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Time Expressions

A2

Adverbs

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Time expressions mark temporal reference and locate events relative to the speech moment or another event. Turkish uses lexical adverbs, case-marked nouns, and postpositional structures to express temporal relations.


1. Simple Temporal Adverbs

Lexical adverbs express temporal reference without inflection.


Examples:

  • bugün (today)

  • yarın (tomorrow)

  • dün (yesterday)

  • şimdi (now)

  • az önce (a moment ago)

  • birazdan (soon)


Examples in sentences:


  • Bugün geliyorum. (I am coming today.)

  • Yarın görüşürüz. (We will meet tomorrow.)

  • Az önce aradım. (I called a moment ago.)


2. Time Nouns with Case Marking


2.1. Locative (-DA)

Marks habitual or ongoing time frames.


Examples:

  • Sabahları çalışırım. (I work in the mornings.)

  • Akşamları yürürüz. (We walk in the evenings.)

  • Kışın erken hava kararır. (In winter it gets dark early.)


2.2. Ablative (-DAn)

Marks temporal origin or starting point.


Examples:

  • Dünden beri buradayım. (I have been here since yesterday.)

  • Sabahtan sonra çıkarım. (I leave after the morning.)


2.3. Dative (-(y)A)

Marks temporal goal or endpoint.


Examples:

  • Yaza kadar bekleriz. (We wait until summer.)

  • Geceye doğru yola çıkarlar. (They set off toward the night.)


3. Postpositional Time Expressions


3.1. önce (before) — takes ablative

Pattern: Noun + -DAn + önce


Examples:

  • Yemekten önce buluştuk. (We met before the meal.)

  • Senden önce geldim. (I arrived before you.)


3.2. sonra (after) — takes ablative

Pattern: Noun + -DAn + sonra


Examples:

  • Dersten sonra çıkıyorum. (I leave after class.)

  • İşten sonra görüşelim. (Let’s meet after work.)


3.3. beri (since) — takes ablative


Examples:

  • Dünden beri yağmur yağıyor. (It has been raining since yesterday.)

  • Sabahtan beri buradayız. (We have been here since morning.)


3.4. kadar (until) — takes nominative or dative

Both forms are standard in temporal reference.


Patterns:

  • Noun (Nominative) + kadar

  • Noun + -(y)A + kadar


Examples:

  • Akşama kadar bekledik. (We waited until evening.)

  • Yaza kadar buradayız. (We are here until summer.)

  • Geceye kadar çalıştım. (I worked until the night.)


4. Duration Expressions


4.1. Bare Duration Nouns

Examples:

  • iki saat bekledik (we waited two hours)

  • bir yıl çalıştı (he/she worked one year)


4.2. Accusative Duration

Marks the length of the event.


Examples:

  • Beni bir saat bekledi. (He/she waited for me for an hour.)

  • Üç gün kaldı. (He/she stayed three days.)


4.3. boyunca (throughout)

Examples:

  • Gece boyunca çalıştım. (I worked throughout the night.)

  • Yıl boyunca devam etti. (It continued throughout the year.)


5. Frequency + Time Expressions

Frequency adverbs combine with time nouns to mark recurrent time reference.


Examples:

  • Her gün çalışıyorum. (I work every day.)

  • Her hafta toplantı var. (There is a meeting every week.)


6. Time Ordering

Examples:

  • Önce konuştuk. (First we spoke.)

  • Sonra ayrıldık. (Then we left.)

  • En sonunda karar verdik. (Finally we decided.)

Examples

  • Bugün geliyorum. (I am coming today.)

  • Dünden beri bekliyorum. (I have been waiting since yesterday.)

  • Yaza kadar buradayız. (We are here until summer.)

  • Akşama kadar kaldım. (I stayed until evening.)

  • Dersten sonra görüşelim. (Let’s meet after class.)

  • Sabahtan beri buradayız. (We have been here since morning.)

  • İki saat bekledik. (We waited two hours.)

  • Birazdan başlıyor. (It starts soon.)

Notes

  • Postpositions önce, sonra, beri require ablative marking.

  • kadar may combine with nominative or dative time nouns.

  • Duration may be expressed with bare or accusative-marked nouns.

Time Expressions – FAQ (A2)


Q: How are simple time words like bugün, yarın, and dün used in Turkish?
A: These words are lexical adverbs and do not take any suffixes. They directly indicate time and can appear freely in the sentence without inflection.


Q: Which case suffixes are commonly used with time expressions in Turkish?
A: Time nouns can take different case suffixes: locative -DA for habitual time, ablative -DAn for a starting point in time, and dative -(y)A for an endpoint or direction in time.


Q: Which postpositions are used to express time relations like “before,” “after,” and “since”?
A: The postpositions önce, sonra, and beri are used with time nouns and require the ablative suffix -DAn.

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