Hesap makinesi olmadan bu soruyu çözemem; üstelik tükenmez kalemim de bitti.

Hesap makinesi is a standard Turkish noun compound meaning calculator.

• hesap = calculation/account
• makine = machine
• makinesi = the normal compound form here

In Turkish, compounds like this often put a possessive-looking ending on the second noun. So hesap makinesi does not mean his/her calculation machine here; it is simply the normal way to say calculator.

Yes, in this sentence olmadan works like without.

It comes from olmak = to be / to become, plus -madan/-meden, which means without doing. With nouns, X olmadan often means without X, without having X, or without using X.

So hesap makinesi olmadan means without a calculator.

A learner may also see -siz/-sız/-süz/-suz, which also means without, but X olmadan is very natural when you mean without having/using X in order to do something.

Çözemem means I can’t solve or I won’t be able to solve.

It is built from:

• çöz- = solve
• the negative inability pattern -eme/-ama
• -m = I

So:

• çözebilirim = I can solve
• çözemem = I can’t solve

This is a very common Turkish pattern. English speakers often expect something longer, but Turkish often uses this compact form.

Because bu soruyu is the definite direct object of the verb çözemem.

In Turkish, specific/directly identified objects usually take the accusative ending. Here the question is specific: this question.

• bu soru = this question
• bu soruyu = this question (as the object)

The -yu appears because:

• the accusative ending is -(y)i / -(y)ı / -(y)u / -(y)ü
• soru ends in a vowel, so Turkish adds a buffer y

So: soru + yu = soruyu.

Because Turkish usually drops subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows the subject.

In çözemem, the final -m already tells you the subject is I. So ben is unnecessary unless you want extra emphasis or contrast.

For example:

• Bu soruyu çözemem. = I can’t solve this question.
• Ben bu soruyu çözemem. = I can’t solve this question. (more emphasis)

Yes, but the nuance changes a little.

• çözemem = I can’t solve it / I won’t be able to solve it
• çözemiyorum = I’m not able to solve it / I can’t solve it right now

In this sentence, çözemem sounds like a firm statement of inability: Without a calculator, I can’t solve this question.

Çözemiyorum would sound more immediate and ongoing, as if you are currently trying and failing.

Üstelik means something like:

• moreover
• besides
• on top of that
• to make matters worse

It adds another piece of information that strengthens the situation. Here it means something like: And to make matters worse, my pen also ran out.

It is a very useful linking word in Turkish.

Because this de means also / too, and that word is written separately in Turkish.

So:

• kalemim de bitti = my pen also ran out

This is different from the locative ending -de/-da meaning in / on / at, which is written attached:

• evde = at home
• masada = on the table

A very common learner mistake is writing them the same way, but Turkish spelling keeps them separate when de means also.

Because this separate de/da follows vowel harmony.

The last vowel in kalemim is i, which is a front vowel, so the correct form is de.

Compare:

• kalemim de = my pen too
• arabam da = my car too

So the choice between de and da depends on the previous word’s last vowel.

-im is the first person singular possessive suffix, meaning my.

• kalem = pen
• kalemim = my pen

So tükenmez kalemim means my ballpoint pen.

Turkish usually shows possession with suffixes like this instead of a separate word like my.

Literally, tükenmez kalem means something like pen that does not run out.

• tükenmek = to be used up, to run out
• tükenmez = does not run out

But as a fixed expression, tükenmez kalem simply means ballpoint pen.

So this is one of those expressions where the literal meaning is interesting, but the real meaning is just the standard name of the object.

Because bitmek means to finish, to end, or to be used up.

Turkish uses bitmek in many situations where English says run out:

• Param bitti. = I ran out of money.
• Şarjım bitti. = My battery died / I ran out of charge.
• Kalemim bitti. = My pen ran out / my pen stopped writing.

So here it means the ink is finished, not that the pen physically disappeared.

Because Turkish often uses the simple past to describe a completed change that has a result in the present.

So kalemim bitti literally means my pen finished/ran out, but the important idea is that now it is empty or unusable.

English might say:

• My pen ran out
• My pen has run out
• My pen died

Turkish bitti covers this very naturally.

The sentence follows very normal Turkish word order, with the verb at the end of each clause.

• Hesap makinesi olmadan = without a calculator
• bu soruyu = this question
• çözemem = I can’t solve

Then:

• üstelik = moreover
• tükenmez kalemim de = my ballpoint pen too
• bitti = ran out

Turkish word order is flexible, but changing it changes emphasis. This version sounds natural and clear, especially because it presents the problem first and then adds the extra problem at the end.