Pazartesi sabahları ben parkta yürüyorum.

On Monday mornings I walk in the park.

Breakdown of Pazartesi sabahları ben parkta yürüyorum.

• ben: I
• park: the park
• yürümek: to walk
• Pazartesi sabahları: on Monday mornings

Questions & Answers about Pazartesi sabahları ben parkta yürüyorum.

Why is there no word for on before Pazartesi?

Turkish normally does not use a separate word like on with days of the week.

A bare day name (like Pazartesi) by itself can already mean on Monday in a time expression.

So:

• Pazartesi sabahları ≈ on Monday mornings
• There is no need to say anything like on Pazartesi; that would be ungrammatical.

What exactly does sabahları mean, and how is it formed?

Sabahları comes from:

• sabah = morning
• -lar = plural suffix
• -ı = here it’s part of a set phrase making a time adverb

So sabahları literally looks like mornings, but it functions as in the mornings / every morning.

When you add -ları to a time word (day, part of the day), it very often means “at that time in general / on those Xs”, especially for habits:

• sabahları = in the mornings / every morning
• akşamları = in the evenings / every evening
• hafta sonları = on weekends

Thus Pazartesi sabahları = on Monday mornings (habitually, generally).

What is the difference between Pazartesi sabahı and Pazartesi sabahları?

• Pazartesi sabahı (singular) usually refers to one specific Monday morning (this Monday, next Monday, some particular Monday).

  • Pazartesi sabahı parkta yürüyorum.
    = I am walking in the park on Monday morning (a specific one, depending on context).

• Pazartesi sabahları (with -ları) refers to Monday mornings in general / every Monday morning.

  • Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum.
    = I walk / I am (usually) walking in the park on Monday mornings (as a habit).

So -ları adds the idea of repetition / in general in this kind of time expression.

Is the pronoun ben necessary here? Could I just say Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum?

You can absolutely drop ben:

• Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum.
  is completely natural and probably more common.

In Turkish, the subject is already shown by the verb ending:

• yürü-yor-um
  
  • yürü = walk
  • -yor = present continuous
  • -um = I

Adding ben is usually for emphasis or contrast, e.g.:

• Pazartesi sabahları ben parkta yürüyorum, kardeşim evde uyuyor.
  = On Monday mornings I walk in the park, my sibling sleeps at home.

So:

• Without ben = neutral: I walk in the park on Monday mornings.
• With ben = slightly stressing I (as opposed to others) walk…

What does the -ta in parkta mean, and why -ta and not -da?

Parkta is:

• park = park
• -ta = locative case suffix (meaning in / at / on)

The locative suffix has four forms because of consonant and vowel harmony:

• -da / -de / -ta / -te

Which one you choose depends on:

1. Vowel harmony (a/e choice):

   • After back vowels (a, ı, o, u): -da / -ta
   • After front vowels (e, i, ö, ü): -de / -te

2. Voicing of the final consonant of the noun (d/t choice):

   • After a voiced consonant or a vowel: -da / -de
   • After a voiceless consonant (k, p, t, ç, f, h, s, ş): -ta / -te

Park ends in k, a voiceless consonant, and has the vowel a (a back vowel), so the correct locative is -ta:

• park + ta → parkta = in the park

Why is there no word for the before parkta? How do we know if it’s a park or the park?

Turkish does not have an article system like English a / an / the.

• parkta can be translated as either in a park or in the park, depending on context.

Specificity is usually understood from:

• context,
• whether something has been mentioned before,
• sometimes word order and case.

In your sentence, the most natural English translation is:

• I walk in the park on Monday mornings.

But grammatically, it could also be understood more generally as in a park. Turkish simply leaves that vague unless context makes it clear.

Why is the tense yürüyorum (present continuous) used for a habitual action? Isn’t that like I am walking now?

Yürüyorum is:

• yürü (walk) + -yor (present continuous) + -um (I)

In English, present continuous (I am walking) is mostly about right now.
In Turkish, -yor can cover:

• an action happening right now,
• an action happening around now / these days,
• an action that is regular at the moment, especially when you add time expressions like her gün, Pazartesi sabahları, etc.

So:

• Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum.
  very naturally means I (habitually) walk in the park on Monday mornings, or These days I walk in the park on Monday mornings.

For a very general, timeless habit, Turkish also has the aorist (simple present) tense: yürürüm. The difference is more nuance and feel than a strict rule (see next question).

Could I say Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürürüm instead? What’s the difference between yürüyorum and yürürüm here?

Yes, you can say both, but there’s a nuance:

1. Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum.

   • Sounds like a current routine, maybe something you’re doing these days.
   • Comparable to English: I’m walking / I walk (these days) in the park on Monday mornings.

2. Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürürüm.

   • Uses the aorist (simple present) yürürüm.
   • Feels more like a stable, long-term habit or general truth:
     
     • I (usually / always) walk in the park on Monday mornings.

Both can be translated as I walk in the park on Monday mornings, but:

• yürürüm = more timeless, matter‑of‑fact habit, routine.
• yürüyorum = emphasizes what your routine is at this period of time.

Is the word order fixed? Can I move ben, Pazartesi sabahları, or parkta around?

Turkish word order is flexible, but the verb usually comes last.
The rest can move for emphasis.

All of these are grammatically correct (with slightly different focus):

• Pazartesi sabahları ben parkta yürüyorum.
• Ben Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum.
• Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorum.
• Parkta Pazartesi sabahları yürüyorum. (emphasizes in the park more)

General tendencies:

• Time expressions (Pazartesi sabahları) often go near the beginning.
• Place expressions (parkta) typically go before the verb.
• The element right before the verb often gets a bit more emphasis.

What you cannot normally do is move the conjugated verb away from the end:

• ✗ Yürüyorum Pazartesi sabahları parkta. → unnatural in standard Turkish.

How do I say “I don’t walk in the park on Monday mornings”?

You have two common options, with a similar meaning but slightly different feel:

1. Negative present continuous (not doing this, at least currently):

   • Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürümüyorum.
     
     • yürü-me-yor-um = I am not walking / I don’t walk (right now / these days).

2. Negative aorist (general habit: I don’t do this as a rule):

   • Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürümem.
     
     • yürü-me-m = I do not walk (habitually).

Difference:

• yürümüyorum → sounds like a current situation (e.g., I used to do it, but not these days).
• yürümem → sounds like I generally don’t have this habit.

How would I turn this into a yes/no question like “Do you walk in the park on Monday mornings?”?

You need:

1. The right verb ending for you (sen).
2. The question particle mi / mı / mu / mü, which is separate and follows vowel harmony.

Starting from:

• Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyorsun.
  = You walk / are walking in the park on Monday mornings.

Turn it into a question:

• Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyor musun?
  
  • yürüyor musun? = are you walking / do you walk?

So:

• Pazartesi sabahları parkta yürüyor musun?
  = Do you walk in the park on Monday mornings? / Are you walking in the park on Monday mornings?

Why is Pazartesi capitalized?

In Turkish, names of days and months are capitalized, just like in English.

So you write:

• Pazartesi, Salı, Çarşamba, Perşembe, Cuma, Cumartesi, Pazar
• Ocak, Şubat, Mart, …

That’s why Pazartesi in Pazartesi sabahları ben parkta yürüyorum. starts with a capital letter.

Is there another common way to say “on Mondays” in Turkish, besides Pazartesi sabahları?

Yes, there are a few patterns:

• Pazartesileri = on Mondays (in general)

  • Pazartesileri parkta yürüyorum.
    = I walk in the park on Mondays.

• Pazartesi günleri = literally Monday days, meaning again on Mondays

  • Pazartesi günleri parkta yürüyorum.

In your sentence, Pazartesi sabahları is more specific: on Monday mornings.

If you dropped sabahları, you’d have:

• Pazartesileri parkta yürüyorum. / Pazartesi günleri parkta yürüyorum.
  = I walk in the park on Mondays.