Learn Hardcore Turkish: Toplantı odasına girmeden önce telefonunu sessize al lütfen. - Please put your phone on silent before entering the meeting room.

Toplantı – meeting
odası – room (literally oda = room + -sı = its; forms a fixed compound toplantı odası = meeting room)
-na – dative ending “to / into”
- odası + na → odasına = to the meeting room / into the meeting room
girmeden – before entering / without entering
- from girmek (to enter) + -meden (without doing / before doing)
önce – before
telefonunu – your phone
- telefon (phone) + -un (your) + -u (accusative: the phone as a direct object)
sessize – to silent (literally: to a silent state)
- sessiz (silent) + -e (dative “to”)
al – take; here: put/turn (it) into that state
lütfen – please

Very literal structure:

Toplantı odasına girmeden önce – Before entering the meeting room
telefonunu sessize al – put your phone to silent
lütfen – please

Why is it “odasına” and not just “odaya”?

Odasına comes from a common Turkish pattern for noun compounds.

Toplantı odası = meeting room
- toplantı (meeting) + oda (room) + -sı (3rd person possessive)
- literally: “the room of the meeting”, but idiomatically: meeting room

Once you have that compound toplantı odası, you then add a case ending to the whole phrase:

toplantı odası (meeting room)
toplantı odası + na → toplantı odasına (to/into the meeting room)

So:

odaya = to the room (any room)
toplantı odasına = to the meeting room (a specific kind of room)

Also, the verb girmek (to enter) normally takes the dative case:

odaya girmek – to enter the room
toplantı odasına girmek – to enter the meeting room

What exactly does “girmeden” mean, and how does the -meden ending work?

Girmeden comes from:

girmek – to enter
gir-me-den
- gir- – verb stem
- -me- – here part of the -meden construction, not the normal “not” of negative verbs
- -den – “from”/“without” element

The suffix -meden / -madan is attached to the verb stem to mean:

without doing X
before doing X (when used together with önce = before)

In this sentence:

girmeden önce = before entering (literally: before [from-entering / without-having-entered])

Examples with the same pattern:

yemeden önce – before eating
gitmeden önce – before going
uyumadan önce – before sleeping

Note on form:

After front vowels (e, i, ö, ü) → -meden (e.g. girmeden)
After back vowels (a, ı, o, u) → -madan (e.g. yapmadan)

Why is it “telefonunu” and not just “telefonun”?

Telefonunu contains two endings:

-un – 2nd person singular possessive: your
-u – accusative case: marks the direct object (“the phone” being acted on)

So:

telefonun = your phone (no case, just possession)
telefonunu = your phone as a direct object (your phone that you are doing something to)

We need accusative because “telefonunu sessize al” means:

almak (to take) here is like to put something into a state:
- telefonunu sessize al – take your phone to silent (mode)

The thing you are acting on (your phone) is a specific object, so it gets the accusative:

(Sen) telefonunu sessize al. – (You) silence your phone.

Structure of telefonunu:

telefon
- -un (your) → telefonun
telefonun
- -u (accusative) → telefonunu

What does “sessize al” literally mean, and why do we use “al” (take)?

Sessize al is a very common Turkish expression:

sessiz – silent
sessiz + e → sessize – to silent (to the state of being silent)
al – take

Literally: “take (it) to silent” → put/turn it into silent mode.

This is a productive pattern in Turkish:

bir şeyi (something) X’e almak – to put something into state X

Examples:

televizyonu sessize al – mute the TV
radyoyu kısık ses’e al – turn the radio to low volume
arabayı parka al – move the car into the parking area (context-dependent)

In everyday speech:

telefonunu sessize al = “silence your phone / put your phone on silent.”

Why is “sessize” in the dative case (-e)?

The -e in sessize is the dative case, which often means “to / into”.

Here, sessize almak is basically:

X’i sessize almak – to take X to a silent state

So:

sessiz – silent
sessiz + e → sessize – to silent (to the state “silent”)

The dative is used to mark the resulting state you put something into, similar to:

odaya koymak – to put (something) into the room
soğuk suya sokmak – to put (something) into cold water

So with adjectives:

telefonu sessize almak – to put the phone into a silent state
ışığı kapalıya almak (less common, but grammatically like “to put the light into ‘off’ state”)

Why is the verb just “al” and not something like “alırsın” or “alıyorsun”?

Al here is the imperative form (a command/request) for 2nd person singular (informal you).

Turkish imperative forms (for almak):

(sen) al – take! (informal singular)
(siz) alın – take! (formal or plural)

If we said:

alırsın – “you will take / you would take” (not an imperative)
alıyorsun – “you are taking” (present continuous, statement)

Since the sentence is a polite request / instruction, the correct form is the imperative:

telefonunu sessize al – silence your phone.

Where does “lütfen” normally go in the sentence? Is putting it at the end normal?

Lütfen (please) is flexible in position. All of these are grammatical:

Lütfen toplantı odasına girmeden önce telefonunu sessize al.
Toplantı odasına girmeden önce lütfen telefonunu sessize al.
Toplantı odasına girmeden önce telefonunu sessize al lütfen.

Differences are subtle:

At the beginning (Lütfen ...) – sounds like a polite general instruction.
Before the main verb phrase (... lütfen telefonunu sessize al) – emphasizes the politeness right before the request.
At the end (... al lütfen) – often sounds a bit more gentle/soft in speech.

In everyday conversation and signs, all three are used. The end position, as in the original sentence, is completely natural.

Why isn’t there a subject pronoun like “sen”? How do we know it means “you”?

Turkish usually leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the person.

Here, the subject is clear because:

al is the imperative form for “you (singular)”.
Imperatives in Turkish almost never take an explicit subject:
- (Sen) gel! – Come!
- (Sen) dinle! – Listen!
- (Sen) telefonunu sessize al! – Silence your phone!

If you add sen:

Sen telefonunu sessize al lütfen.

…it can sound more pointed, as if you are singling out you in particular, which might feel a bit stronger, depending on tone. Normally, just “telefonunu sessize al lütfen” is standard and polite.

Is this sentence formal or informal? How would I make it more formal/polite?

As written, it is informal because the imperative “al” and the possessive “telefonunu” are for singular “sen”:

telefonunu – your (singular, informal) phone
al – (you-sg informal) take

More formal/polite versions use the “siz” (you plural/formal) forms:

Toplantı odasına girmeden önce telefonunuzu sessize alın lütfen.

Changes:

telefonunuzu – your (plural/formal) phone
- telefon
  - -unuz (your – plural/formal) + -u (accusative)
alın – imperative for siz (you plural/formal)

This is what you’d expect on signs, announcements, or in professional settings addressing multiple people or speaking politely.

Does “girmeden önce” always mean “before doing X”? Can it also mean “without doing X”?

-meden / -madan by itself primarily means “without doing X”:

yemeden – without eating
bakmadan – without looking

When combined with önce (before):

X-meden önce very commonly means “before doing X”:
- girmeden önce – before entering
- uyumadan önce – before sleeping

Context decides the nuance:

With önce, learners can safely read it as “before doing”.
Without önce, it usually means “without doing”:
- Bana sormadan gitme. – Don’t go without asking me.
- Kitabı okumadan sınava girme. – Don’t take the exam without reading the book.

Could I say “telefonunu sessiz yap” instead of “telefonunu sessize al”?

You could say telefonunu sessiz yap, and it is grammatically correct, but it sounds less natural for this specific function.

In actual usage:

telefonunu sessize al – is the standard, idiomatic way to say “put your phone on silent.”
telefonunu sessiz yap – would be understood (“make your phone silent”), but it doesn’t match how Turks usually phrase this.

Similarly:

televizyonu sessize al – mute the TV (very natural)
televizyonu sessiz yap – understood, but unusual.

So for phones, TVs, etc., “X’i sessize almak” is the pattern you should learn and use.