Learn Hardcore Turkish: Program dondu, ama yedek plan devreye girer girmez sunuma devam ettik. - The program froze, but as soon as the backup plan kicked in, we continued the presentation.

It means as soon as (it) enters/goes in. It’s a fixed Turkish pattern: take the verb in the aorist (simple present) and repeat it with a negative aorist on the second part:

Formula: V-AOR + V-AOR.NEG
Examples:
- gelir gelmez = as soon as (s/he) comes
- başlar başlamaz = as soon as it starts
- biter bitmez = as soon as it ends
- çıkar çıkmaz = as soon as (s/he) goes out Here: girer (aorist) + girmez (negative aorist) = “as soon as it enters (operation).”

Why is the aorist (“girer”) used here instead of a past tense like “girdi”?

Because X-er X-mez is a set temporal construction in Turkish that inherently uses the aorist to mean “no sooner than / as soon as.” It doesn’t express habitual action here; it’s just the conventional form for immediate succession.

Can I replace girer girmez with girince or girdikten sonra?

Yes, but the nuance changes:

devreye girince = when/once it entered (neutral timing)
devreye girdikten sonra = after it entered (sequence, less immediate)
devreye girer girmez = as soon as it entered (emphasizes immediacy) Also possible: devreye girdiği anda/anda = the moment it entered (very immediate).

What exactly does devreye girmek mean?

Literally “to enter the circuit,” idiomatically to be activated, to kick in, to come into operation. Common with systems, backup plans, safety mechanisms, laws (for laws you’ll also see “yürürlüğe girmek”). Transitive counterpart: devreye sokmak = to put something into operation.

Why is it devreye with -e?

That’s the dative case (-e/-a), often “to/into.” “Devre” + -(y)e = devreye. The idea is “enter into operation.” The buffer consonant y appears because “devre” ends in a vowel.

Why is it sunuma devam ettik (dative) and not sunumu devam ettik (accusative)?

Because devam etmek (to continue) governs the dative: you “continue to X.”

Correct: derse/sunuma/yola devam etmek (continue with/to the class/presentation/road)
Incorrect: sunumu devam etmek If you want the accusative, use a transitive verb like sürdürmek: “sunumu sürdürdük” = we continued the presentation.

Do we have to use etmek with devam? Why not just a single verb?

Yes, devam etmek is a standard light-verb construction in Turkish. You can’t say “devam olduk.” Alternatives:

sürmek (intransitive): Toplantı sürdü. (The meeting continued.)
sürdürmek (transitive): Toplantıyı sürdürdük. (We continued the meeting.)

Is the comma before ama necessary?

It’s optional in modern usage. Many writers include a comma before ama when it joins two independent clauses, as here. You wouldn’t normally put a comma after ama.

Can I use fakat/ancak/lakin instead of ama?

Yes:

ama: common, conversational
fakat and ancak: more formal; ancak often appears at the start of a sentence and can also mean “only”
lakin: quite formal/literary Meaning stays “but/however.”

Does program dondu mean the app crashed? How is it different from çöktü/kitlendi/takıldı?

dondu: it froze; UI stopped responding, screen stuck
çöktü: it crashed; the program terminated
kitlendi: it locked up; similar to froze, sometimes implies requiring a force restart
takıldı: it got stuck/lagged; milder, may still be working intermittently

How is “we” indicated in ettik?

By the personal ending:

et-ti-k = do/make + simple past -di/-dı/-du/-dü + 1st person plural -k → “we did” Similarly, dondu is don-du = “it froze” (3rd person is unmarked; the -du is just past tense with vowel harmony).

Why not say girdi girmez or girdik girmez?

Because the idiom is specifically the aorist pattern X-er X-mez and it does not take personal endings. It’s always “girer girmez, gelir gelmez, başlar başlamaz,” regardless of the subject.

Can I add hemen with girer girmez?

Yes: “girer girmez hemen …” It’s a bit redundant (since girer girmez already implies immediacy) but common for extra emphasis.

Can I change the word order?

Turkish typically places the temporal clause before the main action and the main verb near the end:

yedek plan devreye girer girmez sunuma devam ettik (most natural) You could front the main clause for focus, but the given order is the default and clearest.

Why is it yedek plan, not yedek planı?

Because it’s the subject of the time clause. Subjects are unmarked (no accusative). -ı (accusative) marks definite direct objects, not subjects.

Is there a more idiomatic way to say “we resumed the presentation (from where we left off)”?

Yes: sunuma kaldığımız yerden devam ettik = “we continued the presentation from where we had left off.” “kaldığımız yerden” literally means “from the place we stopped.”