Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

While I am speaking, I want nobody to interrupt me.

Breakdown of Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

• ben: I
• istemek: to want
• konuşmak: to speak
• beni: me
• kimse: nobody
• -ken: while
• bölmek: to interrupt

Questions & Answers about Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

What does konuşurken literally mean, and how is it formed?

Konuşurken comes from the verb konuşmak (to speak).

• konuşur – old present tense form
• iken – “while, when”
• konuşur + iken → konuşurken

So konuşurken literally means “while (someone) is speaking” or “when (someone) speaks”.

In this sentence, because the main subject is ben, it is understood as “while I am speaking”, even though konuşurken itself doesn’t show the person.

Why isn’t there a personal ending on konuşurken? How do we know it’s “while I am speaking”?

The form with -ken (konuşurken) is a kind of adverbial participle. These -ken forms:

• do not take personal endings, and
• do not express tense the same way finite verbs do.

The subject of konuşurken is normally understood to be the same as the subject of the main clause, unless something else makes it clear.

Here the main subject is ben, so konuşurken is naturally interpreted as “while I am speaking”. If the subject were o, it would be “while he/she is speaking”, and so on.

What is the role of -ken in konuşurken? Is it always “while”?

-ken attached to a verb stem or a tense stem generally means “while, when”, describing a simultaneous action or a background situation.

• yürürken – while walking / when (someone) walks
• yazarken – while writing
• uyurken – while sleeping

So konuşurken = “while speaking / when (someone) is speaking”.

It usually implies two things happening at the same time:
“While I am speaking, (something else) happens / should not happen.”

What exactly does kimse mean here? Is it “no one” or “anyone”?

Kimse is tricky for English speakers because its meaning changes depending on whether the verb is positive or negative.

• In questions and some positive sentences, kimse ≈ “anyone”

  • Kimse geldi mi? – Did anyone come?

• In negative contexts (with a negative verb), kimse ≈ “no one, nobody”

  • Kimse gelmedi. – Nobody came.

In Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum, the verb bölmesin is negative (because of -me-), so:

• kimse … bölmesin = “nobody interrupts / let no one interrupt”.

So here kimse is understood as “no one, nobody”.

Why is the verb bölmesin in the third person singular when kimse feels like “nobody (at all)”?

In Turkish, indefinite human pronouns like kimse generally take third person singular verb agreement, even though in English we might think of “no one / anyone” as potentially plural.

So:

• Kimse bilmiyor. – Nobody knows. (verb: 3rd person singular)
• Kimse gelmesin. – Let no one come. (3rd person singular)

Likewise:

• kimse beni bölmesin – “let nobody interrupt me”, with bölmesin = 3rd person singular, matching kimse.

What tense or mood is bölmesin? Why not bölmüyor or bölmez?

Bölmesin is in the -sIn mood, often called optative/subjunctive (and also used as 3rd person negative imperative).

Breakdown:

• böl- – verb stem (to split / interrupt)
• -me- – negative marker
• -sin – -sIn mood ending, 3rd person singular

So bölmesin roughly corresponds to:

• “(that) he/she/they not interrupt”,
• or as an order/wish: “let him/her/them not interrupt”.

Compare:

• bölmüyor – “is not interrupting” (present continuous)
• bölmez – “does not interrupt / would not interrupt” (aorist, habitual/neutral)

Those describe factual situations. Bölmesin, however, expresses a wish, desire, or request: “I want (it) that they not interrupt.”

Why do we also need istiyorum? Doesn’t bölmesin already sound like a wish (“let nobody interrupt”)?

You are right that kimse beni bölmesin alone can already express a wish or request:

• Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin. – “(I want / Please) no one to interrupt me while I’m speaking.”

Adding istiyorum makes the desire even more explicit and can sound more polite or explanatory, especially in more complete, spoken sentences:

• Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.
  Literally: “I want (that), while I’m speaking, nobody interrupts me.”

So:

• kimse beni bölmesin – wish / request on its own
• kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum – clearly “I want nobody to interrupt me”, emphasizing the speaker’s wish.

In everyday speech, many native speakers might drop istiyorum here and just say Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin.

How is bölmesin istiyorum different from bölmesini istiyorum?

They are structurally different:

1. bölmesin istiyorum

   • bölmesin – finite verb in the -sIn mood: “(that) he/she not interrupt”
   • istiyorum – “I want”
     → Together: “I want (that) he/she/they not interrupt.”
     It’s more like an embedded clause: “I want that nobody interrupt me…”

2. bölmesini istiyorum

   • bölme- – verb stem with negative or positive still possible
   • -sini – nominalization + 3rd person possessive + accusative
     → literally “I want his/her/their interrupting (of me).”

   In our negative version, we’d usually say:
   Ben konuşurken kimsenin beni bölmemesini istiyorum.
   → “I want nobody’s interrupting me while I’m speaking.”
   (more literally: “I want the fact that nobody interrupts me.”)

In practice:

• bölmesin istiyorum feels more direct and wish-like, with a finite verb.
• bölmemesini istiyorum is more nominal / formal (“I want the non-interrupting to happen”).

Your original sentence uses the finite-subjunctive + istiyorum pattern, which is very natural in speech.

Why is beni used and not benim or bana?

Because bölmek (in the sense “to interrupt someone”) takes a direct object, which in Turkish is marked with the accusative case.

• ben – I (subject form)
• beni – me (accusative; direct object form)
• bana – to me (dative; “to/for me”)
• benim – my (genitive; “of me”)

Here, beni bölmek = “to interrupt me”, so beni is correct.

If you said bana bölmek or benim bölmek, it would be ungrammatical in this meaning.

Could the word order be different, like Ben konuşurken beni kimse bölmesin? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, Turkish word order is relatively flexible, especially for objects and adverbials. You can say:

• Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin.
• Ben konuşurken beni kimse bölmesin.

Both are grammatically correct and mean essentially the same thing.

However, word order in Turkish is often used to show emphasis:

• kimse beni bölmesin – slight emphasis on kimse (“no one at all should interrupt me”).
• beni kimse bölmesin – can sound a bit more like “it is me that no one should interrupt.”

The difference is subtle and often depends on intonation. In neutral speech, both are fine.

Is using ben at the beginning necessary? Can I just say Konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum?

You can omit ben and say:

• Konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

This is still grammatical and understood as “While I am speaking, I don’t want anyone to interrupt me.” The subject “I” is already clear from istiyorum.

Including ben:

• adds a bit of emphasis (“As for me, when I’m speaking, I don’t want anyone to interrupt”), or
• simply sounds a bit more explicit or careful.

So ben is optional here, not required.

What is the literal meaning of bölmek? Is it exactly the same as “to interrupt”?

The basic, literal meaning of bölmek is:

• “to divide, to split, to cut into parts.”

Examples:

• Pastayı böldük. – We divided the cake.
• Odayı ikiye böldüler. – They split the room into two.

However, when used with a person who is speaking as the object, bölmek commonly means “to interrupt (someone speaking)”:

• Sözümü bölme. – Don’t interrupt me.
• Konuşmasını böldüm. – I interrupted his/her speech.

So in your sentence, beni bölmesin is idiomatic and perfectly natural as “not interrupt me”.

You may also hear the expression sözünü kesmek (literally “to cut someone’s word”), which also means “to interrupt (someone)”.

Could we use konuştuğumda instead of konuşurken? What would be the difference?

Yes, you could say:

• Ben konuştuğumda kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

Differences:

• konuşurken – “while I am speaking”, focuses on overlapping time, ongoing action.
• konuştuğumda – “when I speak / when I have spoken / whenever I speak”, more event-like, slightly more neutral “when(ever).”

In many contexts, they overlap in meaning. Konuşurken emphasizes the process (during my speaking), while konuştuğumda emphasizes the point or event of you speaking. Both are acceptable here; konuşurken feels very natural for “while I’m speaking”.

What is the role of istiyorum here? Why not isterim?

İstiyorum is present continuous (şu anda / genel olarak istiyorum), but in practice it often expresses a current or general desire in a polite, conversational way:

• İstiyorum – “I want (right now / in general).”

İsterim is the aorist form and can sound:

• more neutral, gnomic, or habitual, or
• sometimes a bit formal or distant, depending on context.

In everyday speech, when talking about what you want, istiyorum is much more common and natural:

• Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum. – “I (really) want nobody to interrupt me while I’m talking.”

You could theoretically say isterim, but it would not be the most natural choice in casual, modern speech for this kind of personal preference.