Çizelge bugün değişti; toplantı 14:00’te.

to be

Breakdown of Çizelge bugün değişti; toplantı 14:00’te.

• bugün: today
• toplantı: the meeting
• değişmek: to change
• -te: at
• çizelge: the schedule
• 14:00: 14:00

Questions & Answers about Çizelge bugün değişti; toplantı 14:00’te.

Why is there an apostrophe before the suffix in 14:00’te?

In Turkish, when you attach a suffix to:

• a proper name,
• an abbreviation read as letters,
• or a numeral written with digits,

you separate the suffix with an apostrophe. Since 14:00 is written with digits, the locative suffix comes as ’te: 14:00’te.

Examples:

• 1985’te (in 1985)
• 3’te (at 3)
• 15:30’da (at 15:30)

If you write the number as a word, you do not use an apostrophe: ikide, üçte, on dörtte.

Why is it -te (not -de) in 14:00’te?

The locative suffix is -DA and appears as one of four allomorphs: -da, -de, -ta, -te. You choose:

• a/e by vowel harmony (back vs. front),
• d/t by voicing assimilation (use t after a voiceless final sound like p, ç, t, k, f, h, s, ş).

For time, we “hear” the number as words. 14:00 is read as on dört, which ends with voiceless t and has a front vowel (ö) → so we use -te: 14:00’te.

More examples:

• 10’da (read: on → ends with N, back vowel → -da)
• 3’te (read: üç → ends with voiceless Ç, front vowel → -te)
• 7’de (read: yedi → ends with a vowel, front vowel → -de)

Do I need to include saat before the time?

No, it’s optional. Both are fine:

• Toplantı 14:00’te.
• Toplantı saat 14:00’te.

Including saat can add clarity or formality, especially in writing.

Why is there no verb in Toplantı 14:00’te?

Turkish allows nominal sentences without an explicit “to be” verb in the present/future. Alternatives you might also see:

• Toplantı 14:00’te. (neutral, common)
• Toplantı 14:00’te olacak. (makes the future explicit: “will be”)
• Toplantı 14:00’tedir. (adds -dir; formal, assertive/official tone)

Is the semicolon necessary here? Could I use a period or a comma?

• Semicolon: good for linking two closely related independent clauses: Çizelge bugün değişti; toplantı 14:00’te.
• Period: also perfectly fine (and very common): Çizelge bugün değişti. Toplantı 14:00’te.
• Comma: generally not recommended here because both parts are full clauses.

Spacing: no space before the semicolon, one space after.

Is çizelge the most natural word for “schedule”?

Çizelge is correct, but it often feels technical/formal and can mean “table/chart” in many contexts. For event schedules, many speakers prefer:

• program (e.g., Program bugün değişti.)
• takvim (calendar)
• plan (plan)

That said, çizelge works for timetables (e.g., class timetable: ders çizelgesi).

What’s the difference between değişti and değiştirildi?

• değişti = “changed” (intransitive) — it became different; no agent mentioned.
• değiştirildi = “was changed” (passive of değiştirmek) — implies someone changed it (agent can be omitted).

If you want to name the agent explicitly, you’d use the active: Çizelgeyi bugün biz değiştirdik.

Could I use değişmiş instead of değişti?

Yes, but it changes the nuance. -miş is the reportative/Inferential past. Çizelge bugün değişmiş suggests you learned/heard this indirectly or are inferring it (e.g., from evidence), roughly “apparently changed today.” Değişti states it as a witnessed/known fact.

Why is bugün one word? What about bugünkü?

Bugün (“today”) is always written as one word. The attributive form is bugünkü (“today’s”): bugünkü toplantı.

Writing bu gün is archaic or only used when literally meaning “this day” as a noun phrase, which is rare in modern usage.

Should I write time as 14.00 or 14:00?

Both are widely used in Turkey.

• TDK (the official language authority) traditionally prefers the dot: 14.00.
• The colon 14:00 is also very common, especially in digital contexts.

Whichever you choose, be consistent. The suffix attaches the same way: 14.00’te / 14:00’te.

How do I pronounce tricky letters here like ç, ş, ğ, and ı?

• ç = “ch” in “church” (e.g., Çizelge ≈ “chee-zel-geh”)
• ş = “sh” (e.g., değişti has “-yiş-” sound)
• ğ = lengthens or glides the preceding vowel; it’s not a hard “g.” In değişti, it lengthens the e (often heard like “dey-iş-ti”).
• ı (dotless i) = a close, back, unrounded vowel; think of a very short “uh.” Toplantı ends with that sound: “top-lan-tı.”

Why is it değişti, not değişdi?

The simple past suffix is -DI with vowel harmony. After a voiceless consonant, the d devoices to t. Since değiş- ends in voiceless ş, we get -ti → değişti.

Compare:

• git-ti, uç-tu (voiceless → t)
• gel-di, izle-di (voiced/vowel → d)

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis. Examples:

• Bugün çizelge değişti; toplantı 14:00’te. (fronts “today” for emphasis)
• Çizelge bugün değişti. (neutral; new info at the end)
• Toplantı 14:00’te. (focus on the time)

Generally, place the most important/new information closer to the end of the clause.

Any spacing/capitalization gotchas in the sentence?

• No space before punctuation like the semicolon; one space after it.
• Bugün is not capitalized mid-sentence; Çizelge is capitalized here only because it starts the sentence.
• The curly apostrophe ’ is typographically nice, but the straight apostrophe ' is acceptable: 14:00'te.

How do I say it using words instead of digits (e.g., “at two o’clock”)?

Use the locative on the spelled-out number, with no apostrophe:

• Toplantı ikide. (at two)
• Toplantı üçte.
• Toplantı dörtte.
• Toplantı on dörtte.

You can optionally add saat: Toplantı saat ikide.