verb typically comes near the end.

How do I pronounce the tricky bits?
  • Şahsen: “SHAH-sen” (ş = sh; the h is audible).
  • çay: “chai” (ç = ch).
  • tercih: “ter-JIH” (c = j as in jam; final h is pronounced).
  • ediyorum: “eh-dee-YO-rum” (main stress just before -yor, so roughly on di).

Keep the Turkish dotted i (i) distinct from ı (not in this sentence).

Should I say çay içmeyi tercih ediyorum instead?

Use an activity form when you’re preferring an action:

  • Çay içmeyi tercih ediyorum. = “I prefer drinking tea.”
    If you’re choosing between items (tea vs coffee), a bare noun is fine and common:
  • Çayı tercih ederim/ediyorum.
Is tercih etmek formal? What are more casual options?

It’s neutral-to-formal. Everyday alternatives:

  • Çayı daha çok seviyorum. (I like tea more.)
  • Çayı seçerim. (I pick/choose tea.)
  • Colloquial identity: Ben çaycıyım. (I’m a tea person.)
How do I say “I prefer tea to coffee”?
  • Çayı kahveye tercih ediyorum/ederim.
  • Kahve yerine çayı tercih ederim.
  • Çayı kahveye göre daha çok tercih ediyorum.
How do I negate it? “I personally don’t prefer tea.”
  • Şahsen çayı tercih etmiyorum.
    For a habitual/neutral statement, you can also use aorist negative (less common in spoken style here): Şahsen çayı tercih etmem.
How do I ask “Do you prefer tea?” or make a choice question?
  • “Do you prefer tea?” (indefinite): Çay mı tercih ediyorsun?
  • “Is it the tea (we mentioned) that you prefer?”: Çayı mı tercih ediyorsun?
  • Choice format: Çayı mı tercih edersin, kahveyi mi?
Can I drop the object if it’s obvious from context?

In a tight context you can, but a bare tercih ediyorum often sounds incomplete. In reply to “Kahve mi, çay mı?” you can say:

  • Çayı (tercih ediyorum).
  • Ben çayı.
    But in a full sentence, keep the object: Çayı tercih ediyorum.

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