Learn Hardcore Turkish: Derse girmeden önce öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum. - Before entering the class, I want to briefly talk to the teacher.

ders – lesson, class
-e – dative case: “to the class” → derse
gir- – to enter
-me- – verbal noun / negative marker here used as part of a special structure
-den – ablative case “from”
önce – before

So girmeden önce is built as:

gir- (enter) + -me- + -den + önce
≈ “from (the state of) not entering, before”

In practice, -meden önce is learned as a fixed construction meaning:

“before doing X” – X-meden önce

Examples:

Yatmadan önce dişlerimi fırçalıyorum. – I brush my teeth before going to bed.
Gitmeden önce bana haber ver. – Let me know before you go.

So derse girmeden önce = before entering the class / before going into class.

Why is it “derse” and not “ders” or “dersi”?

“Derse” is “ders” (class, lesson) in the dative case:

ders – class (basic form)
derse – to the class / into the class

The verb girmek typically takes the dative case for the place you enter:

okula girmek – to enter the school
sinema salonuna girmek – to enter the cinema hall
eve girmek – to go into the house

So:

derse girmek = to enter the class
derse girmeden önce = before entering the class

Why not dersi?
Dersi is accusative (the class as a direct object). Here, ders is not an object you act on; it’s a place / occasion you enter, so Turkish uses -e (dative), not -i (accusative).

Could I say “Dersten önce öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum” instead? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can, and it’s perfectly correct.

Dersten önce = before the class (time-wise)
Derse girmeden önce = before entering the class / before going into class

Nuance:

Dersten önce öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum.
→ More like: “Before class (before it starts / at some time beforehand), I want to talk briefly with the teacher.”
Derse girmeden önce öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum.
→ Emphasizes: right before you physically go in / before you actually enter.

In many real situations, both can be used and will be understood similarly; the original sentence just makes the “moment of entering the classroom” a bit more vivid.

What exactly does “öğretmenle” mean, and how is -le used here?

“Öğretmenle” is:

öğretmen – teacher
-le / -la – with (instrumental/comitative suffix)

So öğretmenle = with the teacher.

About -le / -la:

It attaches to nouns to mean “with”:
- arkadaş → arkadaşımla – with my friend
- annem → annemle – with my mother
- kalem → kalemle – with a pen

You may also see it written separately as öğretmen ile in more formal writing, but:

öğretmenle (together) is the normal, everyday form in speech and most writing.

In this sentence, öğretmenle konuşmak = to talk with the teacher.

Why is it “öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum” and not “öğretmenle kısa bir şeyİ konuşmak istiyorum”?

In Turkish, “konuşmak” does not usually take a direct object in the same way English “talk about something” does.

konuşmak = to talk, to speak
You typically say:
- biriyle konuşmak – to talk with someone
- optionally bir şey hakkında konuşmak – talk about something

So:

öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum is understood as:
- literally: “I want to talk a short thing with the teacher”
- idiomatically: “I want to talk briefly with the teacher / talk to the teacher about something quickly.”

If you made bir şey accusative (bir şeyi), it would sound like you’re treating “a certain thing” as a clearly known, specific object and the structure becomes less natural here.

More natural for “talk about something” is:

öğretmenle bir şey hakkında konuşmak istiyorum. – I want to talk with the teacher about something.

The original sentence uses kısa bir şey konuşmak as a fixed, idiomatic-sounding way to mean “have a brief word (with someone).”

What does “kısa bir şey” really mean here? Is it literally “a short thing”?

Literally, yes: kısa bir şey = a short thing.

But in context, it’s idiomatic and means something like:

“something briefly”
“a quick thing”
“a brief matter”
“a quick word”

So öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum is best understood as:

“I’d like to have a quick word with the teacher (before class).”

The adjective kısa (short) here refers to the conversation being short, not the physical size of some object.

Similar idiomatic usage:

Seninle kısa bir şey konuşabilir miyiz? – Can we talk about something quickly? / Can we have a quick word?
Sadece kısa bir şey söyleyeceğim. – I’ll just say one quick thing.

Why is the order “kısa bir şey” and not “bir kısa şey”?

Turkish adjective + noun + bir order is different from English.

The normal pattern is:

[adjective] + bir + [noun]

So:

kısa bir şey – a short thing
güzel bir kitap – a beautiful book
büyük bir ev – a big house

“Bir kısa şey” would sound wrong or at least very odd in standard Turkish. Bir (the “a/an” equivalent) almost always comes between the adjective and the noun, not before the whole phrase.

Could I use “kısaca” instead of “kısa bir şey”? For example: “öğretmenle kısaca konuşmak istiyorum”?

Yes, you can, and it’s natural:

öğretmenle kısaca konuşmak istiyorum
= I want to talk briefly with the teacher.

Comparison:

kısa bir şey konuşmak – more like “talk about a quick thing / have a quick word”
kısaca konuşmak – focuses more on the manner of speaking (briefly), not the “thing”.

Both convey a similar idea. The original (kısa bir şey) sounds a bit more like everyday spoken language where you say “I just want to say one quick thing” or “have a quick word.”

How does “konuşmak istiyorum” work grammatically? Why not just a simple verb like in English “I want to talk”?

In Turkish, “want to do X” is expressed with:

[verb in -mak/-mek] + istemek

So:

konuşmak – to speak, to talk (dictionary form / infinitive-like form)
istiyorum – I want (from istemek)

Together:

konuşmak istiyorum – I want to talk / I’d like to talk.

More examples:

Gitmek istiyorum. – I want to go.
Yemek yemek istiyorum. – I want to eat food.
Seni görmek istiyorum. – I want to see you.

So konuşmak is not a noun in English terms, but we can think of it as the “infinitive” form (to talk), and istemek attaches to that form.

The verb is “istiyorum”, which looks like present continuous. Does this mean “I am wanting”?

Formally, yes, istiyorum is built with the -yor (present continuous) suffix:

iste- – want
-yor – continuous aspect
-um – 1st person singular
→ istiyorum

However, in Turkish:

istiyorum is the normal, default way to say:
- “I want” / “I would like” (often polite, especially in requests)

There is no separate simple present vs continuous distinction like English does for “want” (I want vs I am wanting). You basically never say “isterim” for “I want” in everyday speech except in specific, more formal or habitual contexts.

So istiyorum here means:

I want / I would like (to talk), not “I am wanting.”

Why is there no word for “I” (like ben) in the sentence?

Turkish usually drops the subject pronoun when it’s clear from the verb ending.

istiyorum already tells you the subject is “I” because of -um (1st person singular).

So:

Konuşmak istiyorum. – I want to talk.
Yapıyorum. – I’m doing (it).
Gidiyoruz. – We’re going.

You only add ben if you want to emphasize I (as opposed to someone else), or sometimes for clarity:

Ben konuşmak istiyorum. – I want to talk (not someone else).

In your sentence, the subject is obvious, so ben is naturally omitted.

Can I change the word order? For example: “Öğretmenle derse girmeden önce kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum”?

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, and your version is grammatically correct:

Öğretmenle derse girmeden önce kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum.

This roughly becomes:

“With the teacher, before entering the class, I want to talk about something briefly.”

However, the most neutral and natural order is probably still:

Derse girmeden önce öğretmenle kısa bir şey konuşmak istiyorum.

Typical tendencies:

Time expressions (derse girmeden önce) often appear early in the sentence.
The main verb (istiyorum) usually comes at the end.
Other elements can move around for emphasis or style.

Moving öğretmenle first (Öğretmenle derse girmeden önce...) puts a bit more emphasis on “with the teacher,” but in everyday speech, the original order sounds slightly smoother.

What is the overall literal vs natural translation of the whole sentence?

Literal breakdown:

Derse girmeden önce – Before entering (into) the class
öğretmenle – with the teacher
kısa bir şey – a short thing (i.e., something briefly)
konuşmak istiyorum. – I want to talk.

So very literal:

“Before entering the class, I want to talk a short thing with the teacher.”

Natural English:

“Before class, I’d like to have a quick word with the teacher.”
or: “Before going into class, I want to talk briefly with the teacher.”