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Breakdown of Buluşma bitmek üzereyken yeni bir soru geldi.
bir
a
gelmek
to come
yeni
new
buluşma
the meetup
bitmek
to end
soru
the question
üzere
about to
-yken
while
Questions & Answers about Buluşma bitmek üzereyken yeni bir soru geldi.
What does the construction -mek üzere mean here? Is it “about to” or “in order to”?
- Here it means “about to, on the verge of.” So bitmek üzere = “about to end.”
- The same üzere can also mean “with the purpose of” with motion/intent verbs: e.g., Sizi görmek üzere geldim = “I came to see you.” In bitmek üzereyken, it’s clearly the “about to” meaning.
What does -yken add, and why is there a y?
- -ken means “when/while.” It turns what comes before it into a time clause.
- After a vowel, Turkish inserts a buffer y: üzere + y + ken → üzereyken.
- Compare: evdeyken (“while at home”), gelirken (“while coming”), mutluyken (“when (someone is) happy”).
How is bitmek üzereyken built morphologically?
- bit- (finish) + -mek (verbal noun) + üzere (about to) + -yken (when/while) → “when [it] was about to finish.”
- The understood subject of that clause is buluşma (“the meeting”).
- No personal ending is needed because this is an adverbial time clause; the finite past is in geldi.
Could I say Buluşma bitiyorken or Buluşma biterken instead? What’s the nuance?
- bitiyorken ≈ “while it was ending” (process in progress).
- biterken ≈ “as it was ending/coming to an end.”
- bitmek üzereyken emphasizes imminence: “just about to end.” It feels tighter/more immediate than the others.
Why isn’t there a past marker like -di in the first clause?
- -yken already subordinates the clause as a time phrase. The main tense is carried by geldi.
- As a standalone main clause you’d say: Buluşma bitmek üzereydi (“The meeting was about to end.”)
What’s the role of bir in yeni bir soru? Can I omit it?
- bir works like the English “a/an” here.
- You can omit it (yeni soru geldi), but with bir it sounds more natural and specific in everyday speech: “a single new question (popped up).”
Is yeni bir soru the subject? Why is it before geldi?
- Yes, yeni bir soru is the subject of geldi (“came”).
- Turkish typically places the finite verb at the end; time/adverbial clauses often come first, then the subject, then the verb.
Why use gelmek with a question? Would soruldu be better?
- soru geldi is idiomatic: “a question came (in/up),” like messages or calls “come.”
- soru soruldu (“a question was asked”) is also correct; it highlights the (unspecified) asker more than the arrival.
- Both are fine; geldi feels a bit more conversational.
Do I need a comma after the first clause?
- Preferred: Buluşma bitmek üzereyken, yeni bir soru geldi.
- You’ll see it omitted informally, but standard punctuation uses the comma after a fronted adverbial clause.
Could I use gelmiş instead of geldi? What changes?
- geldi: direct past (the speaker presents it as a known/observed fact).
- gelmiş: inferential/reported past (the speaker learned it indirectly or later).
- Here, geldi is the neutral, expected choice.
Is there a more formal alternative using sıra/sırada or olmak?
- Yes: Buluşmanın bitmek üzere olduğu sırada yeni bir soru geldi.
- This uses a relative clause (…olduğu) plus sırada (“at the time when”). It’s longer/more formal but equivalent in meaning.
What’s the difference between buluşma, görüşme, and toplantı?
- buluşma: a meetup/rendezvous; can be casual or even a date.
- görüşme: a meeting/discussion/interview between parties.
- toplantı: a formal meeting (work/official). In business contexts, toplantı is most common.
Can I say Tam … -yken to mean “just as …”?
- Yes. Tam buluşma bitmek üzereyken yeni bir soru geldi. = “Just as the meeting was about to end, a new question came.”
How would I express an interrupted plan like “when it was going to end (but then…)”?
- Use future + -ken: Buluşma bitecekken yeni bir soru geldi. This often implies the expected ending was interrupted or delayed by what followed.
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