Annem işe gitmeden önce kediyi besliyor.

the cat

Breakdown of Annem işe gitmeden önce kediyi besliyor.

• gitmek: to go
• benim: my
• önce: before
• -e: to
• anne: the mother
• iş: the work
• -meden: before
• beslemek: to feed

Questions & Answers about Annem işe gitmeden önce kediyi besliyor.

1. What does “Annem” mean exactly, and how is it formed?

Annem means “my mother.”

It’s made of:

• anne = mother
• -m = 1st person singular possessive suffix (“my”)

So:

• anne = mother
• annem = my mother
• annen = your mother (informal you)
• annesi = his/her/their mother

In Turkish, possession is usually shown with a suffix, not with a separate word like “my.”

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2. What does “işe” mean, and what is the function of -e?

İşe literally means “to work” (as in “to the workplace / to the job”).

Form:

• iş = work, job
• -e = dative case suffix, meaning “to / towards / into.”

So:

• iş = work
• işe gitmek = to go to work

Other examples of the dative:

• okul → okula = to school
• ev → eve = to home
• bankaya (from banka) = to the bank

The vowel -e can appear as -e or -a depending on vowel harmony. Here it’s -e because iş has a front vowel (i).

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3. How is “gitmeden” formed from “gitmek”, and what does it literally mean?

The dictionary form is gitmek = “to go.”

Gitmeden is built like this:

• git- = go (verb stem)
• -me- = negative suffix (“not”)
• -den = ablative case suffix (“from”)

So git-me-den literally is “from not going” or more naturally “without going.”

On its own, gitmeden means:

• “without going”

When you add önce (“before”), the pair gitmeden önce is understood as:

• “before (she) goes” / “before going.”

So:

• işe gitmeden önce = before going to work

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4. Why do we use “-meden” to say “before going”? Isn’t -me negative?

Yes, -me/-ma is normally a negative suffix, and -den/-dan is the “from” (ablative) ending. Together, -meden/-madan literally means “without doing X.”

However, in Turkish, the construction V-meden önce has become a standard, idiomatic way to say:

• “before doing X.”

So:

• gitmeden önce = before going
• yemeden önce = before eating
• yatmadan önce = before going to bed

Think of meden önce as a fixed pattern:
verb stem + me/ma + den/dan + önce → “before VERB-ing.”

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5. What does “önce” mean, and is it always used like this?

Önce means “before” or “first.”

In this sentence:

• gitmeden önce = before going

Other uses:

• Önce kahve içiyorum, sonra işe gidiyorum.
  = I drink coffee first, then I go to work.
• Önce sen konuş. = You speak first.

So önce can mean:

• “before” (in time expressions with another verb), or
• “first / first of all” in sequences of actions.

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6. Why is it “kediyi” and not just “kedi”? What does the -yi mean?

Kedi by itself means “cat.”

Kediyi is kedi + -i, where -i is the accusative case suffix marking a specific direct object:

• kedi = a cat / cat (in general)
• kediyi = the cat (a particular, known cat)

Because kedi ends in a vowel, Turkish inserts a buffer consonant y:

• kedi + i → kedii (awkward)
• so it becomes kedi + y + i → kediyi

So:

• kedi besliyor could mean “(someone) is feeding a cat / cats (in general).”
• kediyi besliyor means “(she) is feeding the cat (a specific one).”

In this sentence, we know which cat: her (or our) cat.

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7. Which word is the subject of the sentence?

The subject is “Annem” = my mother.

Breakdown of roles:

• Annem = subject (“my mother”)
• kediyi = direct object (“the cat”)
• besliyor = main verb (“is feeding / feeds”)

So the logical structure is:

• My mother (subject)
• feeds (verb)
• the cat (object)
• before going to work (time clause).

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8. Why is the verb “besliyor” at the end? Can the word order change?

Turkish has a default SOV word order:

• Subject – Object – Verb

In your sentence:

• Annem (subject)
• … kediyi (object)
• besliyor (verb)

Yes, the word order can change, mainly for emphasis or style, but the verb usually stays at or near the end. Some natural variants:

• İşe gitmeden önce annem kediyi besliyor.
  (Time expression moved to the very front; still natural.)

• Annem kediyi işe gitmeden önce besliyor.
  (Focus more on when she feeds the cat.)

• Kediyi annem, işe gitmeden önce besliyor.
  (Emphasis that it’s my mother who feeds the cat.)

In all these, besliyor remains at the end, which sounds most Turkish.

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9. What tense is “besliyor”? Why do we translate it as “feeds” and not strictly “is feeding”?

Besliyor is in the present continuous tense:

• stem: besle- (to feed)
• besle + yor → besliyor (vowel drops: e + yor → iyor)

Literally it’s “is feeding.”

However, Turkish often uses the present continuous (-yor) to talk about:

• regular / habitual actions, especially with time expressions like her gün (every day), sabahları (in the mornings), or time clauses like işe gitmeden önce.

So in natural English, “Annem işe gitmeden önce kediyi besliyor.” is often best translated as:

• “My mother feeds the cat before going to work.” (habitual)

But in a specific context it could also mean:

• “My mother is feeding the cat before going to work (right now / these days).”

Context decides whether we use simple present or present continuous in English.

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10. Could I say “Annem işe gitmeden önce kedi besliyor” without -yi? Would that be wrong?

It wouldn’t be grammatically wrong, but the meaning changes slightly.

• kediyi besliyor → “(she) feeds the cat” (a specific cat)
• kedi besliyor → “(she) feeds a cat / cats” (more general, not clearly a specific, known cat)

In everyday speech, if you mean “our/the household cat”, Turkish speakers almost always say “kediyi besliyor.” Leaving off -yi would sound like you are talking about feeding some cat(s) in general, not the cat everyone knows about.

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11. How would I say it in the past: “My mother fed the cat before going to work”?

You keep the time clause the same and change the main verb:

• Annem işe gitmeden önce kediyi besledi.
  = My mother fed the cat before going to work.

Changes:

• besliyor (is feeding / feeds) → besledi (fed)
  
  • stem: besle-
  • -di past tense suffix (harmonized to -di → besledi)

You can reuse the same pattern:

• Annem işe gitmeden önce kahvaltı yaptı.
  = My mother had breakfast before going to work.

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12. Can I drop “işe” and just say “gitmeden önce”?

Yes, you can say:

• Annem gitmeden önce kediyi besliyor.
  = My mother feeds the cat before she goes.

Here gitmeden is understood as “before she (my mother) goes”, but we don’t know where she’s going.

In your original sentence:

• işe gitmeden önce = before going to work

Adding işe gives more precise information: it’s going to work, not just going somewhere. Without işe, it’s less specific but still grammatically correct.