Dayım armudu kestikten sonra karpuzu da kesecek.

Dayı means maternal uncle — specifically, your mother’s brother.

The ending -ım means my, so:

• dayı = maternal uncle
• dayım = my maternal uncle

This is a possessive ending, and in Turkish it is attached directly to the noun.

A useful cultural/vocabulary note:

• dayı = mother’s brother
• amca = father’s brother

So dayım is not just any uncle; it is a specific kind of uncle.

Those endings are the accusative case, used for a specific definite direct object.

So here:

• armut = a pear / pear
• armudu = the pear
• karpuz = watermelon
• karpuzu = the watermelon

Because the sentence refers to specific things being cut, Turkish uses the accusative.

Compare:

• Armut kesti. = He cut pear / a pear.
  (non-specific or more general)
• Armudu kesti. = He cut the pear.
  (specific pear)

The same logic applies to karpuzu.

This is because of a common sound change in Turkish called consonant softening.

Some words ending in p, ç, t, k change when a vowel-initial suffix is added:

• p → b
• ç → c
• t → d
• k → ğ/g (often)

So:

• armut
  • -u → armudu

The final t becomes d because the suffix begins with a vowel.

By contrast:

• karpuz
  • -u → karpuzu

There is no softening here because z does not change in this way.

Kestikten sonra means after cutting or after he cuts/has cut depending on context.

It is built from:

• kes- = cut
• -tik / -dik = a verbal form used in subordinate clauses
• -ten / -tan = ablative ending (from)
• sonra = after

So:

• kes-tik-ten sonra → kestikten sonra

A very literal way to think of it is something like:

• after the cutting of...
• or more naturally: after cutting / after he cuts

In real English translation, you usually just say after ....

This is a very common learner question.

Even though kestikten sonra contains a form that may look “past-like,” it does not mean the whole sentence is in the past.

The sentence means:

• first, he will cut the pear
• after that, he will also cut the watermelon

So the timeline is still future overall.

In Turkish, -DIkten sonra often means after doing, and its time is understood from the rest of the sentence.

Here the main verb kesecek clearly sets the overall time in the future.

So:

• kestikten sonra ... kesecek
  = after cutting ..., he will cut ...

Kesecek is the future tense of kesmek (to cut).

Breakdown:

• kes- = cut
• -ecek / -acak = future tense

So:

• kesecek = he/she/it will cut

Turkish does not always require a separate word for he/she/it, because the subject is often understood from context. In this sentence, the subject is explicitly given as dayım, so kesecek means:

• my uncle will cut

Here da means also / too.

So:

• karpuzu da kesecek = he will cut the watermelon too / also

It adds the idea that the watermelon is an additional thing being cut.

This makes sense because the sentence already mentioned armudu first. So the idea is:

• first the pear
• then the watermelon as well

Important: this da is a separate word, not the locative suffix -da/-de meaning in/on/at.

Compare:

• evde = in the house
  (suffix)
• ben de = me too
  (separate word)

In Turkish, da usually comes right after the word it emphasizes.

So:

• karpuzu da = the watermelon too

The emphasis is specifically on karpuzu as the additional object.

If you changed placement, the emphasis could change too.

For example:

• Dayım da ... = My uncle too ...
• kesecek de ... would be a different structure and meaning

So in this sentence, da follows karpuzu because the extra item is the watermelon.

Turkish normally prefers Subject – Object – Verb order, while English usually uses Subject – Verb – Object.

So this sentence is structured roughly like:

• Dayım = my uncle
• armudu kestikten sonra = after cutting the pear
• karpuzu da = the watermelon too
• kesecek = will cut

The verb usually comes at the end in Turkish.

Also, time-related or subordinate parts like kestikten sonra often come before the main verb.

So the Turkish order is perfectly normal.

Yes, in this sentence the natural reading is that dayım is the subject of both actions:

• he cuts the pear
• then he cuts the watermelon too

So the understood meaning is:

• My uncle, after cutting the pear, will also cut the watermelon.

Turkish often avoids repeating the subject if it stays the same.

Yes, that is a good natural English translation.

A more literal breakdown would be:

• Dayım = my uncle
• armudu kestikten sonra = after cutting the pear
• karpuzu da = the watermelon too
• kesecek = will cut

Natural English versions include:

• After cutting the pear, my uncle will also cut the watermelon.
• My uncle will also cut the watermelon after cutting the pear.

Both capture the Turkish well.

Yes. This is a very common Turkish pattern.

Structure:

• verb stem + -DIkten sonra = after doing ...

Examples:

• Yemek yedikten sonra = after eating
• Eve geldikten sonra = after coming home
• İşi bitirdikten sonra = after finishing the work

So kestikten sonra is one example of a very useful pattern you will see often in Turkish.