Learn Hardcore Turkish: Müdür, “sunumu kısa tutalım” diye ekledi. - The manager added, “Let’s keep the presentation short.”

It links the quoted clause to a speech/thought verb and means roughly “saying/that.” Here, sunumu kısa tutalım is the content the manager “added.” You’ll see diye with verbs like dedi, sordu, bağırdı, düşündü, ekledi to mark what was said/thought.

Can I use diyerek instead of diye? What’s the difference?

Yes: … diyerek ekledi is also natural. Nuance:

diye functions like a complementizer “that …,” tightly attaching the content to the verb.
diyerek (with -erek) is adverbial, “by saying …,” often used to describe manner or an accompanying action. In many contexts they’re interchangeable, with only a slight stylistic difference.

Why ekledi and not dedi?

eklemek = “to add (to what was already being said).” It implies this line was an addition.
demek = “to say,” neutral.
Both are fine; ekledi gives the “added” nuance.

What is the tense/person of ekledi?

It’s simple past, 3rd person singular:

Stem: ekle-
Past: -di
3sg: (no extra ending)
So ekledi = “he/she added.”

What form is tutalım? How is it formed?

It’s 1st person plural optative/let’s-form: “let’s keep.” Formed by adding -Alım/elim to the verb stem, with vowel harmony.

tut-
- -alım → tutalım
More: gidelim (git- + -elim), başlayalım (başla- + -yalım), negative: tutmayalım

Why is sunumu in the accusative? Could it be sunum instead?

With a specific/definite direct object, Turkish uses the accusative. We’re talking about “the presentation,” so sunum takes -u → sunumu.
Plain sunum (no case) would sound like “a presentation” in a very generic sense, which doesn’t fit here.

Is sunumu ambiguous between accusative “the presentation” and “his/her presentation”? How do I tell?

Formally it can be either:

Accusative of sunum (“the presentation” as an object)
3sg possessive: sunumu (“his/her presentation,” as a subject or object depending on context)
Context and syntax disambiguate. To make possession explicit, add a possessor:
Subject: onun sunumu = “his/her presentation”
Object: onun sunumunu = “his/her presentation” (accusative)

Is kısa tutmak an idiom? Are there similar patterns?

Yes. Pattern: X-ı/‑i/‑u/‑ü + ADJ + tutmak = “keep X ADJ.”

kapıyı açık tut = keep the door open
sesi düşük tut = keep the volume low
ortamı temiz tut = keep the environment clean
programı kısa tut = keep the program short

Could I say sunumu kısa yapalım instead? What’s the nuance?

Grammatically fine, but nuance differs:

kısa yapalım = “let’s make it short” (focus on producing a short result)
kısa tutalım = “let’s keep it short” (sustaining brevity throughout)
In this context, kısa tutalım is the more idiomatic choice.

Is the comma and placement of the quoted content okay? Could I use a colon?

Yes. Common options:

Integrated with diye (as in your sentence): Müdür, … diye ekledi.
With a colon introducing the utterance: Müdür ekledi: Sunumu kısa tutalım.
If you use diye, you typically don’t add a period/comma inside the utterance unless it’s part of the utterance itself (e.g., an exclamation mark).

Can I drop diye entirely?

Only if you change the structure. Acceptable alternatives:

Müdür ekledi: Sunumu kısa tutalım.
Müdür sunumu kısa tutalım dedi.
But Müdür sunumu kısa tutalım ekledi is not idiomatic; with eklemek, use diye or a colon.

How would I turn this into indirect (reported) speech?

Prefer verbs like istemek, önermek, belirtmek plus a noun clause:

Müdür, sunumu kısa tutmamızı istedi. = “The manager asked that we keep the presentation short.”
Müdür, sunumun kısa tutulmasını önerdi/belirtti.
Keeping eklemek in indirect speech is uncommon unless you report the act of adding: … eklediğini söyledi.

Why is it tutalım (with a) and not tutelim (with e)?

Vowel harmony. The last vowel of the stem tut- is back (u), so the optative vowel is back a: -alım → tutalım. With a front-vowel stem (e.g., git-), you get -elim → gidelim.

Do I need to write a period or exclamation mark in the utterance?

Only if it reflects how it was said:

Neutral: Müdür, … diye ekledi.
Emphatic: Müdür, Sunumu kısa tutalım! diye ekledi.
The exclamation mark belongs to the utterance itself.

Why no article before müdür? And what would müdürü mean?

Turkish has no articles; müdür (bare form) works as “the manager” here because definiteness comes from context. müdürü can mean “his/her manager” (possessive) or “the manager” as a definite object (accusative). As a subject, keep it as müdür.

Is using the pronoun required (e.g., O, … ekledi)?

No. Turkish is pro‑drop. The verb ending and/or the explicit noun (Müdür) already show the subject, so O is usually omitted unless you need emphasis or contrast.