Learn Hardcore Turkish: Sen gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi, şimdi daha canlı. - Before you came, it was very quiet here; now it’s more lively.

gel- = the verb stem to come
-me = a suffix that turns the verb into a verbal noun (coming / not coming)
-den = ablative case suffix (from)

So gelmeden is basically from (the act of) coming, and with önce (before) it becomes:

gelmeden önce = before (the act of) coming → before [you] came

This -meden structure is a common way to say before doing X (with önce) or without doing X (on its own), e.g.:

Yemek yemeden geldim. – I came without eating.
Gitmeden önce beni ara. – Call me before (you) go.

Could we say just gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi without sen? Why is sen included?

Yes, you can say:

Gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi.

Turkish normally drops subject pronouns when they are clear from context, so grammatically this is fine.

Including sen does two things:

Makes the subject explicit
It removes any ambiguity – we know it’s you and not someone/something else.
Adds emphasis / contrast
Sen gelmeden önce can feel like:
- Before you came, this place was very quiet (but now it’s different because you are here).

So sen is not required for grammar, but it’s useful for clarity and for gently highlighting the person addressed.

What is the difference between burası and burada in this sentence? Why is it burası çok sessizdi and not burada çok sessizdi?

Both are related to here, but they are slightly different:

burası = this place (as a thing, a location as a noun)
burada = here / in this place (as a location, an adverbial word)

In burası çok sessizdi:

burası is the subject: this place
The meaning is: This place was very quiet.

If you say burada çok sessizdi, it’s more like:

It was very quiet here.

You’re describing the environment here, not explicitly pointing to this place as a noun.
Both are possible, but burası fits nicely when you treat this place as the main topic.

What does sessizdi mean exactly, and why does it end in -di?

Sessizdi comes from:

sessiz = quiet, silent
idi = the past tense of the verb to be
In speech and writing, idi often merges: sessiz + idi → sessizdi

So:

burası çok sessizdi = this place was very quiet.

The -di at the end is the past tense marker. In Turkish, adjectives in the past are formed like this:

yorgundu – he/she was tired
mutluydu – he/she was happy
karanlıktı – it was dark

Why is there no verb in şimdi daha canlı? Shouldn’t there be something like şimdi daha canlıdır?

In modern everyday Turkish, the present tense of “to be” is usually not written or spoken as a separate word. It is simply understood.

So şimdi daha canlı literally is:

now more lively (it is)

If you add -dır:

şimdi daha canlıdır

this is grammatically correct, but:

sounds formal / bookish
often suggests a general statement or a kind of conclusion, not just a casual observation

In normal conversation, şimdi daha canlı is the natural way to say:

Now it’s livelier.

How does daha canlı work? What does daha add to canlı?

canlı = alive, lively, animated, vibrant
daha = more

So daha canlı = more lively / livelier.

In this sentence:

şimdi daha canlı = now (it is) more lively
→ now it’s livelier (than before).

The comparison is usually to what was mentioned previously (here: the earlier, quiet state), even if the word than is not explicitly present in Turkish.

Why is there a comma between the two parts, and could we add a word like ama?

The sentence is:

Sen gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi, şimdi daha canlı.

These are two independent clauses:

Sen gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi. – Before you came, this place was very quiet.
Şimdi daha canlı. – Now (it is) more lively.

A comma is enough in Turkish to connect them, and the contrast is clear from the context.

You can also explicitly add ama (but) to make the contrast stronger:

Sen gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi, ama şimdi daha canlı.

This sounds like:

Before you came, this place was very quiet, but now it’s livelier.

What is the difference between gelmeden önce and gelince? Could I say Sen gelince burası daha canlı oldu?

Yes, you can say:

Sen gelince burası daha canlı oldu.
→ When you came, this place became livelier.

Differences:

gelmeden önce = before (you) come / before you came
Focus: the time before the action
- Sen gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi.
  → The period before your arrival was very quiet.
gelince = when (you) come / when you came
Focus: the moment/event of the action
- Sen gelince burası daha canlı oldu.
  → At / after your arrival, it became livelier.

So you might combine them:

Sen gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi, sen gelince burası daha canlı oldu.
→ Before you came, this place was very quiet; when you came, it became livelier.

Could we change the word order, for example Şimdi burası daha canlı or Burası şimdi daha canlı? Does it change the meaning?

All of these are grammatically correct and mean roughly Now this place is livelier, but the focus changes a bit:

Şimdi burası daha canlı.
- Slight emphasis on now (time).
- Like: Right now, this place is livelier.
Burası şimdi daha canlı.
- Slight emphasis on burası (this place).
- Like: This place is now the one that is livelier.
Şimdi daha canlı. (original sentence)
- Very short, context-dependent subject.
- The subject (burası / this place) is understood from the previous clause.
- Feels natural in conversation as a follow-up.

In Turkish, word order is flexible, but moving words around usually affects emphasis, not basic meaning.

What exactly does canlı mean in everyday Turkish? Does it always mean “alive”?

Canlı has several related meanings:

Alive (opposite of dead)
- Bitki hâlâ canlı. – The plant is still alive.
Lively, energetic, vibrant (for places, people, events)
- Meydan geceleri çok canlı. – The square is very lively at night.
Live (not recorded) for broadcasts
- Canlı yayın. – Live broadcast.

In şimdi daha canlı, it clearly means:

more lively / more vibrant,
not literally more alive in the biological sense.

Why is the past expressed with sessizdi, but the present is just daha canlı without any ending?

Turkish handles past and present forms of “to be” differently:

Past “to be” → uses endings like -dı / -di / -du / -dü (or -tı / -ti / -tu / -tü)
- sessizdi – it was quiet
- yorgundu – he/she was tired
Present “to be” → usually has no separate word in the 3rd person
- daha canlı – it is more lively
- yorgun – he/she is tired
- güzel – it is beautiful

So the contrast is:

sessizdi – was quiet (past)
daha canlı – is more lively (present, understood)

How would I make this sentence more formal, for example when talking to someone I address as siz?

To be more formal or polite, change sen to siz. The rest can stay the same:

Siz gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi, şimdi daha canlı.

This means the same:

Before you came, this place was very quiet, now it’s livelier.

If you wanted to be even more formal (e.g. in writing), you could also add ama and -dır:

Siz gelmeden önce burası çok sessizdi, ama şimdi daha canlıdır.

This sounds polite and formal, suitable for written or careful speech.