Ben kahveye biraz tarçın koymadan edemiyorum.

I can't help putting a little cinnamon in my coffee.

Breakdown of Ben kahveye biraz tarçın koymadan edemiyorum.

• ben: I
• biraz: a little
• kahve: the coffee
• tarçın: the cinnamon

Questions & Answers about Ben kahveye biraz tarçın koymadan edemiyorum.

Why is ben included? Doesn’t edemiyorum already mean I can’t?

Yes. Turkish verbs usually show the subject, so edemiyorum already means I can’t.

That means ben is optional here. It is often added for:

• emphasis
• contrast
• a more personal tone

So both of these are possible:

• Ben kahveye biraz tarçın koymadan edemiyorum.
• Kahveye biraz tarçın koymadan edemiyorum.

The version with ben can sound a bit like as for me... or I personally....

Why is it kahveye and not kahveyi or just kahve?

Kahveye is the dative form of kahve, using -e / -a.

Here, the coffee is the target/destination of the action:

• tarçın koymak = to put cinnamon
• kahveye koymak = to put it into the coffee

So the sentence structure is basically:

• [thing being added]: biraz tarçın
• [where it is added]: kahveye

Compare:

• Şorbaya tuz koydum. = I put salt in the soup.
• Çaya şeker koyuyor. = He/She puts sugar in the tea.

So kahveye means something like into the coffee / in coffee.

What does biraz do here?