Toplantı odasına girer girmez, konuyu kısa bir özetle açtım.

As soon as I entered the meeting room, I opened the topic with a brief summary.

Breakdown of Toplantı odasına girer girmez, konuyu kısa bir özetle açtım.

• bir: a
• ile: with
• konu: the topic
• açmak: to open
• özet: the summary
• kısa: brief
• toplantı odası: the meeting room
• girer girmez: as soon as

Questions & Answers about Toplantı odasına girer girmez, konuyu kısa bir özetle açtım.

What does the construction girer girmez mean, and how is it formed?

It means as soon as (someone) enters. It’s a fixed temporal construction formed by repeating the verb:

• 1st part: verb in aorist (positive) → gir-er
• 2nd part: same verb in aorist (negative) → gir-mez Together: girer girmez = as soon as (someone) enters.

More examples:

• gelir gelmez = as soon as (he/she) comes
• çıkar çıkmaz = as soon as (he/she) goes out
• başlar başlamaz = as soon as (it) starts
• biter bitmez = as soon as (it) ends

The vowel harmony alternates between -er/-ar and -mez/-maz depending on the verb stem.

Why is the aorist (girer) used even though the event is in the past (açtım)?

In this construction, the aorist is part of a set phrase; it does not carry tense here. The main clause decides the time. So:

• Girer girmez, açtım (past)
• Girer girmez, açacağım (future)
• Girer girmez, açar (habitual)

Can I use girince instead of girer girmez?

You can, but the nuance changes:

• girince = when/once (I) entered; timing is looser.
• girer girmez = the second action followed immediately.

Compare:

• Toplantı odasına girince, konuyu açtım. (When I entered, I opened the topic.)
• Toplantı odasına girer girmez, konuyu açtım. (I opened it right away, no delay.)

Which case does girmek take, and why is it Toplantı odasına?

Girmek takes the dative case -e/-a (to/into). Examples:

• okula girmek (to enter the school)
• odaya girmek (to enter the room)
• Hence: Toplantı odasına (into the meeting room).

Why is it Toplantı odasına and not Toplantı odaya?

Because Toplantı odası is an indefinite compound noun (meeting + room). In such compounds, the second noun carries -(s)I:

• toplantı odası (meeting room)

When you add a case ending, it attaches after that ending and uses a buffer n:

• oda + sı + n + a → odasına So: Toplantı odasına (into the meeting room).

What’s going on with the buffer letters in konuyu and odasına?

• konu-y-u: The accusative -ı/i/u/ü needs a buffer y because konu ends in a vowel.
• odası-n-a: After the third-person possessive/compound marker -(s)I, Turkish uses buffer n before a case ending. Hence odası + na → odasına.

Why is konuyu in the accusative? Could it be just konu?

Accusative marks a specific/definite direct object. Konuyu açmak means “to bring up the (particular) subject.” If you wanted it indefinite, you’d typically say:

• Bir konu açtım. (I brought up a topic.) With a specific topic already known in context, use:
• Konuyu açtım.

What exactly does the idiom konuyu açmak mean? Any synonyms?

It literally means “to open the topic,” i.e., to broach/bring up a subject. Common alternatives:

• konuya girmek (to get into the topic)
• konuyu gündeme getirmek (to put the topic on the agenda)
• konuyu masaya yatırmak (to put the topic on the table; to discuss thoroughly, idiomatic)

What does kısa bir özetle do here, and what is -le?

-le/-la is the instrumental/comitative meaning “with/by means of.” So kısa bir özetle = with a short summary. Note:

• özetle (as a standalone word) also means in short/to sum up (adverb). In this sentence it’s clearly the instrumental, because it’s modified by kısa bir.
• Alternatives: kısaca (briefly), e.g., Konuyu kısaca açtım.

Can I move kısa bir özetle or other parts around?

Yes; Turkish word order is flexible, with the finite verb usually last. Natural variants:

• Toplantı odasına girer girmez, kısa bir özetle konuyu açtım.
• Kısa bir özetle, toplantı odasına girer girmez konuyu açtım.
• The original is also perfectly fine. Keep the verb (açtım) near the end.

How do we know who entered? There’s no subject on girer girmez.

By default, the subject of girer girmez is understood to be the same as the subject of the main clause. Here, açtım marks first person singular, so it’s “as soon as I entered.” If the subject is different, make it explicit:

• Toplantı odasına o girer girmez, konuyu açtım. (As soon as he/she entered, I brought it up.) You can also use o girince for clarity.

Is the comma after girer girmez necessary?

It’s standard to put a comma after an initial adverbial clause for readability:

• Toplantı odasına girer girmez, ... If the clause comes later, you typically don’t need a comma:
• Konuyu kısa bir özetle, toplantı odasına girer girmez açtım. (This version is less common in practice; the temporal clause usually comes first.)

Can I say girdim girmez instead of girer girmez?

No. The pattern is fixed: aorist positive + aorist negative (e.g., girer girmez, gelir gelmez, çıkar çıkmaz). Using past (girdim girmez) is not grammatical in this construction.

Can I use this construction with other tenses or moods in the main clause?

Yes. The main clause can be past, present/habitual, future, imperative, etc.:

• Girer girmez konuyu açtım. (past)
• Girer girmez konuyu açar. (habitual)
• Girer girmez konuyu açacağım. (future)
• Girer girmez konuyu aç! (imperative) You can add hemen to stress immediacy: Girer girmez hemen...