Öğretmen konuşurken herkes susuyor.

Konuşurken means while speaking or while someone is speaking.

It comes from the verb konuşmak meaning to speak plus -ken, which gives the sense while / when. Historically, it is related to konuşur + ken, but for learning purposes, it is easiest to recognize -ken as the key part meaning while.

So:

öğretmen konuşurken = while the teacher is speaking

Because öğretmen is the subject of that clause.

In Turkish, the -ken form usually does not show person by itself in this kind of structure. The noun or pronoun before it tells you who is doing the action.

For example:

ben konuşurken = while I am speaking
öğretmen konuşurken = while the teacher is speaking

So here, öğretmen is the one doing konuşmak.

Turkish does not have articles like English the and a/an.

A bare noun such as öğretmen can mean:

• the teacher
• a teacher
• sometimes just teacher in a general sense

The exact meaning comes from context. In this sentence, English will usually translate it as the teacher.

Because both are subjects in their own clauses, and the subject form in Turkish is the nominative, which usually has no ending.

In this sentence:

• öğretmen is the subject of konuşurken
• herkes is the subject of susuyor

So both appear in their basic dictionary form.

Herkes means everyone / everybody, and grammatically it takes a singular verb in Turkish.

So:

herkes susuyor = everyone is being quiet / everyone goes quiet

Even though herkes refers to many people, the verb stays in third person singular.

It comes from susmak, which means to become quiet, to stop talking, or to keep silent.

In this sentence, susuyor does not mean that everyone is literally unable to speak. It means that everyone falls silent or keeps quiet when the teacher is speaking.

So the sense is something like:

• everyone goes quiet
• everyone keeps quiet
• everyone falls silent

Susuyor uses the -yor form, which often describes an action happening now, around now, or as part of a current scene. It can also sound natural for repeated situations like this one.

So öğretmen konuşurken herkes susuyor gives the feeling:

• when the teacher is speaking, everyone goes quiet
• while the teacher is talking, everyone is quiet

If you said susar, that would sound more like a general rule or habitual truth:

Öğretmen konuşurken herkes susar.
= Whenever the teacher speaks, everyone goes quiet.

That version is also possible, but susuyor sounds more immediate and scene-based.

Because the Turkish present continuous suffix changes according to vowel harmony:

• -ıyor
• -iyor
• -uyor
• -üyor

The verb is susmak, and the last vowel of the stem sus- is u, so the correct form is -uyor:

sus- + -uyor = susuyor

This is the same pattern you see in many Turkish verbs.

The given order is very natural, but Turkish word order is somewhat flexible.

The sentence is arranged like this:

Öğretmen konuşurken + herkes susuyor
= While the teacher is speaking, everyone goes quiet

This is a common pattern: the time/condition clause comes first, and the main clause comes after it.

You could also hear something like:

Herkes öğretmen konuşurken susuyor.

But the original version sounds more neutral and natural.

Yes, you could, but the nuance changes a little.

konuşurken emphasizes while/as the teacher is speaking. It focuses on the action in progress.

konuştuğunda means more like when the teacher speaks / when the teacher spoke, depending on context. It points more to the time or occasion.

So:

Öğretmen konuşurken herkes susuyor.
= While the teacher is speaking, everyone goes quiet.

Öğretmen konuştuğunda herkes susuyor.
= When the teacher speaks, everyone goes quiet.

Both can work, but -ken is the best match for while.