Halam patlıcanları fırına vermeden önce biraz salça sürdü.

Because hala means paternal aunt (your father’s sister), and the -m at the end means my.

• hala = aunt (father’s sister)
• halam = my aunt

This is very common with family words in Turkish:

• annem = my mother
• babam = my father
• teyzem = my aunt (mother’s sister)
• halam = my aunt (father’s sister)

So Turkish often uses a possessive ending where English uses a separate word like my.

No. Turkish is more specific than English here.

• hala = your father’s sister
• teyze = your mother’s sister

English uses aunt for both, but Turkish distinguishes them.

So halam specifically means my father’s sister.

Here patlıcanları is the definite direct object: the eggplants.

Breakdown:

• patlıcan = eggplant / aubergine
• patlıcanlar = eggplants
• patlıcanları = the eggplants (plural + accusative)

The -ı / -i / -u / -ü accusative ending appears when the object is specific/definite.

So:

• Patlıcan kesti. = She cut eggplant / some eggplant.
• Patlıcanı kesti. = She cut the eggplant.
• Patlıcanları kesti. = She cut the eggplants.

Yes, in isolation it can be ambiguous.

patlıcanları can mean:

1. the eggplants (plural accusative), or
2. his/her/their eggplants (3rd person possessive, sometimes also as an object depending on context)

In this sentence, the most natural reading is the eggplants, because that fits the action clearly: your aunt spread some paste on the eggplants before putting them in the oven.

Turkish often relies on context to resolve this kind of ambiguity.

Because fırına uses the dative case, which often means to / into.

• fırın = oven
• fırına = to the oven / into the oven

The phrase fırına vermek means something like to put into the oven or to send to the oven.

So:

• fırın = oven
• fırına = into the oven

Yes, vermek basically means to give, but in some expressions it has a broader meaning.

In fırına vermek, it idiomatically means:

• to put into the oven
• to place in the oven for cooking

So although the basic meaning of vermek is to give, Turkish often uses it in set phrases where the English translation changes.

A more literal alternative would be:

• fırına koymak = to put in the oven

But fırına vermek is a very natural expression.

This is a very common point of confusion.

The ending -meden / -madan is used in adverbial clauses and often means:

• without doing
• before doing (when used with önce)

So:

• vermeden = without giving / before giving
• vermeden önce = before giving / before putting in

In this sentence, fırına vermeden önce means:

• before putting them in the oven

So although it contains the form that looks negative, the whole expression -meden önce is a standard way to say before doing something.

Yes:

• ver- = give / put
• -meden = without doing, before doing
• önce = before

Together:

• vermeden önce = before giving / before putting

In natural English here:

• before putting them in the oven

Here sürdü comes from sürmek, and it means spread or applied.

So biraz salça sürdü means:

• she spread some paste
• she applied some tomato/pepper paste

This is one of several meanings of sürmek. Depending on context, sürmek can also mean things like:

• to drive
• to last
• to spread/apply

In this sentence, the spread/apply meaning is the correct one.

Sürdü is simple past tense, third person singular.

Breakdown:

• sür- = spread/apply
• -dü = past tense ending

So sürdü means:

• he/she/it spread
• in this sentence: she spread

Turkish usually does not need a separate word for she, because the verb form and context are enough.

Because Turkish often leaves out subject pronouns when they are understood from context.

The subject here is Halam = my aunt, so there is no need to add o (he/she/it).

Turkish does this very often:

• Geldi. = He/She came.
• Annem geldi. = My mother came.
• Halam sürdü. = My aunt spread it.

Once the subject is stated, an extra pronoun is usually unnecessary.

biraz means:

• a little
• some

salça is a thick tomato or pepper paste commonly used in Turkish cooking.

So biraz salça means:

• a little paste
• some paste

In many translations, this may become some tomato paste or some pepper paste, depending on context. In everyday Turkish, salça often refers to either kind if the exact type is not important.

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

Instead, Turkish shows definiteness and specificity through other means, such as:

• word order
• context
• case endings, especially the accusative

For example:

• patlıcan = eggplant / an eggplant / the eggplant, depending on context
• patlıcanları = the eggplants (here, because of the accusative form)

And biraz already gives the idea of some/a little in biraz salça.

Because they play different roles in the sentence.

• patlıcanları is the direct object of the action sürdü, and it is specific: the eggplants
• salça is the material being spread, and after biraz it appears without an extra ending here

So the structure is roughly:

• [subject] Halam
• [object] patlıcanları
• [place/direction phrase] fırına vermeden önce
• [quantity + substance] biraz salça
• [verb] sürdü

Turkish does not always mark every noun in the same way; the marking depends on grammar and meaning.

Turkish word order is flexible, although the neutral order usually puts the verb at the end.

This sentence is naturally:

• Halam patlıcanları fırına vermeden önce biraz salça sürdü.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• Halam biraz salça sürdü patlıcanları fırına vermeden önce.
• Patlıcanları halam fırına vermeden önce biraz salça sürdü.

These may sound more marked or emphasize different parts. The original sentence is a very natural neutral version.

Yes. You could say:

• Halam patlıcanları fırına koymadan önce biraz salça sürdü.

This would also mean My aunt spread some paste on the eggplants before putting them in the oven.

The difference is mostly stylistic:

• fırına koymak = to put in the oven
• fırına vermek = to put/send to the oven, a common idiomatic cooking expression

Both are natural, but fırına vermek is especially common in cooking contexts.

Very often, yes.

A common pattern in Turkish is:

• verb + -meden/-madan önce = before doing

Examples:

• gitmeden önce = before going
• yemeden önce = before eating
• çıkmadan önce = before leaving
• vermeden önce = before giving / before putting in

So this is a very useful structure to learn as a chunk.