Amcam gelene kadar teyzem masayı hazırlıyor.

Not quite.

• amcam = my paternal uncle / my father’s brother
• teyzem = my maternal aunt / my mother’s sister

Turkish often uses more specific family words than English does.

Also, the -m at the end means my, so:

• amca = paternal uncle
• amcam = my paternal uncle
• teyze = maternal aunt
• teyzem = my maternal aunt

So Turkish does not need a separate word like my here.

Because Turkish usually shows possession with an ending on the noun.

Here:

• amca + m → amcam = my uncle
• teyze + m → teyzem = my aunt

This is very common with family words. In fact, using just amca or teyze without a possessive ending can sound less natural when you mean your own relatives.

gelene kadar means until he/she comes or until my uncle comes in this sentence.

As a whole, ...ene kadar is a very common Turkish pattern meaning until.

So:

• Amcam gelene kadar = until my uncle comes

It introduces a time limit for the main action.

Because Turkish does not use the infinitive here.

In this pattern, Turkish uses a form built from the verb plus kadar:

• gelmek = to come
• gelene kadar = until he/she comes

You can think of gelene kadar as a fixed grammar pattern meaning until coming / until someone comes, not as a simple dictionary form of the verb.

For a learner, the most useful thing is to memorize:

• verb + ...ene kadar = until someone does something

Examples:

• Ben gelene kadar = until I come
• Sen gelene kadar = until you come
• Amcam gelene kadar = until my uncle comes

The -e is the dative ending, and kadar often works with a dative form.

A simplified breakdown is:

• gelen = the one who comes / coming
• gelene = roughly to the one who comes
• gelene kadar = an idiomatic structure meaning until he/she comes

You do not need to translate it literally every time. It is better to learn gelene kadar as one useful time expression.

Because masa is the definite direct object of the verb hazırlıyor.

• masa = table
• masayı = the table

In Turkish, definite direct objects usually take the accusative ending.

So:

• teyzem masa hazırlıyor would sound more like my aunt is preparing a table
• teyzem masayı hazırlıyor = my aunt is preparing the table

The buffer consonant -y- appears because the noun ends in a vowel:

• masa + ı → masayı

hazırlıyor is the present continuous form:

• hazırlamak = to prepare
• hazırlıyor = is preparing / prepares

In Turkish, this form is very common and can cover meanings that English may express in different ways depending on context.

Here it most naturally means:

• my aunt is preparing the table

So the sentence describes an ongoing action that continues up to the time when the uncle arrives.

There are two different actions and two different subjects:

1. Amcam gelene kadar

   • subject: amcam = my uncle
   • action: gel- = come

2. teyzem masayı hazırlıyor

   • subject: teyzem = my aunt
   • action: hazırlıyor = is preparing

So:

• my uncle is the one who comes
• my aunt is the one who prepares the table

This is important because in Turkish, subordinate clauses often appear before the main clause.

The sentence has:

• a time clause first: Amcam gelene kadar
• the main clause second: teyzem masayı hazırlıyor

Turkish often puts time expressions and subordinate clauses before the main clause.

Inside the main clause, the order is also very Turkish:

• teyzem = subject
• masayı = object
• hazırlıyor = verb

So the core pattern is basically Subject + Object + Verb.

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, but the neutral version is the one you have here.

For example, Teyzem amcam gelene kadar masayı hazırlıyor is also possible. It still means roughly the same thing.

However, changing the order can shift emphasis. The original sentence sounds natural and straightforward because it introduces the time frame first.

Not exactly.

• gelene kadar = until he comes
• gelmeden önce = before he comes

These are close, but not identical.

gelene kadar focuses on a period that lasts up to the moment of arrival:

• My aunt is preparing the table until my uncle comes

gelmeden önce simply means something happens earlier than his arrival:

• My aunt prepares the table before my uncle comes

In many real situations the English translations may look similar, but the Turkish structures are different.

Turkish has no articles exactly like English a/an and the.

Instead, Turkish often shows definiteness in other ways. In this sentence, definiteness is shown partly by the accusative marking:

• masa = a table / table
• masayı = the table

So even without a separate word for the, Turkish grammar makes the meaning clear.

Here, no. It comes from hazırlamak, which means to prepare something.

So:

• teyzem masayı hazırlıyor = my aunt is preparing the table

If you wanted to get ready about the person themselves, Turkish would usually use a reflexive-style verb such as hazırlanmak:

• Teyzem hazırlanıyor = My aunt is getting ready

So hazırlıyor and hazırlanıyor are different.