Learn Hardcore Turkish: Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum. - Before sleeping, I always read a few pages of a book.

In Turkish, uyumadan önce already expresses the idea “before I sleep” (or “before sleeping”). You don’t repeat the verb sleep in a finite form the way English uses a full clause:

English: Before I sleep, I read a few pages.
Turkish: Uyumadan önce birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
(literally: “Before sleeping, I read a few pages of book.”)

Turkish uses a non‑finite verb form (the -madan form) plus önce to express “before doing X”, instead of using a full clause with a conjugated verb.

Why is the verb okuyorum (present continuous) used to describe a habit, instead of something like okurum (simple present)?

In Turkish, the present continuous (-yor form) is very commonly used for:

Actions happening right now, and
Actions that are regular / habitual, especially in everyday speech.

So okuyorum can mean:

“I am reading (now).”
or, in a sentence with an adverb like her zaman (always),
“I (always) read / I usually read.”

Using okurum (simple present) is also correct and sounds more general / timeless / sometimes a bit more formal. Compare:

Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
→ Sounds like a personal routine, natural spoken Turkish.
Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okurum.
→ Also habitual, but feels more generic / statement-like.

Both are grammatically correct; -yor is simply more commonly used in speech for personal habits.

Why is there no word for “I” (ben) in the sentence?

The subject “I” is already marked on the verb via the personal ending -um in okuyorum:

oku-yor-um
- oku- = read
- -yor = present continuous
- -um = 1st person singular (“I”)

Because the subject is encoded in the verb ending, Turkish usually drops the explicit pronoun:

Ben kitap okuyorum. = I am reading a book.
Kitap okuyorum. = I am reading a book. (same meaning; ben is understood)

You only say ben if you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else).

Why is kitap (book) not marked with -ı (accusative) even though it’s the object?

In Turkish, the accusative case (-ı, -i, -u, -ü) is used only for:

definite direct objects (specific, identifiable), e.g.:
- Kitabı okuyorum. = I am reading *the book.*

When the object is indefinite / non‑specific, it usually takes no accusative ending:

Kitap okuyorum. = I am reading (a) book / books (in general).

In birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum:

kitap is nonspecific – a few pages of some book(s), not a particular, known one.
therefore no accusative: kitap, not kitabı.

If you said birkaç sayfasını kitabın okuyorum, that would refer to (some) pages of a specific book, and you’d see case endings show up.

What is the structure of birkaç sayfa kitap? Why is the order “a few page book” and not “a few book pages”?

Turkish uses a modifier → modified order, and “measure” or “unit” nouns often come between the quantity and the main noun.

Breakdown of birkaç sayfa kitap:

birkaç = a few, several
sayfa = page
kitap = book

Literally it’s “a few page book”, but functionally it means:

“a few pages of (a) book”
i.e. several pages from some book.

This type of structure is very common:

iki bardak su = two glasses (of) water
bir kilo elma = one kilo (of) apples
üç parça ekmek = three pieces (of) bread

So birkaç sayfa kitap = “a few pages of book”.

Could I say “birkaç kitap sayfa” instead?

No; birkaç kitap sayfa is not natural or grammatical in Turkish.

You generally follow this pattern:

Quantity word (birkaç, iki, üç, etc.)
Measure / unit / classifier (sayfa, bardak, kilo, parça, etc.)
Main noun (kitap, su, elma, ekmek, etc.)

So:

✅ birkaç sayfa kitap
✅ iki bardak çay (two glasses of tea)
✅ bir kilo domates (one kilo of tomatoes)

Reversing sayfa and kitap breaks this pattern and sounds wrong.

What exactly does her zaman mean, and where can it go in the sentence?

Her zaman means “always” (literally: “every time”).

In Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum, its position is:

after the time expression uyumadan önce,
before the object birkaç sayfa kitap.

Turkish word order is flexible for adverbs like this, so all of these are possible and natural:

Her zaman uyumadan önce birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
Uyumadan önce birkaç sayfa kitap her zaman okuyorum. (possible, but less common)

The default / clearest positions are usually:

before the verb: her zaman okuyorum, or
after a time phrase: uyumadan önce her zaman.

Meaning stays the same; the variations just slightly change emphasis.

Is there a difference between her zaman and hep in this sentence?

Both her zaman and hep can mean “always” / “all the time”, but there’s a nuance:

her zaman
- more neutral / slightly formal
- literally “every time”
hep
- more colloquial / spoken
- also used as “constantly, all the time, ever”

You could say:

Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
Uyumadan önce hep birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.

Both are correct. Hep might sound a bit more casual and conversational.

Can I move parts of the sentence around, like putting uyumadan önce at the end?

Yes, Turkish allows flexible word order, especially for time and adverbial phrases. All of these are grammatically correct:

Uyumadan önce her zaman birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
Her zaman uyumadan önce birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum.
Birkaç sayfa kitap okuyorum uyumadan önce.

They all mean essentially:

“I always read a few pages of a book before sleeping.”

Differences are mostly in emphasis:

Starting with uyumadan önce emphasizes the time (“before sleeping…”).
Starting with her zaman emphasizes the habit (“I always…”).
Putting uyumadan önce at the end can feel more colloquial and adds slight emphasis to “before sleeping” as an afterthought.

The verb at the end (okuyorum) is the most stable element; moving that usually sounds marked or poetic.