Learn Hardcore Turkish: Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum. - I usually take a walk in the park in the evenings.

Akşamları literally comes from akşam (evening) + plural -lar + possessive/adverbial -ı, but in practice it functions as an adverb meaning “in the evenings / on evenings (habitually)”.

Akşam = evening (one specific evening, or just “evening” as a time of day)
Akşamları = in the evenings, on (most) evenings, evenings in general (habitual)

In Turkish, the plural with -lar/-ler is often used with time words to express a repeated or habitual action:

Sabahları kahve içiyorum. – I drink coffee in the mornings.
Hafta sonları dışarı çıkıyoruz. – We go out on weekends.

You can say Genelde akşam parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum, but it sounds more like you are referring to a more specific evening or a more general “in the evening” time, not strongly habitual. Akşamları is more natural here to show a routine.

Can I say akşamleyin instead of akşamları? Is there any difference?

Yes, you can:

Genelde akşamleyin parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum.

Akşamları and akşamleyin are very close in meaning; both mean roughly “in the evening(s)”.

Subtle differences:

Akşamları emphasizes repetition / habit more clearly: “on evenings (generally)”.
Akşamleyin is more like “in the evening time” and is also common; it can still be used for habits, but doesn’t grammatically show plurality/habit the way -ları does.

In this sentence, both sound natural. If you want the strongest “habit” feel, akşamları is slightly better.

What exactly does genelde mean? Is it the same as genellikle?

Genelde means “generally / usually / in general”.

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum.
- I generally / usually go for a walk in the park in the evenings.

Genelde and genellikle are very close in meaning and often interchangeable:

Genelde erken kalkarım.
Genellikle erken kalkarım.

Both: “I usually get up early.”

Nuance:

Genellikle is slightly more formal/standard.
Genelde can feel a bit more conversational, but is also standard.

In everyday speech and writing, either is fine in this sentence.

Where can genelde go in the sentence? Does its position matter?

Turkish word order is flexible, but the default neutral order here is:

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum.

Other possible positions:

Akşamları genelde parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum.
Parkta genelde akşamları yürüyüş yapıyorum.

All are grammatically correct. Differences are mostly about emphasis:

Genelde akşamları parkta...
Slight emphasis on “generally in the evenings” (time).
Akşamları genelde parkta...
Slight emphasis on “in the evenings, generally in the park (not elsewhere)” (place).
Parkta genelde akşamları...
Emphasis starts with parkta (place).

The verb yapıyorum must stay at or near the end, but the adverbs of frequency (genelde) and time (akşamları) can move around before it.

Why is it parkta and not something like parkta içinde for “in the park”? How does -ta work?

Turkish uses case endings instead of prepositions (like “in, at, on”).

Parkta is:

park (park) + -ta (locative case)
→ in the park / at the park

The suffix -DA (written as -da, -de, -ta, -te) is the locative case, meaning “in, on, at” depending on context.

Form is decided by:

Vowel harmony: -da or -de depending on the last vowel.
Consonant harmony: -da / -de after voiced consonants, -ta / -te after voiceless consonants (like p, ç, t, k, f, h, s, ş).

Park ends with k (voiceless), last vowel is a (a back vowel), so we get:

park → parkta (not *parkda, parkte, etc.)

More examples:

ev → evde (at home)
okul → okulda (at school)
sınıf → sınıfta (in the classroom)

Why is it yürüyüş yapmak and not simply yürümek? What’s the difference?

Both exist and are correct, but they are used slightly differently:

yürümek – “to walk” (the verb itself; movement)
yürüyüş yapmak – literally “to do a walk” → to go for a walk, to take a walk (an activity)

In your sentence:

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum.
Focuses on “going for a walk” as an intentional activity / routine (for exercise, relaxation, etc.).

You can also say:

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyorum.

This is also natural; it highlights the act of walking more directly.
Yürüyüş yapmak sounds a bit more like a planned or recreational walk.

Both are very common; yürüyüş yapmak is particularly frequent for talking about exercise / routine.

Why is there no object ending (like -ı) on yürüyüş? Why not yürüyüşü yapıyorum?

In yürüyüş yapıyorum, yürüyüş + yapmak acts as a fixed expression meaning “to go for a walk”. Here, yürüyüş is not a specific, countable object; it’s part of an activity phrase, so it remains bare (no accusative):

Yürüyüş yapıyorum. – I’m taking a walk / I go for walks.

If you say yürüyüşü yapıyorum, the -ü is the accusative case, marking a specific, definite “walk”:

Dün konuştuğumuz yürüyüşü bugün yapıyorum.
“I’m doing the walk we talked about yesterday.”

In everyday speech about routine exercise, people almost always say yürüyüş yapıyorum without the accusative.

What tense is yapıyorum, and why is it used for a habitual action?

Yapıyorum is in the present continuous tense, built from:

yap- (verb stem “do/make”)
-ıyor (present continuous marker)
-um (1st person singular ending)

→ yapıyorum – “I am doing / I do (currently / regularly)”

In Turkish, the present continuous is often used for:

Actions happening right now
- Şu anda yürüyüş yapıyorum. – I’m taking a walk (right now).
Habits and routines, especially when you mean “these days / generally”
- Son zamanlarda erken kalkıyorum. – These days I get up early.
- Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum. – I usually go for a walk in the park in the evenings.

There is also a simple present tense (e.g. yaparım), but that often sounds:

more like general truths or strong habits/principles:
- Her gün mutlaka yürüyüş yaparım. – I always take a walk every day.
or like rules, abilities.

Here, yapıyorum is the most natural choice to talk about a routine in a neutral way.

Where is “I” in this sentence? Why isn’t ben used?

The “-um” ending on yapıyorum already marks 1st person singular:

yapıyorum = I am doing / I do

Turkish usually drops subject pronouns (ben, sen, o…) because the person is clear from the verb ending.

So:

(Ben) genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum.

Here ben is optional. You add ben only for:

emphasis:
- Ben genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyorum. (Not someone else.)
or if the subject might otherwise be unclear from context.

In normal, neutral speech, it is perfectly natural to omit it.

How would I say “I usually don’t go for a walk in the park in the evenings”?

You make it negative by adding the negative suffix -ma/-me before the tense marker:

yap- (do)
-ma- (negative)
-ıyor (present continuous)
-um (I)

→ yapmıyorum – “I am not doing / I don’t do (these days/habitually)”

Full sentence:

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapmıyorum.
– I usually don’t go for a walk in the park in the evenings.

Word order is the same; only the verb form changes.

How do I turn this into a yes/no question: “Do you usually go for a walk in the park in the evenings?”

To form a yes/no question in this tense, you:

Conjugate the verb as usual.
Add the question particle mi (or mı, mu, mü by vowel harmony) after the verb.

For sen (you, singular):

yap- (do)
-ıyor (present continuous)
-sun (you)

→ yapıyorsun – you are doing / you do

Question:

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüş yapıyor musun?
– Do you usually go for a walk in the park in the evenings?

Note:

mu agrees with the last vowel of yapıyor (which is o, a back rounded vowel).
musun is written separately from the main verb.

Can I say “Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyorum” instead? Does it sound different?

Yes, that is completely correct:

Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyorum.

Meaning-wise it’s very close: “I usually walk in the park in the evenings.”

Nuance:

yürüyüş yapıyorum: slightly more like “I go for (intentional) walks” (exercise, leisure).
yürüyorum: more directly “I walk”; could be exercise, but also just “my way of moving there is walking”.

In everyday speech, both sound natural. Which you choose depends on whether you think of it more as a routine activity (yürüyüş) or simply the action of walking (yürümek).

Are there other common ways to say “go for a walk” in Turkish?

Yes, a few very common alternatives:

Yürüyüşe çıkmak – literally “to go out for a walk”
- Genelde akşamları parkta yürüyüşe çıkıyorum.
Dolaşmak – to stroll / wander around
- Genelde akşamları parkta dolaşıyorum.
Gezmek – to walk around / to roam / to trip around
- Genelde akşamları parkta geziyorum.

All of these can describe a walk, but:

yürüyüş yapmak / yürüyüşe çıkmak → emphasize a walk as an activity, often for health or relaxation.
dolaşmak, gezmek → more like strolling, wandering, hanging around.