Learn Hardcore Turkish: Konuşkan komşum her şeyi anlattı, ben ise utangaç olduğum için kısa cevap verdim. - My talkative neighbor told everything, whereas I gave short answers because I am shy.

ise marks contrastive topic: “as for … / whereas …”. It contrasts the second clause with the first. It isn’t a standalone conjunction like ama (“but”); it must attach to a word. Here, ben ise means “as for me/whereas I”.

Can I drop ben since the verb already shows 1st person? Why keep it here?

Yes, Turkish usually drops subject pronouns: Utangaç olduğum için kısa cevap verdim is fine. But with ise, you either:

keep the pronoun: ben ise …, or
use the fused form: bense …. Keeping ben (or using bense) makes the contrast explicit.

How is her şeyi formed, and why does it take the accusative -i?

It’s: her (“every”) + şey (“thing”) + accusative -i → her şeyi (“everything” as a definite object). Definite direct objects take the accusative in Turkish. Because “everything” is maximally specific, her şey behaves as definite and gets -i. Without it, her şey anlattı would be wrong.

Is the -y- in şeyi a buffer letter?

No. The word is şey (ends in the consonant y). You’re simply adding the accusative -i to şey, giving şey-i → şeyi. The y is part of the stem, not a buffer.

Is her şey one word or two? And where does the suffix go?

It’s always two words: her şey (not “herşey”). Case suffixes attach to şey: her şeye, her şeyi, etc.

What’s the difference between anlatmak, söylemek, and demek?

anlatmak: to tell/relate/explain (often something longer or detailed). Pattern: “birine bir şeyi anlatmak” (tell someone something).
söylemek: to say/tell (often about uttering words or giving information).
demek: to say/mean (very common in speech; often used in reported speech). Here, her şeyi anlattı implies “told/related everything,” not just a short utterance.

Why komşum and not just komşu? What does -um mean?

-um is the 1st-person singular possessive: komşu-m = “my neighbor.” Without it, komşu is just “neighbor” (generic/indefinite). Konuşkan komşum = “my talkative neighbor.”

Can I say komşum konuşkan instead of konuşkan komşum?

They’re different:

komşum konuşkan = “my neighbor is talkative” (a full sentence with a predicate adjective).
konuşkan komşum = “my talkative neighbor” (an attributive adjective inside a noun phrase used here as the subject).

Break down utangaç olduğum için. Why use olduğum?

It literally means “because (of) my being shy.”

utangaç = shy (adjective)
ol-duğ-um = “my being” (root ol- “to be” + nominalizer -DIK → here -DUK by vowel harmony; the final k softens to ğ before a vowel-initial ending; plus 1sg possessive -um to mark the subject of the subordinate clause)
için = for/because of You can’t say utangaçım için; finite -im (“I am”) doesn’t work inside an için reason clause. You need the nominalized form olduğum.

Could I use -DIĞIndan (dolayı) instead of için?

Yes: Utangaç olduğumdan (dolayı) kısa cevap verdim is fine and slightly more formal/literary. Both patterns mean “because.”

Is kısa cevap verdim the same as kısaca cevap verdim?

They’re close but not identical:

kısa cevap verdim: “I gave a short answer” (focus on the answer being short).
kısaca cevap verdim: “I answered briefly” (focus on the manner). Both are natural.

Why use the light-verb cevap vermek? Can I just say cevapladım or yanıtladım?

cevap vermek / yanıt vermek (“to give an answer/response”) is the most common and works with or without an explicit object.
cevaplamak / yanıtlamak is a transitive verb meaning “to answer (something)” and normally needs an object: Sorunu cevapladım/yanıtladım (“I answered the question”). Saying just Cevapladım without an object is uncommon.

Tense and person: what endings are in anlattı and verdim?

anlat-tı: past tense -dı/-di/-du/-dü (here -tı by consonant harmony) + 3rd person singular (no extra ending).
ver-di-m: past tense -di
- 1st person singular -m.

Why is there a comma before ben ise? Could I use ama instead?

Yes. ise is not a standalone conjunction; it’s a clitic marking contrast, so a comma naturally separates the two clauses. Using ama (“but”) is also fine: … ama ben utangaç olduğum için …. With ise, you get the “as for me/whereas” nuance.

Can ise attach to other words, and can it be written together?

Yes, it attaches to whatever you’re contrasting: komşum ise, o ise, soru ise, etc. With pronouns you often see fused forms: bense (ben + ise), sensen (sen + ise), oysa (o + ise) has become a separate connector meaning “whereas/however”.

Why is cevap singular here? Would plural be wrong?

Singular is fine for “a” short answer or an uncountable-like sense. If you gave multiple short answers, use the plural: kısa cevaplar verdim. Both are grammatical; it’s about meaning.

How would I say “to me” in the first clause (“told me everything”)?

Add a dative pronoun: Konuşkan komşum bana her şeyi anlattı (“My talkative neighbor told me everything”). Pattern: “birine bir şeyi anlatmak” (tell someone something).

Any spelling or sound changes I should know about with cevap?

Before a vowel-initial suffix, final p often voices to b: cevap → cevab-. Examples:

cevabım (“my answer”), cevabı (“the/his/her answer”) But with consonant-initial suffixes, it stays p: cevaplar (“answers”).