Time Expressions & Adverbs in Turkish
Time Expressions and Adverbs
Time expressions answer 'ne zaman?' (when?) and specify points, durations, frequencies, and clock times.
Turkish time expressions and adverbs (zaman zarfları) answer the essential question Ne zaman? (When?). In standard SOV word order, time adverbials are placed near the beginning of the clause, immediately following the subject (or initiating the sentence if topicalized).
Key categories include: 1. Deictic Points in Time: dün (yesterday), bugün (today), yarın (tomorrow), şimdi (now), demin / az önce (just now), geçen hafta (last week), gelecek yıl (next year). 2. Clock Times: Telling the time uses the locative case for events: Saat üçte (at 3:00). For minutes past the hour, Turkish uses dative + geçe: Saat üçü on geçe (at 3:10). For minutes to the hour, it uses dative + kala: Saat dörde yirmi kala (at twenty to four). 3. Frequency Adverbs: her gün (every day), bazen / ara sıra (sometimes), sık sık (frequently / often), hiçbir zaman / asla (never — requires a negative verb). 4. Duration and Periodicity: iki saat boyunca (for two hours), üç gündür (for three days now, using -DIr for continuous duration).
A common learner mistake is forgetting the locative on clock times or misplacing geçiyor / geçe.
Examples
Yarın sabah erkenden hızlı trenle Ankara'ya gideceğiz.
Tomorrow early in the morning we will go to Ankara by high-speed train.
Doktordaki randevum saat üçe çeyrek kala başlayacak.
My appointment at the doctor will begin at a quarter to three.
Yaklaşık iki yıldır bu büyük şirkette mühendis olarak çalışıyorum.
I have been working as an engineer in this large company for about two years.
Arkadaşlarımla sık sık hafta sonları sahilde buluşuruz.
I often meet up with my friends on the seaside on weekends.
Related terms
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