Yemekten sonra karpuz yeriz, sonra da erik ve şeftaliyi buzdolabına koyarız.

In yemekten sonra, the word sonra means after, and the noun before it usually takes the ablative ending (-den / -dan / -ten / -tan).

So:

• yemek = meal / food / eating
• yemekten = from the meal / after the meal contextually
• yemekten sonra = after the meal

This is a very common pattern in Turkish:

• dersten sonra = after class
• işten sonra = after work
• sinemadan sonra = after the cinema / after the movie

The -ten form appears because of consonant and vowel harmony:

• base: yemek
• ablative: -ten
• yemekten

Yeriz and koyarız are in the aorist form, which often expresses:

• habitual actions
• general routines
• things people usually do

So this sentence sounds like a routine or usual behavior:
We eat watermelon after the meal, and then we put the plums and peaches in the fridge.

Breakdown:

• ye-r-iz = we eat / we usually eat
• koy-ar-ız = we put / we usually put

The -iz / -ız ending shows we.

This is different from:

• yiyoruz = we are eating
• koyuyoruz = we are putting
• yedik = we ate
• koyduk = we put

So the sentence is not describing one action happening right now, but something like a regular habit.

Turkish often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already shows the subject.

Here:

• yeriz = we eat
• koyarız = we put

The ending -iz / -ız tells you the subject is we, so biz is not necessary.

If you added biz, it would usually be for emphasis:

• Biz yemekten sonra karpuz yeriz... = We eat watermelon after the meal...

But in normal speech, it is usually omitted.

This is about the accusative case and definiteness/specificity in Turkish.

• karpuz yeriz = we eat watermelon / we eat some watermelon / watermelon is something we eat
• karpuzu yeriz = we eat the watermelon / that specific watermelon

In Turkish, a bare direct object often has a more general, non-specific, or category-like meaning. Since this sentence sounds like a routine, karpuz works naturally.

Compare:

• Akşamları elma yerim. = I eat apples / I eat apple in the evenings.
• Elmayı yerim. = I eat the apple.

So karpuz yeriz fits the idea of a habitual action better.

This is a very common point of confusion.

The ending -yi is the accusative ending, marking a definite/specific direct object. In coordinated phrases, Turkish often puts the case ending only on the last item, and it applies to the whole phrase.

So:

• erik ve şeftaliyi means the plums and the peaches / plums and peaches as a specific set in context

Even though only şeftaliyi visibly has the ending, the whole phrase is functioning as the definite object.

This is normal Turkish usage. You may also encounter fuller forms in some contexts, but attaching the case to the last item is very standard.

So here:

• erik ve şeftaliyi buzdolabına koyarız = we put the plums and peaches in the fridge

Because it is taking the accusative ending.

• şeftali = peach
• şeftaliyi = the peach / the peaches (as a specific direct object in context)

The accusative ending is -(y)ı / -(y)i / -(y)u / -(y)ü depending on vowel harmony.
When a noun ends in a vowel, Turkish often inserts a buffer y before the ending.

So:

• şeftali + i would be awkward
• Turkish uses şeftali + y + i
• result: şeftaliyi

Other examples:

• arabayı = the car
• masayı = the table
• suyu is a different pattern, but the idea of buffer sounds/case endings is something learners see often

Buzdolabına means into the fridge / to the fridge.

The ending here is the dative case, which often means:

• to
• toward
• into

Because koymak usually takes a destination with the dative:

• masaya koymak = to put on/to the table
• çantaya koymak = to put into the bag
• buzdolabına koymak = to put into the fridge

So:

• buzdolabı = fridge
• buzdolabına = into/to the fridge

The -na shape may look surprising, but buzdolabı is a compound noun, and when case endings are added to this type of word, Turkish uses an n before the case ending:

• buzdolabı
• buzdolabına
• buzdolabını
• buzdolabında

That n is normal in this pattern.

Great question, because sonra appears twice but has two slightly different roles.

1. Yemekten sonra

Here sonra means after and works like a postposition:

• yemekten sonra = after the meal

2. sonra da

Here sonra means then / afterwards:

• sonra da = then also / and then

So in the same sentence:

• first sonra = after
• second sonra = then / afterwards

This is very natural in Turkish.

Here da is the additive particle, meaning something like:

• also
• too
• and

So sonra da gives the sense of:

• and then
• then also
• after that, too

It helps connect the two actions smoothly.

A few important points:

• This da is written separately
• It is different from the locative ending -da / -de, which is attached to nouns

Compare:

• Ben de gelirim. = I come too.
• Evdeyim. = I am at home.

In your sentence, da is the separate particle.

In Turkish, nouns often stay in the singular form when the plural idea is already clear from context.

Fruit and food words especially often behave this way.

So:

• erik can mean plum or plums, depending on context
• şeftali can mean peach or peaches

Here, because the meaning is already understood and the sentence talks about putting these fruits in the fridge, English may translate them naturally as plurals.

Turkish does not always need -ler / -lar where English uses -s.

Compare:

• Elma aldım. = I bought apples / I bought some apples.
• Marketten muz aldık. = We bought bananas from the market.

If the speaker wanted to emphasize plurality more explicitly, they could use plural forms, but it is often unnecessary.

Yes, the word order is very normal for Turkish.

Turkish often puts the verb at the end of the clause. That is one of the most important basic patterns in the language.

So the sentence is structured like this:

• Yemekten sonra = time expression
• karpuz = object
• yeriz = verb

Then:

• sonra da = connector/adverb
• erik ve şeftaliyi = object
• buzdolabına = destination
• koyarız = verb

This end-position verb pattern is one reason Turkish can feel very different from English.

A rough template is often:

Time + object + place/destination + verb

Of course, Turkish word order is flexible for emphasis, but the verb-final structure here is standard.

The dictionary form is yemek = to eat.

But Turkish verb forms often change when endings are added.

Here:

• root: ye-
• aorist form: yer
• 1st person plural: yeriz

So:

• yerim = I eat / I usually eat
• yersin = you eat
• yer = he/she/it eats
• yeriz = we eat

This is just the normal aorist pattern of yemek.

Similarly:

• demek becomes derim, dersin, der
• some very common verbs show stem changes like this

So even though the dictionary form is yemek, the finite form yeriz is completely regular for this verb.

The base form is koymak = to put.

In the aorist:

• koyarım = I put / I usually put
• koyarsın = you put
• koyar = he/she/it puts
• koyarız = we put

So:

• koy- = verb stem
• -ar- = aorist marker
• -ız = we

That gives koyarız.

Yes, something like ve sonra would also be understandable, but sonra da sounds more natural and smoother in many everyday contexts.

Compare the feel:

• ve sonra = and then
• sonra da = then also / and then

Sonra da links the two actions in a very conversational Turkish way. It suggests:

1. first we do one thing
2. then we also do the next thing

So the original version sounds quite natural.

In this sentence, yemek is best understood as meal.

Turkish yemek can mean different but related things depending on context:

• to eat as a verb root in yemek
• food
• a meal

In yemekten sonra, the natural meaning is after the meal or after eating.

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Yes, it could be grammatically correct, but it would mean something a bit different.

• karpuz yeriz = we eat watermelon / we usually eat watermelon
• karpuzu yeriz = we eat the watermelon

The second version sounds more specific, as if there is a particular watermelon already known in the situation.

So the original sentence chooses karpuz because it fits a general routine better.