Ben kahvaltıda tahin ve pekmez yemeden edemiyorum.

I can’t help eating tahini and molasses at breakfast.

Breakdown of Ben kahvaltıda tahin ve pekmez yemeden edemiyorum.

• ben: I
• ve: and
• kahvaltı: the breakfast
• -da: at

Questions & Answers about Ben kahvaltıda tahin ve pekmez yemeden edemiyorum.

Why is Ben included? Isn’t it optional in Turkish?

Yes. Ben is optional here because edemiyorum already tells you the subject is I.

• edemiyorum = I can’t / I’m unable
• So Ben kahvaltıda... and Kahvaltıda... can both work.

When ben is included, it often adds emphasis, like:

• As for me, I can’t help eating it
• I can’t resist it

So the sentence is perfectly natural with or without ben.

What does kahvaltıda mean exactly?

Kahvaltıda comes from:

• kahvaltı = breakfast
• -da = the locative ending, meaning in / at / during

So kahvaltıda means:

• at breakfast
• during breakfast
• sometimes naturally for breakfast, depending on context

In this sentence, English would usually say for breakfast or at breakfast.

Why is it -da in kahvaltıda, not -de, -ta, or -te?