Learn Hardcore Turkish: Arkadaşım, toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı. - My friend reminded me to call after the meeting.

Arkadaşım = arkadaş (friend) + -ım (1st person singular possessive) → “my friend” (subject)
toplantıdan = toplantı (meeting) + -dan (ablative “from”) → “from the meeting”
sonra = postposition “after” (requires ablative on what precedes it)
aramamı = ara- (call/search) + -mA (verbal noun: arama “calling/call”) + -m (1sg poss: “my”) + -(y)ı (accusative: direct object) → “my calling (the act of me calling)”
hatırlattı = hatırla- (remember) + -t (causative: “make remember” = remind) + -DI (past) + Ø (3sg) → “(he/she) reminded”

Why is it toplantıdan sonra and not something else?

Because sonra is a postposition that takes an ablative-marked noun phrase. So:

“after the meeting” = toplantıdan sonra
Similarly: “before the meeting” = toplantıdan önce (since önce also takes ablative).

Who is being reminded here? Shouldn’t there be bana (“to me”)?

By default, the sentence implies “me,” but it’s clearer and more typical to include the dative for the remindee:

More explicit: Arkadaşım bana toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı. Without bana, it’s still grammatical, but you rely on context to know who was reminded.

Why is it aramamı and not aramayı?

aramamı is a verbal noun with a possessive subject: “my calling.” It shows who is supposed to perform the action (me).
aramayı (the infinitive with accusative) does not show who will do the calling. With hatırlatmak (“to remind”), you normally indicate the lower-clause subject with a possessive:
Pattern: (to someone-DAT) (SUBJ-GEN) V-mA-POSS-ACC + hatırlatmak
Most naturally: Bana (benim) aramamı hatırlattı.

Can I add benim explicitly, as in benim aramamı?

Yes. You can say:

Arkadaşım bana (benim) toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı. The possessive suffix -m on aramamı already encodes “my,” so benim is optional and used for emphasis or clarity (especially if the subject isn’t 1st person, e.g., onun aramasını = “his/her calling”).

Is aramamı the same form as “I don’t call” (aramam) or the question particle mı?

No.

aramam (with no case ending) can mean “I don’t call” (negative aorist).
aramamı is a noun phrase: “my calling” + accusative. The final -ı is the accusative case, not the question particle. The question particle mı/mi/mu/mü is written separately as a word.

Does toplantıdan sonra modify “reminded” or “calling”? How do I disambiguate?

Word order helps:

Arkadaşım toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı. Usually reads as “reminded me to call after the meeting” (adjacent to aramamı).
To mean “After the meeting, (he/she) reminded me to call” (timing of the reminding), front the time phrase:
Toplantıdan sonra, arkadaşım aramamı hatırlattı.
You can also reinforce with placement:
“time of reminding”: Toplantıdan sonra bana aramamı hatırlattı.
“time of calling”: Bana toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı.

Is the comma after Arkadaşım correct?

In standard Turkish, you don’t put a comma between a short subject and the verb. Arkadaşım toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı. is better.
With a comma, Arkadaşım, … could be read as a vocative (“My friend, …”), which doesn’t fit here.

What’s the difference between hatırlamak and hatırlatmak?

hatırlamak = “to remember” (intransitive/transitive):
Toplantıdan sonra aramayı hatırladım. = “I remembered to call after the meeting.”
hatırlatmak = “to remind” (causative of hatırlamak, transitive, often with a dative):
Arkadaşım bana aramamı hatırlattı. = “My friend reminded me to call.”

Can I change the word order?

Yes, Turkish is flexible; changes affect emphasis:

Neutral/new info on the object: Arkadaşım toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı.
Emphasizing the subject (it was my friend, not someone else):
Toplantıdan sonra aramamı arkadaşım hatırlattı.
Emphasizing the time of calling:
Arkadaşım bana toplantıdan sonra aramamı hatırlattı. The focused element typically appears right before the verb.

How do I specify whom I should call?

Add the person as the object of aramak (accusative):

“He reminded me to call him/her”: Bana onu aramamı hatırlattı.
“He reminded me to call my mom”: Bana annemi aramamı hatırlattı.

Should it be bana or beni?

bana (dative) marks the person who is reminded (the recipient): Bana aramamı hatırlattı.
beni (accusative) would be the object of aramak (“to call me”):
“He reminded him/her to call me” = Ona beni aramasını hatırlattı.
Here the lower subject is 3rd person: araması (“his/her calling”), and beni is the one to be called.

Do I need the accusative on aramamı?

Yes, the verbal-noun clause functioning as a specific direct object is typically marked with -(y)ı/-(y)i/-(y)u/-(y)ü. So aramamı is standard.
Without accusative, it would be odd here: ?Aramam hatırlattı is ungrammatical in this sense.

Could I ever say aramayı hatırlattı?

It’s possible but often feels vague/less natural because it doesn’t show who is to do the calling. With hatırlatmak, Turkish strongly prefers the possessive-marked verbal noun to indicate the agent:

Preferred: Bana (benim) aramamı hatırlattı.
Use the bare infinitive -mAk/-mAyı more with verbs like unutmak, sevmek, denemek where the higher-clause subject is the doer:
Aramayı unuttum. = “I forgot to call.”

Are there synonyms for hatırlatmak?

anımsatmak = “to remind” (more formal/literary in some varieties; common in some regions)
uyarmak = “to warn/alert” (not the same as “remind,” but sometimes overlaps in function depending on context)

Does aramak mean “to call” or “to search” here?

It can mean both. In this sentence, with the context of reminders and meetings, it’s naturally understood as “to call (by phone).”
If you meant “search,” you’d usually need more context or a different construction (e.g., arama yapmak = “to conduct a search”).

Why is it hatırlattı (with -tı) and not hatırlatti/hatırladı?

The past tense suffix -DI harmonizes to -tı/-ti/-tu/-tü. After a back unrounded vowel, it becomes -tı: hatırlat-
- -tı → hatırlattı.
hatırladı would be from hatırlamak (“remembered”), not hatırlatmak (“reminded”).