Dün nohutu ıslattım, bugün de mercimeği ayıklıyorum.

Because they are marked as definite direct objects.

In Turkish, a direct object often takes the accusative suffix when it refers to a specific, identifiable thing. Here:

• nohut → nohutu
• mercimek → mercimeği

This is similar to the difference between:

• I soaked chickpeas = more general
• I soaked the chickpeas / those chickpeas = specific

So in this sentence, the speaker is probably talking about a particular batch of chickpeas and lentils.

This is because some Turkish nouns change their final consonant when a vowel-initial suffix is added.

• mercimek

  • accusative suffix → mercimeği
    The final k softens to ğ before the vowel.

• nohut

  • accusative suffix → nohutu
    Here, the t stays t.

So the two words behave differently. This is normal in Turkish: some words undergo consonant softening, and some do not.

A learner often just has to get used to these patterns word by word.

Here de means also / too / as well.

So bugün de means something like:

• today too
• and today
• today as well

It connects the two actions:

• yesterday I did one preparation step
• today I’m doing another one too

Because this de is the separate word meaning also/too.

That is different from the suffix -de / -da meaning in / at / on, which is written attached to the word.

Compare:

• bugün de = today too → separate
• evde = at home → attached

This is a very common spelling point in Turkish.

The sentence talks about two different times:

• Dün = yesterday
• bugün = today

So the verbs match those time references:

• ıslattım = I soaked → completed action in the past
• ayıklıyorum = I am sorting/picking through → action happening now / today

This is very natural in Turkish. The tense follows the time word and the intended meaning.

Because the verb endings already show the subject.

• ıslattım = I soaked
• ayıklıyorum = I am sorting

The endings -ım / -im / -um / -üm or other person endings usually make the subject clear, so Turkish often leaves pronouns out.

You would add ben only if you wanted extra emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

Because Turkish normally uses Subject–Object–Verb word order.

So instead of English-style:

• I soaked the chickpeas

Turkish typically puts the verb at the end:

• (I) the chickpeas soaked
• (Ben) nohutu ıslattım

In this sentence, both clauses follow that pattern:

• Dün nohutu ıslattım
• bugün de mercimeği ayıklıyorum

Also, time words like dün and bugün often come near the beginning of the clause.

Yes, you could, but the nuance changes.

Without the accusative:

• nohut ıslattım
• mercimek ayıklıyorum

the objects sound more indefinite or non-specific, like talking about the activity in general or about some amount of that food.

With the accusative:

• nohutu
• mercimeği

the objects sound more specific: a particular batch, the chickpeas/lentils already known in the context.

English does not mark this distinction as clearly, but Turkish often does.

It comes from the verb ayıklamak.

The form is:

• ayıkla- = verb stem
• -(I)yor = present continuous
• -um = first person singular

So:

• ayıkla-
• → ayıklıyor
• → ayıklıyorum

A useful thing to notice: when a verb stem ends in -a or -e, that vowel often drops before -yor.

So it is:

• ayıkla + yor → ayıklıyor
• not ayıklayor

Then the personal ending is added:

• ayıklıyorum = I am sorting / picking through

Because the verb is ıslatmak, whose stem is ıslat-.

The past tense suffix is basically -DI, but after a voiceless consonant like t, it becomes -TI.

So:

• ıslat-
  • -tı
    • -m
• → ıslattım

The double t is just the end of the stem plus the beginning of the suffix.

In Turkish, words for foods, ingredients, and substances are often used in the singular even when English might think of them as plural or as a quantity.

So:

• nohut
• mercimek

can refer to the ingredient in general, or to a batch/amount of it.

Turkish does not need the plural here unless you really want to emphasize multiple separate sets or kinds. In ordinary cooking context, the singular is the normal choice.

Not exactly in every context. In food preparation, ayıklamak often means:

• picking through
• sorting out
• removing bad bits, stones, stems, or impurities
• cleaning by selection

So with lentils, it often suggests the careful action of checking them and removing anything unwanted, not just mechanically sorting them.

That is why it is a very natural cooking verb here.

The comma separates two closely related clauses:

• Dün nohutu ıslattım
• bugün de mercimeği ayıklıyorum

Both clauses have the same subject, so Turkish can simply place them side by side. The comma helps show the pause and the shift from yesterday to today.

In speech, it would sound like one connected thought: first one preparation step, then the next.