Akşam köftenin yanına patates püresi koyacağım.

evening

Breakdown of Akşam köftenin yanına patates püresi koyacağım.

• koymak: to put
• -nin: of
• yanına: next to

Questions & Answers about Akşam köftenin yanına patates püresi koyacağım.

Why does the sentence start with Akşam? Is that the normal way to say in the evening / tonight?

Yes. Akşam can work as a time expression on its own, and Turkish often puts time expressions near the beginning of the sentence.

So Akşam köftenin yanına patates püresi koyacağım is perfectly natural.

A few related options:

• Akşam = in the evening / tonight depending on context
• Bu akşam = this evening / tonight
• Akşamleyin = in the evening (a bit more explicitly time-related)

Turkish does not require a preposition like in here. The time word can simply appear by itself.

Why is it köftenin and not just köfte?

Because of the expression X-in yanına.

Here, yan means side, and yanına means to its side / next to it / alongside it. To say to the side of the meatballs, Turkish uses the genitive form on köfte:

• köfte = meatball
• köftenin = of the meatball / the meatball’s

So:

• köftenin yanına = to the side of the meatball(s)

This is a very common structure in Turkish:

• tavuğun yanına pilav = rice with chicken / rice on the side of the chicken
• balığın yanına salata = salad with fish / salad on the side of the fish

How is köftenin formed?