Learn Hardcore Turkish: Şarj aletini çantaya koy; dışarıdayken lazım olabilir. - Put the charger in the bag; it may be needed while you’re outside.

şarj aleti = “a charger / the charger” (no case)
şarj aleti
- ACC → the head already ends with a 3rd person possessive due to the compound (see next Q), so ACC is added as -(s)I with a buffer -n: şarj alet-i-n-i → “the charger” (as a definite object)

What’s going on morphologically inside şarj aletini? Why the extra -n-?

Şarj aleti is an indefinite noun-noun compound (“charge device” = “charger”). In such compounds:

The head noun takes 3rd person possessive: alet-ı/alet-i
When you then add a case suffix to a possessed noun, Turkish inserts a buffer -n-. Breakdown: şarj alet-i-n-i = “charger” (compound + 3sg.POSS) + ACC. This -i is not “his/her”; it’s the compound marker. The -n- is the buffer for case stacking.

Could I drop the accusative and say Şarj aleti çantaya koy?

That would sound wrong in context. Without accusative, the object is indefinite (“put a charger (in general)”), and you’d need bir: Bir şarj aleti çantaya koy. Here, we clearly mean a specific, known charger → use accusative: Şarj aletini çantaya koy.

Why is it çantaya and not çantada?

-A/-E (dative) marks movement/direction: çantaya koy = “put into the bag.”
-DA/-DE (locative) marks location/state: çantada = “in the bag.” We’re expressing movement into the bag, so dative is correct.

Where does the -y- in çantaya come from?

It’s a buffer consonant. The dative is -(y)A/-(y)E. Since çanta ends in a vowel, Turkish inserts y: çanta + (y)a → çantaya.

What does dışarıdayken mean morphologically?

It’s “while outside/when you’re out.”

dışarıda = outside (locative)
iken (“while/when being”) often contracts to -ken, and after a vowel takes a buffer y. So: dışarıda + yken → dışarıdayken = “while outside.”

Could I just say dışarıda instead of dışarıdayken?

You could, but the nuance shifts:

dışarıdayken = time clause “while (you’re) outside,” emphasizing simultaneity.
dışarıda = simply “outside” (location). “Dışarıda lazım olabilir” is okay but less explicit about the “while” sense.

Who is the subject of lazım olabilir? Why is there no “it”?

Turkish is pro-drop; subjects are often omitted if obvious. Here, the understood subject is the recently mentioned şarj aleti. So “(It) might be needed (when you’re outside).” You can make it explicit (though it’s not necessary): Dışarıdayken şarj aleti lazım olabilir.

Can I add “you” to make “you might need it”?

Yes. With lazım, the “experiencer” is marked with dative:

Dışarıdayken sana lazım olabilir. = “It might be needed for you / You might need it while you’re out.”

What’s the difference between lazım olabilir, gerekebilir, and gerekli olabilir?

lazım olabilir: common, conversational “might be needed.”
gerekebilir: slightly more formal/neutral “may be necessary.”
gerekli olabilir: adjectival “may be necessary,” a bit more formal/literary. All are acceptable; the original is natural everyday Turkish.

Why use olabilir? What would olur mean here?

olabilir = “may/might be,” expresses possibility.
olur = “will be / is (generally) the case,” a stronger or habitual statement. “Lazım olabilir” is softer and more appropriate for advice.

Is koy polite? How do I make it more polite or plural?

koy: singular, informal imperative.
koyun: plural or formal (“you all” / polite “you”).
More polite requests: Koyar mısın? (Could you put it…?) / Koyabilir misiniz? (polite/plural).

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Turkish is flexible. You could say:

Şarj aletini çantaya koy (neutral)
Çantaya şarj aletini koy (focus on the destination) The verb typically comes last; moving objects around changes emphasis, not core meaning.

Is şarj aleti the only way to say “charger”?

You’ll also hear şarj cihazı (very common; a bit more “device”-like). Both are natural:

şarj aletini/şarj cihazını çantaya koy are equally fine.

Would it be better to say çantanın içine?

Both work:

çantaya already implies “into the bag.”
çantanın içine is a bit more explicit/literal (“into the inside of the bag”) and slightly heavier. Everyday speech prefers çantaya.

Is the semicolon necessary?

Not strictly. It marks a close link between two independent clauses. You could also write:

Şarj aletini çantaya koy, dışarıdayken lazım olabilir.
Or use a conjunction: Şarj aletini çantaya koy, çünkü dışarıdayken lazım olabilir. (…because…)