Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.

I think that my friend will come early.

Breakdown of Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.

• benim: my
• arkadaş: the friend
• gelmek: to come
• erken: early
• sanmak: to think
• -ın: of

Questions & Answers about Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.

Why is it arkadaşımın and not just arkadaşım?

Because arkadaşımın is in the genitive case, and in Turkish, the subject of a noun clause (like “my friend’s coming early”) is usually in genitive.

The structure here is:

• arkadaşımın = arkadaş (friend) + -ım (my) + -ın (genitive)
  → my friend’s

This pairs with the possessive ending on geleceğini (see below). Together they form a genitive–possessive construction: arkadaşımın geleceği = my friend’s coming / my friend’s future.

So arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum literally has the structure:
I think [my friend’s coming-early].

What grammatical role does arkadaşımın have in this sentence?

Arkadaşımın is the subject of the embedded (subordinate) clause, not of the whole sentence.

• Embedded clause (noun clause): arkadaşımın erken geleceği = that my friend will come early

  • Subject of this embedded clause: arkadaşımın (my friend’s)
  • Predicate (verb turned into a noun): geleceği (his/her coming in the future)

• Whole sentence:

  • Object: arkadaşımın erken geleceğini
  • Main verb: sanıyorum (I think)

So grammatically:
[Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini] (object) + sanıyorum (I think).

What exactly is geleceğini, and how is it formed from gelmek?

Geleceğini is a noun phrase derived from the verb gelmek (to come). It means something like his/her/its coming (in the future), in the accusative case.

Step by step:

1. gel- = come
2. gel-ecek = will come (future tense stem / future participle)
3. gelecek + -i (3rd person singular possessive) → geleceği
   
   • geleceği = his/her/its future / his/her/its coming
   • Note: k → ğ softening: gelecek-i → geleceği
4. geleceği + -(n)i (accusative case) → geleceğini

So:

• geleceğini = gelecek (future stem) + -i (3sg poss) + -ni (accusative)
• Meaning: his/her (etc.) coming in the future (as a grammatical object)

In the sentence, geleceğini is the object of sanıyorum:
I think [his/her coming (will be) early] → I think (that) my friend will come early.

Why does gelecek turn into geleceğini with ğ instead of k?

This is due to a common Turkish sound change: word-final k softens to ğ when a vowel-initial suffix is added.

• Base: gelecek
• Add 3rd person possessive -i:
  • Not: geleceki
  • But: geleceği (k → ğ)
• Then add accusative -(n)i:
  • geleceği + ni → geleceğini

So the sequence is:

gelecek → geleceği → geleceğini
(combining future stem, possessive, and accusative).

Why do we see both -ın on arkadaşımın and -i on geleceğini? Are they connected?

Yes. They are the two halves of the genitive–possessive construction, which is how Turkish typically forms noun clauses.

Pattern:

• Genitive on the subject of the clause
• Possessive on the verb-derived noun

In this sentence:

• arkadaşım-ın → my friend’s (genitive)
• gelecek-i → his/her coming (in the future) (possessive)

So, conceptually:

• arkadaşımın geleceği = my friend’s coming / the coming of my friend

Then we put the whole phrase into accusative to make it the object: geleceği + ni → geleceğini.

So:

• -ın on arkadaşımın = genitive (subject of the noun clause)
• -i on geleceğini = 3rd person possessive (predicate of the noun clause)

Why is geleceğini in the accusative case?

Because the whole embedded clause arkadaşımın erken geleceğini is the direct object of sanıyorum.

In Turkish, when a specific thing is the object of a verb, it usually takes the accusative:

• Bu kitabı okuyorum. = I am reading this book.

Here, the “thing” you think is:

• arkadaşımın erken geleceği = my friend’s coming early

Since this whole idea is a definite object (you are thinking of this particular coming event), it takes the accusative:

• arkadaşımın erken geleceği → arkadaşımın erken geleceğini (accusative)

Why is there no explicit word for “that” in the Turkish sentence?

Turkish often expresses “that …”-clauses by turning the verb into a noun clause, instead of using a separate word like that.

English:

• I think that my friend will come early.

Turkish:

• Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.
  Literally: I think [my friend’s coming-early].

The “that” idea is encoded inside the structure (genitive–possessive + nominalized verb), not with a separate word.

You can use ki as a separate “that” (see next question), but you don’t have to.

Can I say Sanıyorum ki arkadaşım erken gelecek instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

• Sanıyorum ki arkadaşım erken gelecek.

This is also natural and means essentially the same thing.

Differences:

• Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum
  • More structurally compact, using a noun clause.
  • Slightly more formal / standard in many contexts.
• Sanıyorum ki arkadaşım erken gelecek
  • Feels a bit more spoken / conversational.
  • The ki explicitly introduces the clause, like English “that”.

Both are correct. In everyday speech you’ll hear both patterns.

Can I say Arkadaşım erken gelecek sanıyorum? Does that work?

You do hear sentences like:

• Arkadaşım erken gelecek sanıyorum.

In casual speech, it will usually be understood as:

• Sanıyorum (ki) arkadaşım erken gelecek.

However, from a more careful / textbook point of view:

• The preferred, clear forms are either:
  • Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.
  • Sanıyorum ki arkadaşım erken gelecek.

Arkadaşım erken gelecek sanıyorum is more colloquial and relies on word order and intonation; it may sound a bit loose or ambiguous in writing.

Why is sanıyorum in present continuous (-yor) instead of another tense like sanırım?

Both sanıyorum and sanırım can mean I think:

• sanıyorum = I am thinking / I think (right now / generally)
• sanırım = aorist form, but idiomatically I think / I suppose / I guess

Nuances:

• sanıyorum:
  • Neutral, very common.
  • Slight ongoing-process feel, but in practice often just I think.
• sanırım:
  • Often sounds like I suppose / I guess, sometimes a bit more tentative or casual.

In this sentence, sanıyorum is perfectly natural and standard. You could also say:

• Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanırım.
  (Still correct, but sounds a bit more like I suppose my friend will come early.)

What is the role of erken here, and can its position change?

Erken is an adverb meaning early, modifying the verb gelmek (to come).

In the noun clause, it modifies the verbal noun geleceği:

• erkenden gelmek → to come early
• erken geleceği → his/her coming early

Typical position: before the verb (or verb-derived noun) it modifies:

• arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum. ✅

Other positions:

• Erken arkadaşımın geleceğini sanıyorum.
  → feels odd; sounds like you’re focusing on early as a separate topic.
• Arkadaşımın geleceğini erken sanıyorum.
  → changes meaning toward I think his/her coming is early (judging the time as early), not just I think he/she will come early.

So the normal, neutral position is exactly as in the original: erken directly before geleceğini.

Could I use gelmesini instead of geleceğini? What would be the difference?

Yes, but the meaning and nuance change slightly.

• geleceğini comes from the future stem (gelecek):
  • Focus on future time: that he/she will come (in the future)
• gelmesini comes from the -me/-ma verbal noun:
  • gel-me-si = his/her coming (more neutral about tense; often context gives the time)

Compare:

1. Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.
   → I think my friend will come early.

2. Arkadaşımın erken gelmesini sanıyorum.

   • Grammatically possible, but sounds a bit unusual; gelmesini is more often used with verbs like istiyorum, bekliyorum, umuyorum:
     • Arkadaşımın erken gelmesini istiyorum. = I want my friend to come early.
     • Arkadaşımın erken gelmesini bekliyorum. = I expect my friend to come early.

So with sanmak, geleceğini (future) is more idiomatic for “I think (that) he/she will come early.”

How is the subject of geleceğini marked, if there is no personal ending like -ecek + person?

In noun clauses like this, the subject is not marked by a personal ending on the verb, but by:

1. Genitive on the subject noun:
   • arkadaşımın = of my friend / my friend’s
2. Possessive on the verb-derived noun:
   • geleceği = his/her coming (in the future)

So the pairing:

• arkadaşımın (genitive)
• geleceği (3rd person possessive)

tells us that my friend is the subject of the action coming (in the future).

There is no separate subject pronoun like o because arkadaşımın already fulfills that role.

Can you summarize the overall structure of Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum?

Yes. Structurally:

1. Embedded noun clause (object):

   • arkadaşımın = my friend’s (genitive subject)
   • erken = early (adverb)
   • geleceğini = his/her coming (in the future), accusative (object form) → arkadaşımın erken geleceğini = my friend’s coming early / that my friend will come early

2. Main clause:

   • sanıyorum = I think

Put together:

• Arkadaşımın erken geleceğini sanıyorum.
  = I think (that) my friend will come early.