Ben akşam çantamı hazırlıyorum, böylece sabah erken çıkabiliyorum.

I prepare my bag in the evening; that way I can leave early in the morning.

Breakdown of Ben akşam çantamı hazırlıyorum, böylece sabah erken çıkabiliyorum.

• ben: I
• benim: my
• sabah: morning
• akşam: evening

Questions & Answers about Ben akşam çantamı hazırlıyorum, böylece sabah erken çıkabiliyorum.

Why is ben included? Can Turkish drop the subject pronoun here?

Yes. Turkish often drops subject pronouns because the verb ending already shows the subject.

• hazırlıyorum = I am preparing
• çıkabiliyorum = I can leave / I’m able to leave

So Ben akşam çantamı hazırlıyorum... and Akşam çantamı hazırlıyorum... are both grammatical.

Including ben can add:

• emphasis: I do it
• contrast: I do this, maybe someone else does something different

So here ben is optional, not required.

What exactly does akşam mean here?

Here akşam means in the evening / in the evening time.

Turkish often uses time words without a separate preposition like in:

• sabah = in the morning / morning
• akşam = in the evening / evening
• gece = at night / night

So:

• akşam çantamı hazırlıyorum = I prepare my bag in the evening

Depending on context, akşam can also sometimes feel like this evening, but in this sentence it is most naturally understood as a general time reference: in the evening.

Why is it çantamı and not just çanta?