Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyor.

The tortoise is walking slowly in the park.

Breakdown of Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyor.

• park: the park
• yürümek: to walk
• yavaşça: slowly
• kaplumbağa: the tortoise

Questions & Answers about Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyor.

What does the soft g (ğ) in kaplumbağa do?

The Turkish ğ is not a hard “g.” It mainly lengthens the preceding vowel or creates a very light glide. So kaplumbağa is roughly pronounced like “kap-lum-baa,” with a long final “a.”

Why is there no word for “the”?

Turkish has no articles like “the.” Definiteness is understood from context. If you want to say “a turtle,” you can add bir: Bir kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyor.

So is the subject here definite (“the turtle”) or indefinite (“a turtle”)?

Without bir, sentence-initial Kaplumbağa is usually read as definite (“the turtle”) or generic. To clearly introduce a new, indefinite subject, Turkish tends to use bir and often places it later in the sentence: Parkta bir kaplumbağa yavaşça yürüyor.

What exactly does parkta mean, and why is it -ta and not -da?

-DA is the locative case (“in/at/on”). It has four forms: -da/-de/-ta/-te.

• Choose a/e by vowel harmony: last vowel back (a, ı, o, u) → a; front (e, i, ö, ü) → e.
• Choose d/t by voicing: after a voiceless consonant (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p), use t; otherwise d. Since “park” ends with voiceless k and its last vowel is back (a), you get parkta (“in/at the park”).

How do I say “to/in/from the park”?

• parka = to the park (dative)
• parkta = in/at the park (locative)
• parktan = from/out of the park (ablative)

Why yavaşça and not just yavaş?

Both are fine. Adjectives often serve as adverbs in Turkish, so yavaş yürüyor is acceptable. The suffix -CA (ca/ce/ça/çe) explicitly makes an adverb: yavaşça. Nuance: yavaşça can also suggest “gently/softly,” not only “slowly.”

How is yürüyor formed?

Root: yürü- (to walk) + present continuous -(I)yor.

• If the stem ends with a vowel: add -yor directly → yürü-yor.
• If the stem ends with a consonant: add the harmonic vowel before -yor → gel-iyor, bak-ıyor, gör-üyor. Note: the “o” in “yor” stays “o”; the harmonic vowel is the one you insert (if needed).

Why not yürür instead of yürüyor?

Yürüyor is present continuous (“is walking,” an ongoing action). Yürür is the aorist/simple present, used for habits and general truths (“walks,” “tends to walk”). Choose based on meaning: ongoing vs habitual.

Where is the pronoun “it”?

Turkish is a pro-drop language. The subject is understood from the verb ending. Yürüyor is 3rd person singular (“he/she/it is walking”), so the pronoun o is omitted unless you want emphasis.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis. The default here is Subject–Place–Manner–Verb. The element right before the verb is typically in focus.

• Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyor. (focus on “slowly”)
• Kaplumbağa yavaşça parkta yürüyor. (focus on “in the park”)
• Parkta kaplumbağa yavaşça yürüyor. (focus on the subject after setting the location)

How do I make a yes/no question?

Add the question particle (separate word) with vowel harmony: mi/mı/mu/mü.

• Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyor mu? Here it’s mu because the last vowel before it is the “o” in “yor.”

How do I ask “where” and “how” questions?

• Where: Kaplumbağa nerede yavaşça yürüyor? — “Where is the turtle walking slowly?”
• How: Kaplumbağa nasıl yürüyor? — “How is the turtle walking?” → Yavaşça.

How do I make it plural? Do I need -lar on the verb?

Subject plural: Kaplumbağalar parkta yavaşça yürüyor(lar).

• With non-human subjects, the plural on the verb (-lar) is often omitted.
• With human subjects, -lar on the verb is usual: Onlar yürüyorlar.

How do I negate it?

Insert the negative -mA- before the progressive:

• Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürümüyor. (yürü-müyor) The vowel in -mIyor harmonizes with the last vowel of the stem: yürü- → -mü- → yürümüyor.

How do I put this in past or future?

• Simple past: Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüdü. (walked)
• Past continuous: Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyordu. (was walking)
• Future: Kaplumbağa parkta yavaşça yürüyecek. (will walk)

Why no apostrophe in parkta? I’ve seen apostrophes elsewhere.

Apostrophes are used after proper names when adding suffixes (e.g., Ankara’da). Park is a common noun, so no apostrophe: parkta.

Any quick pronunciation tips for these letters?

• ğ: lengthens the previous vowel (no hard “g” sound).
• ş: “sh” as in “she.”
• ç: “ch” as in “chop.”
• ü: front rounded vowel (like German ü or French u).
• ı (dotless i): a central “uh” sound (like the ‘a’ in “sofa”).

Can I say Kaplumbağa parka yavaşça yürüyor?

Yes, but it changes the meaning to “The turtle is walking slowly to the park” (parka = to the park). Parkta means “in/at the park.”

Could I use gitmek instead of yürümek?

Yürümek = to walk (on foot). Gitmek = to go (generic movement, any means).

• Parkta yürüyor = is walking in the park.
• Parka gidiyor = is going to the park.
  Saying parkta gidiyor is odd; use yürümek for “walking,” or yürüyerek gidiyor (“is going by walking”).