Arkadaşım da tereddüt etti, ama sonunda tiyatroya gelmeye karar verdi.

Arkadaşım means my friend.

It is made of:

• arkadaş = friend
• -ım = my

So Turkish often expresses possession directly on the noun, instead of using a separate word like my before it.

A few examples:

• arkadaş = friend
• arkadaşım = my friend
• arkadaşın = your friend
• arkadaşı = his/her friend

In this sentence, Arkadaşım is the subject: My friend.

Here, da means too / also.

So Arkadaşım da... means:

• My friend also...
• or My friend, too,...

It adds your friend to a group of people already being discussed. For example, maybe someone else hesitated, and your friend did too.

Important: this da is a separate word, not the location ending -da/-de.

Compare:

• Arkadaşım da geldi. = My friend came too.
• Arkadaşım okulda. = My friend is at school.

Because this da is the clitic meaning too / also, and it is always written separately.

So:

• Ben de = me too
• O da = he/she too
• Arkadaşım da = my friend too

But the locative ending -da/-de is attached to the word:

• evde = at home
• okulda = at school
• tiyatroda = at the theater

This is a very common thing learners need to watch for.

Tereddüt etti is a very common Turkish structure: a noun plus etmek to make a verb-like expression.

• tereddüt = hesitation / doubt
• etmek = to do / make

Together, tereddüt etmek means to hesitate.

In the past tense:

• tereddüt etti = hesitated

Turkish uses many expressions like this:

• yardım etmek = to help
• telefon etmek = to phone
• karar vermek = to decide

So even though English often uses one verb, Turkish may use a noun + helper verb.

This is because of a sound change in Turkish.

The past tense suffix is basically -di / -dı / -du / -dü or -ti / -tı / -tu / -tü, depending on sound harmony and consonant voicing.

With etmek, the stem ends in t, which is voiceless, so the suffix becomes -ti rather than -di:

• et-ti = did

So:

• tereddüt etti = hesitated

This kind of alternation is very common in Turkish past tense forms.

• ama = but
• sonunda = in the end / finally / eventually

Together they create a contrast:

• first, your friend hesitated
• but in the end, your friend decided to come to the theater

So the sentence structure is something like:

• My friend also hesitated, but in the end...

Sonunda often signals the final outcome after delay, uncertainty, or difficulty.

Because gelmek normally goes with the dative case when it means come to a place.

• tiyatro = theater
• tiyatroya = to the theater

The ending here is the dative suffix:

• -a / -e

Because tiyatro ends in a vowel, Turkish adds a buffer consonant y before the suffix:

• tiyatro + ya = tiyatroya

Compare:

• eve gelmek = to come home / come to the house
• okula gelmek = to come to school
• tiyatroya gelmek = to come to the theater

Because karar vermek takes the action in a special form: the verbal noun with the dative ending.

So:

• gelmek = to come
• gelme = coming
• gelmeye = to coming / for coming

In natural English, we translate gelmeye karar verdi simply as decided to come.

This pattern is very important:

• gitmeye karar verdim = I decided to go
• başlamaya karar verdi = he/she decided to start
• konuşmaya karar verdik = we decided to speak

So after karar vermek, Turkish does verb stem + -me/-ma + dative.

No. Here -me is not the negative suffix. It is the verbal noun suffix.

That is a very common point of confusion.

Here is the difference:

• gelmek = to come
• gelme = coming
• gelmeye karar verdi = decided to come

But:

• gelmedi = did not come
• gelmemeye karar verdi = decided not to come

So in gelmeye karar verdi, the meaning is positive, not negative.

Literally, it means something like gave a decision.

• karar = decision
• verdi = gave

But together karar vermek is the normal Turkish expression for to decide.

So:

• gelmeye karar verdi = he/she decided to come

This is another very common Turkish noun + verb expression, similar to tereddüt etmek.

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

In this sentence, the subject is already stated as Arkadaşım = my friend, so there is no need to add a separate pronoun.

Also, Turkish verbs do not mark gender, so verdi can mean:

• he decided
• she decided
• it decided

The context tells you which one is meant.

Here, because the subject is Arkadaşım, English may translate it as my friend ... decided without needing he/she either.

Because Turkish usually places the main verb at or near the end of the clause.

So this sentence follows a very typical Turkish pattern:

• Arkadaşım da tereddüt etti
• ama sonunda tiyatroya gelmeye karar verdi

The important final action, karar verdi, comes at the end.

This verb-final order is one of the biggest differences from English. As you read more Turkish, this will start to feel natural.

Yes. Even if the basic meaning stays the same, English can phrase it in several natural ways:

• My friend also hesitated, but in the end decided to come to the theater.
• My friend hesitated too, but eventually decided to come to the theater.
• My friend was also hesitant, but in the end decided to come to the theater.

The Turkish structure stays the same, but English has a few stylistic options, especially for tereddüt etti and sonunda.