Learn Hardcore Turkish: Mahallemizde akşamları hemen hemen herkes evde. - In our neighborhood almost everyone is at home in the evenings.

mahalle = neighborhood
-miz = our (1st person plural possessive)
-de = in/at (locative case) So: mahalle + miz + de → mahallemizde. Note there is no apostrophe: common nouns don’t take an apostrophe before suffixes in Turkish (apostrophes are for proper names).

Why is there no “is/are” in the sentence?

Turkish often omits the verb “to be” in the present tense for third person. This is called a nominal sentence with a “zero copula.” So hemen hemen herkes evde literally “almost everyone at home” is understood as “almost everyone is at home.” You could add the copular suffix -dir for a more formal or generic statement: Herkes evdedir.

Could I say Herkes evdedir or Herkes evde olur here? What’s the nuance?

Herkes evdedir: more formal or assertive; can imply a general truth/habit.
Herkes evde: neutral, everyday.
Herkes evde olur: emphasizes habitual tendency (“they tend to be at home”), slightly more “usually/typically.” All fit the meaning; choose based on register and the habitual flavor you want.

What does akşamları mean, and how is it formed?

Akşamları means “in the evenings” (habitually, on most evenings). Formally it’s akşam + lar + ı; historically that looks like plural + 3sg possessive, but in modern Turkish it functions as a time adverb meaning “on Xs (regularly).”

Common time adverbs: sabahları (in the mornings), hafta sonları (on weekends), pazarları (on Sundays).

Why not say akşamlarda for “in the evenings”?

The locative -da/-de with time words is used for a specific time frame, not a habitual series. So akşamda or akşamlarda is not idiomatic for “in the evenings (generally).” Use akşamları for habitual/repeated time. For a specific evening, you’d say bu akşam (this evening).

What does hemen hemen mean, and how is it different from similar words?

Hemen hemen means “almost/nearly.” It’s a fixed expression; don’t split it. Close alternatives:

neredeyse: also “almost,” very common with both nouns and verbs (e.g., Neredeyse herkes; Neredeyse düşüyordum).
yaklaşık: “approximately,” mainly for numbers/quantities (e.g., yaklaşık 50 kişi), not for “almost everyone.” Note: hemen by itself means “right away/immediately,” not “almost.”

Is herkes grammatically singular or plural? Can I say herkes evdeler?

Herkes (“everyone”) is grammatically singular and takes singular agreement: Herkes evde, Herkes geldi. In informal speech you may hear plural on the predicate (Herkes evdeler) to reflect real-world plurality, but standard grammar prefers the singular. Don’t use plural verb endings with herkes.

What’s the difference between herkes evde and herkes evinde?

Herkes evde = “Everyone is at home” (generic “at home,” understood as “at their respective homes” from context).
Herkes evinde = “Everyone is at his/her own home,” explicitly tying “home” to each person. Both are natural; evinde is more explicit about “their own homes.” You could also say Herkes evlerinde (plural possessive) to emphasize “in their homes.”

How does the locative case work in evde and mahallemizde?

The locative suffix is -DA, realized as -da/-de/-ta/-te by vowel harmony and consonant voicing:

Front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) → -de; back vowels (a, ı, o, u) → -da.
After a voiceless consonant (p, ç, t, k, f, h, s, ş), it may surface as -ta/-te. Examples:
ev + de → evde (front vowel)
mahallemiz + de → mahallemizde (front vowel)
park + ta → parkta (voiceless k)

Can I reorder the parts of the sentence? What changes?

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis. All are natural:

Mahallemizde akşamları hemen hemen herkes evde. (place > time > subject > predicate; neutral)
Akşamları mahallemizde hemen hemen herkes evde. (emphasizes time)
Hemen hemen herkes akşamları mahallemizde evde. (emphasizes “almost everyone”) The predicate (evde) typically stays at or near the end.

How would I negate this idea? Is hemen hemen herkes evde değil okay?

To say “almost nobody,” prefer:

Mahallemizde akşamları hemen hemen hiç kimse evde değil. Saying hemen hemen herkes evde değil can be read as “it’s not the case that almost everyone is at home,” which is weaker/ambiguous. Use hemen hemen hiç kimse (or neredeyse hiç kimse) for “almost no one.”

How do I turn it into a yes/no question?

Use the question particle mi/ mı/ mu/ mü, which follows vowel harmony and comes after the predicate:

Mahallemizde akşamları hemen hemen herkes evde mi? Variants with different focus are possible (e.g., Akşamları mahallemizde hemen hemen herkes evde mi?).

Is there any difference between mahallemizde and mahallede?

mahallemizde = “in our neighborhood”
mahallede = “in the neighborhood” (unspecified whose) If you want to add an explicit pronoun, you can say bizim mahallemizde for emphasis (“in our neighborhood”), but mahallemizde already encodes “our.”

Pronunciation tips for tricky sounds here?

ş in akşamları = “sh” in “shoe.”
ı (dotless i) in akşamları = a close, central, unrounded vowel; think the relaxed vowel in English “sofa” but shorter and without rounding.
Final stress usually falls near the end: ma-hal-le-MİZ-DE, ak-şam-LA-RI, HER-kes EV-DE.