Breakdown of Ben şut çektim mi sıçrarlar.
ben
I
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
çekmek
to pull (collocation: fön çekmek = to blow-dry)
şut
shot
Questions & Answers about Ben şut çektim mi sıçrarlar.
How does çektim mi translate to "as soon as I take"?
This is the structure your current lesson is focusing on: placing the question particle mi right after a verb in the definite past tense (-DI). Although it looks like a question ("Did I take a shot?"), this specific combination creates an expression of immediate consequence, meaning "as soon as" or "the moment that."
Why is the first verb in the past tense (çektim) if the sentence is talking about a general present-tense habit?
In the -DI mI structure, the first verb must always take the past tense, regardless of when the event actually happens. The real time frame of the sentence is set by the main verb at the end. Because the main verb sıçrarlar is in the aorist (broad present) tense, we know this is a general, recurring event: "Whenever/As soon as I take a shot, they leap."
Why use the verb çekmek (to pull) here?
In Turkish sports terminology, the standard collocation for "taking a shot" or "shooting" (like in soccer) is şut çekmek. It is a fixed phrase, much like how English speakers say they "take" a shot rather than "make" or "do" one.
If çektim already means "I took", why is the pronoun Ben used at the beginning?
While the personal ending -m in çektim is enough to show who is acting, adding the explicit pronoun Ben provides emphasis or contrast. It gives the nuance of "As soon as I (specifically me, perhaps unlike other players) take a shot, they leap."