Teyzem gelmeden kahvaltıya başlamıyoruz.

Teyzem means my aunt.

It is made of:

• teyze = aunt
• -m = my

So Turkish often does not use a separate word for my the way English does. Instead, possession is added directly to the noun with a suffix.

Other examples:

• annem = my mother
• evim = my house
• arkadaşım = my friend

So teyzem is literally aunt-my.

Because Turkish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already shows the person.

In başlamıyoruz, the ending -yoruz plus the person marking tells you the subject is we.

So:

• başlamıyorum = I am not starting / I do not start
• başlamıyorsun = you are not starting
• başlamıyoruz = we are not starting

Since the verb already makes the subject clear, Turkish usually does not need biz.

Gelmeden means before coming or without coming, depending on context.

Here it means:

• before my aunt comes
• more literally: without my aunt having come

It is formed from:

• gel- = come
• -me- = negation
• -den = a suffix that helps create the meaning without doing / before doing

So gelmeden is a common Turkish structure meaning without coming or before coming.

In this sentence, the natural English meaning is:

• We don’t start breakfast before my aunt comes.

This is a very common learner question.

In Turkish, -madan / -meden is a fixed verbal form that often means:

• without doing
• before doing

So even though -me- is the normal negative marker, in this structure the whole form has a special meaning.

Examples:

• yemeden = without eating / before eating
• gitmeden = without going / before going
• konuşmadan = without speaking / before speaking

So gelmeden does not simply mean she does not come.
It means without coming or before coming.

Because the verb başlamak normally takes the dative case.

So in Turkish you start something with the noun in -a / -e:

• derse başlamak = to start the lesson
• işe başlamak = to start work
• kahvaltıya başlamak = to start breakfast

Here:

• kahvaltı = breakfast
• -ya = dative ending

So kahvaltıya başlamak means to start breakfast.

The y appears as a buffer consonant because the noun ends in a vowel:

• kahvaltı + a would be awkward
• Turkish inserts y: kahvaltıya

Başlamıyoruz can be broken down like this:

• başla- = start
• -mı- / -mi- = negative marker
• -yor = present continuous / general present-in-context form
• -uz = we

So:

• başla- → start
• başlamıyor- → is not starting / does not start
• başlamıyoruz → we are not starting / we do not start

Because of sound harmony, the negative vowel appears here as -mı-, giving başlamıyoruz.

Grammatically, -yor is the Turkish present continuous suffix. But in real usage, it can often sound natural in English as either:

• we are not starting or
• we don’t start

In this sentence, English usually translates it more naturally as:

• We don’t start breakfast before my aunt comes.

That sounds like a rule, habit, or usual practice.

So although the Turkish verb contains the -yor form, the best English translation depends on context.

Because Turkish normally puts the main verb at the end.

The sentence order is:

• Teyzem gelmeden = before my aunt comes
• kahvaltıya = to breakfast
• başlamıyoruz = we do not start

So Turkish often follows a pattern like:

time/condition + object/complement + verb

This is very normal in Turkish, even if it feels different from English.

Yes. Structurally, it can.

But context decides the most natural English translation.

In this sentence:

• Teyzem gelmeden kahvaltıya başlamıyoruz

the most natural meaning is:

• We don’t start breakfast before my aunt comes.

That is better than a very literal English version like:

• We don’t start breakfast without my aunt coming.

Both point to a similar idea, but before my aunt comes is the idiomatic translation here.

Because teyzem is the subject of the subordinate action coming.

So the structure is simply:

• teyzem = my aunt
• gelmeden = before coming / before she comes

Turkish does not need a special subject ending on teyzem here.

You can think of it as:

• [my aunt] [before coming]

The subject is understood directly from the noun.

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly.

For example:

• Teyzem gelince kahvaltıya başlıyoruz. = When my aunt comes, we start breakfast.

This version focuses on the moment she comes.

But:

• Teyzem gelmeden kahvaltıya başlamıyoruz. = We do not start breakfast before my aunt comes.

This version focuses on not doing it earlier.

So the two are similar, but not identical:

• gelince = when she comes
• gelmeden = before she comes / without her coming

Yes, several:

1. teyze + m → teyzem
   The possessive suffix becomes -m after a vowel.

2. gel + me + den → gelmeden
   The vowel is e because of vowel harmony.

3. kahvaltı + a → kahvaltıya
   Turkish inserts y between two vowels.

4. başla + mı + yor + uz → başlamıyoruz
   The exact vowel in the suffixes changes according to vowel harmony.

These changes are very normal in Turkish and help words flow more smoothly.