Learn Hardcore Turkish: Arkadaşım dosyayı her akşam yedekliyor, ben de sabah kontrol ediyorum. - My friend backs up the file every evening, and I check it in the morning.

Form note: dosya + -ı → dosya-y-ı. The buffer -y- avoids two vowels touching, and vowel harmony picks -ı because the last vowel in dosya is a (back, unrounded).

What does de in ben de mean, and how is it different from bende?

ben de (separate) = “I too / I also.” This is the additive clitic de/da. It follows vowel harmony (de after front vowels, da after back) and is written separately. It never becomes te/ta.
bende (one word) = “on me/with me,” the locative suffix -de/-da attached to ben. This is not what you want here.

Examples:

Ben de geldim. = I came too.
Para bende. = The money is with me.

Why is the present continuous (-yor) used for a routine? Shouldn’t it be the aorist?

In everyday speech, Turkish uses -yor for current, repeated, or ongoing routines. The aorist -(A)r is the “textbook habitual/generic” and sounds more general or formal.

Colloquial/current routine: Arkadaşım … yedekliyor, ben de … kontrol ediyorum.
More habitual/formal: Arkadaşım … yedekler, ben de … kontrol ederim.

Can I change the word order of dosyayı and her akşam?

Yes. Word order is flexible and affects emphasis.

Neutral-ish time placement: Arkadaşım her akşam dosyayı yedekliyor.
Slight focus on the file: Arkadaşım dosyayı her akşam yedekliyor.
Time focus: Her akşam arkadaşım dosyayı yedekliyor.

For the second clause:

Ben de sabah kontrol ediyorum. (neutral)
Sabah ben de kontrol ediyorum. (time focus)

Why is it yedekliyor, not something like yedekleyiyor?

The verb is yedeklemek. With the -iyor suffix, stems ending in e often show vowel raising: …le + -iyor → …liyor.

gelmek → geliyor
beklemek → bekliyor
yedeklemek → yedekliyor

Why is it ediyorum and not etiyorum?

The light verb etmek becomes ediyor in the present continuous due to consonant softening: t → d before a vowel. So:

etmek → ediyor → ediyorum (1st person singular)

Do I have to say ben? The verb already shows “I.”

You can drop ben in general, but here de needs something to attach to if you mean “I also.” If you drop ben, de would move and change the meaning:

Ben de sabah kontrol ediyorum. = I also check (like someone else does).
Sabah da kontrol ediyorum. = I also check in the morning (as well as at other times).

So keep ben if you want “I too.”

Where is the “it” in the second clause?

Turkish often omits understood objects. The object from the first clause (“the file”) carries over. You can include it for clarity/emphasis:

Ben de onu sabah kontrol ediyorum.
Ben de dosyayı sabah kontrol ediyorum.

Why is it her akşam and not her akşamlar or her akşamı?

With her (“every”), the noun stays singular and unmarked:

Correct: her akşam
Incorrect: her akşamlar, her akşamı

Should sabah take -da to mean “in the morning” (like sabahda)?

No. Time-of-day words are typically used bare as adverbials:

sabah, öğlen, akşam, gece (no -da) Variants:
sabahları = in the mornings (habitual)
sabahleyin = in the morning(s)

So ben de sabah kontrol ediyorum is correct; sabahda is not.

Is the comma between the two clauses necessary? Could I use ve?

A comma is fine to separate two closely related clauses. You can also use ve:

Arkadaşım … yedekliyor ve ben de sabah kontrol ediyorum. Style-wise, Turkish typically doesn’t require a comma before ve.

Is yedeklemek the only natural way? What about yedek almak?

Both are common:

dosyayı yedeklemek = to back up the file (very common/techy)
yedek almak = to take a backup (everyday phrasing) If you use yedek almak with a specific file, the careful form is:
dosyanın yedeğini almak. In casual speech people also just say yedek alıyor when context makes the object clear.

Why kontrol etmek and not kontrol yapmak?

kontrol etmek is the standard light-verb construction meaning “to check/inspect.” Kontrol yapmak also exists but can sound more bureaucratic or like “perform a check.” In most cases, kontrol etmek is the default.

What exactly does Arkadaşım encode? Do I need benim?

Arkadaş-ım = “my friend” (possessive -ım). You can add benim for emphasis/contrast:

(Benim) arkadaşım = my friend (mine, not someone else’s) Don’t confuse with genitive:
Arkadaşımın = “my friend’s …”

How did we get dosya-y-ı (with -ı and not -i) and how do I pronounce it?

Vowel harmony: last vowel a → choose -ı (back, unrounded).
Buffer consonant -y- because the stem ends in a vowel.
Pronunciation: Turkish ı is the undotted back vowel (like the vowel in English “roses” final syllable), different from dotted i.

What does moving de change? For example, ben de, sabah da, dosyayı da…

de/da attaches to the word that’s being added:

Ben de sabah kontrol ediyorum. = I also check (someone else does too).
Sabah da kontrol ediyorum. = I also check in the morning (besides other times).
Dosyayı da kontrol ediyorum. = I check the file too (among other things).

Could I use ben ise instead of ben de?

Yes, but it changes the meaning:

ben de = “I also” (similarity/addition)
ben ise = “whereas I” (contrast) Example: Arkadaşım … yedekliyor, ben ise sabah kontrol ediyorum. = My friend does X, whereas I do Y.

Why does one verb have a person ending and the other doesn’t?

yedekliyor = present continuous, 3rd person singular, which has no extra person suffix beyond -yor.
ediyorum = present continuous + 1st person singular, which adds -um/üm/im/um after -yor. Breakdown:
yedekle- + -iyor → yedekliyor (3sg)
et- + -iyor + -um → ediyorum (1sg)