Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

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Breakdown of Ben konuşurken kimse beni bölmesin istiyorum.

• istemek: to want
• konuşmak: to speak
• beni: me

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”?