Learn Hardcore Turkish: Gözlüğümü takmadan gazeteyi rahatça okuyamıyorum. - I can’t comfortably read the newspaper without putting on my glasses.

gözlük
- -üm → gözlüğüm (my glasses)
  - The final k softens to ğ (a regular sound change: kitap → kitabım, yemek → yemeğim, etc.).
gözlüğüm
- -ü (accusative) → gözlüğümü (my glasses as a specific object)

So gözlüğümü literally means “my glasses” in the object form.

Why is gözlüğümü in the accusative case? Could it be just gözlüğüm?

It’s accusative (-ü) because it is the direct object of the verb idea inside takmadan (“without wearing/putting on”).

Underlying idea: Gözlüğümü takmıyorum. – I am not wearing my glasses.
When we turn takmak into takmadan (“without wearing”), its object keeps the same case:
- Gözlüğümü takmadan… – Without wearing my glasses…

In Turkish, a specific/definite direct object is usually marked with accusative:

Gözlüğümü takıyorum. – I am putting on my (specific) glasses.
Gözlük takıyorum. – I am putting on (some) glasses (in general).

Because these are my actual glasses, they are definite → accusative is natural.

Using bare gözlüğüm here (Gözlüğüm takmadan…) would be ungrammatical; the possessed noun is functioning as an object, so it needs the accusative marker in this construction.

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

Takmadan comes from the verb takmak (to put on, to wear).

Morphology:

tak – verb stem (put on / wear)
-ma – verbal noun / infinitive suffix
-dan – ablative case suffix

So:

tak-ma → putting on / wearing (a verbal noun)
tak-ma-dan → from putting on → idiomatically: “without putting on / without wearing”

This -madan / -meden structure is a common way to say “without doing X”:

Kahvaltı yapmadan işe gitmiyorum. – I don’t go to work without having breakfast.
Elini yıkamadan yeme. – Don’t eat without washing your hands.

So Gözlüğümü takmadan… means “Without putting on my glasses…”

Why doesn’t takmadan have a personal ending like -um, -sun, etc.?

Because takmadan is not a finite verb; it’s a converb / adverbial verb form meaning “without doing X”.

In Turkish, these kinds of verb forms:

express time, manner, or condition
do not take personal endings
usually share the same subject as the main verb

In the sentence:

Gözlüğümü takmadan – without (me) wearing my glasses
…okuyamıyorum. – I can’t read.

The subject “I” (ben) is understood for both actions. You can’t say:

✗ Gözlüğümü takmadanım – this is incorrect.

If you need different subjects, you show them with nouns/pronouns, not endings on -madan:

Sen gözlüğünü takmadan ben gazeteyi rahatça okuyamıyorum.
I can’t read the newspaper comfortably before you put on your glasses.

Why is gazeteyi in the accusative? Could we say just gazete?

Gazeteyi is:

gazete – newspaper
-yi – accusative case (with buffer y because gazete ends in a vowel)

So gazeteyi = the newspaper as a specific object.

In Turkish:

gazete okuyorum. – I’m reading (a) newspaper / newspapers (in general).
(indefinite, generic → no accusative)
gazeteyi okuyorum. – I’m reading the newspaper.
(a particular one → accusative)

Here the context is a specific newspaper in front of me that I’m trying to read but can’t see well, so gazeteyi is natural.

If you say:

Gözlüğümü takmadan gazete rahatça okuyamıyorum.

this leans more toward “I can’t comfortably read newspapers (in general) without my glasses.”
That’s also possible, but the original gazeteyi emphasizes a particular newspaper.

How is okuyamıyorum built, and what exactly does it mean?

Okuyamıyorum comes from okumak (to read).

Morphology (simplified):

oku- – verb stem (read)
-yAmA- – potential + negative, roughly “cannot / be unable to”
-yor – present continuous/progressive
-um – 1st person singular

So:

oku-yAmA-yor-um → okuyamıyorum

Meaning: “I cannot read / I am unable to read.”

Some parallels:

göremiyorum – I can’t see.
yapamıyorum – I can’t do (it).
anlayamıyorum – I can’t understand.

So in the full sentence:

…okuyamıyorum expresses inability to read, not simply that you aren’t reading.

What is the difference between okuyamıyorum and okumuyorum?

They are quite different:

okuyamıyorum
- from oku-yAmA-yor-um
- means “I cannot read / I’m unable to read.”
- implies lack of ability (e.g. because of poor eyesight, no glasses, etc.).
okumuyorum
- from oku-ma-yor-um
- means “I am not reading / I don’t read.”
- simple negation of the action, not about ability; you just aren’t reading (by choice or habit).

In this context:

Gözlüğümü takmadan gazeteyi rahatça okuyamıyorum.
→ Without my glasses, I’m unable to read the newspaper comfortably. (natural)

If you said:

Gözlüğümü takmadan gazeteyi rahatça okumuyorum.

it would sound more like “Without putting on my glasses, I don’t read the newspaper comfortably (because I choose not to).”
That is a strange message; the point is not that you refuse to read, but that you can’t read well. So okuyamıyorum is the appropriate form.

What is the role of rahatça, and how is it different from rahat?

Rahatça is an adverb meaning “comfortably”, formed by:

rahat – comfortable, at ease
-ça / -çe – adverb-forming suffix

So:

rahat → adjective: comfortable
rahatça → adverb: comfortably, in a comfortable way

Compare:

Rahat bir koltuk. – A comfortable armchair. (adjective)
Rahatça otur. – Sit comfortably. (adverb)

In practice, Turkish often uses rahat itself as an adverb:

Rahat okuyamıyorum. – I can’t read comfortably.

So both:

rahatça okuyamıyorum
rahat okuyamıyorum

are acceptable, with only a slight stylistic difference. Rahatça feels a bit more explicitly adverbial or slightly more careful/formal, but the meaning here is essentially the same.

Can the word order be changed? For example, is Gazeteyi gözlüğümü takmadan rahatça okuyamıyorum also correct?

Yes, word order in Turkish is relatively flexible (except that the main verb usually comes last in neutral sentences).

Your alternative:

Gazeteyi gözlüğümü takmadan rahatça okuyamıyorum.

is grammatically correct. The main differences are about emphasis / information structure:

Original:

Gözlüğümü takmadan gazeteyi rahatça okuyamıyorum.
- Starts with the condition/circumstance: “Without putting on my glasses…”
- Emphasis: what happens when I don’t wear my glasses.

Alternative:

Gazeteyi gözlüğümü takmadan rahatça okuyamıyorum.
- Starts with gazeteyi → more focus on the newspaper as the item affected.
- The condition gözlüğümü takmadan is now in the middle.

Other possible (still natural) orders include:

Gözlüğümü takmadan rahatça gazeteyi okuyamıyorum.
Rahatça gazeteyi gözlüğümü takmadan okuyamıyorum.

As long as okuyamıyorum stays at the end and the phrase boundaries are clear, Turkish allows movement of other elements to adjust focus and nuance.

What is the difference between takmadan, takmaksızın, and takamadan?

They are related but not identical:

takmadan
- tak-ma-dan
- basic and most common “without putting on / without wearing”.
- Neutral, everyday usage.
takmaksızın
- tak-mak-sızın (without doing X)
- also means “without putting on / without wearing”, but sounds more formal or literary.
- Example: Gözlüğümü takmaksızın dışarı çıkmam. – I don’t go out without putting on my glasses.
takamadan
- taka-ma-dan = tak-a-ma-dan
- contains the inability marker -(y)AmA-:
  - takamamak – to be unable to put on (manage to put on).
- takamadan ≈ “before being able to put on / without (managing to) put on”.
- Example:
  - Gözlüğümü takamadan dışarı çıktım.
    I went outside before I could put on my glasses / without managing to put on my glasses.

In your sentence, we just need “without wearing”, so takmadan is the natural choice.

Why is it takmadan and not takmeden? How do I know whether to use -madan or -meden?

The -madan / -meden ending follows vowel harmony.

Look at the last vowel of the verb stem:

If the last vowel is back (a, ı, o, u) → use -madan
If the last vowel is front (e, i, ö, ü) → use -meden

Examples:

takmak → last vowel a (back) → takmadan
yazmak → a → yazmadan
bakmak → a → bakmadan
gelmek → last vowel e (front) → gelmeden
bilmek → i → bilmeden
görmek → ö → görmeden

So takmadan is correct because tak- has the vowel a.

In English we say “my glasses” (plural). Why is Turkish using singular gözlüğüm / gözlüğümü?

Turkish and English don’t always match in singular vs. plural for everyday objects.

In Turkish:

gözlük (singular) refers to one pair of glasses.
gözlükler (plural) means multiple pairs of glasses.

So:

gözlüğüm – my (pair of) glasses → corresponds to English “my glasses”.
gözlüklerim – my glasses (several pairs).

Similarly, some other English “plural-only” items are singular in Turkish:

pants / trousers → pantolon
scissors → makas

So saying Gözlüğümü takmadan… is exactly the normal way to say “Without my glasses…” in Turkish.