You will keep an event unchanged while choosing which part answers the listener’s question. The first three examples describe one report being sent; their order highlights different information.
The idea
Turkish often places new or contrasting information directly before the verb. Compare Deniz bugün raporu gönderdi (what?) with Deniz raporu bugün gönderdi (when?) and Bugün raporu Deniz gönderdi (who?). A topic can come first: Bu konuyu yarın konuşuruz. In conversation, familiar information can follow the verb: Yarın konuşuruz bu konuyu. Context and spoken stress also matter; position alone does not determine every focus reading.
Examples
- Deniz bugün raporu gönderdi.Deniz sent the report today.What did Deniz send today? In this context, raporu supplies the missing object immediately before the verb.
- Deniz raporu bugün gönderdi.Deniz sent the report today.When did Deniz send the report? bugün answers the time question; keep it next to the verb in this exercise.
- Bugün raporu Deniz gönderdi.It was Deniz who sent the report today.Who sent the report today? Deniz identifies the sender. The object stays raporu, even though it now precedes the subject.
- Bu konuyu yarın konuşuruz.We can discuss this topic tomorrow.The topic comes first. If the open question is when to discuss it, yarın supplies the proposed time.
- Yarın konuşuruz bu konuyu.We can discuss it tomorrow, this topic.Here the topic is already known. bu konuyu recalls it after the verb; yarın carries the proposed timing. This conversational order is not an error.
- Mektubu Ece yazdı, Deniz değil.Ece wrote the letter, not Deniz.Ece corrects the identity of the writer; Deniz değil makes the rejected alternative explicit. The action and the letter remain the same.
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Watch out
Do not move a word to the very end merely to emphasize it. In Yarın konuşuruz bu konuyu, the final phrase can recall an already known topic; the timing is the new information. Moving a phrase does not change its case ending: raporu remains the object even at the start.
Try it yourself
Reorder Deniz / raporu / bugün / gönderdi to answer “When?”. Put the time directly before the verb and the verb last.
Show answer or example answer
Deniz raporu bugün gönderdi. / Raporu Deniz bugün gönderdi.
Deniz raporu bugün gönderdi. / Raporu Deniz bugün gönderdi.: the missing information is the time, so bugün goes next to gönderdi; the sender and report are already known.
Reorder bugün / raporu / Deniz / gönderdi to answer “Who?”. Put the sender directly before the verb and the verb last.
Show answer or example answer
Bugün raporu Deniz gönderdi. / Raporu bugün Deniz gönderdi.
Bugün raporu Deniz gönderdi. / Raporu bugün Deniz gönderdi.: the question leaves the sender unknown, so Deniz fills the focus position while the report keeps its object ending.
In Yarın konuşuruz bu konuyu, the topic is already known. Write the two words after the verb that recall it.
Show answer or example answer
bu konuyu
bu konuyu: this phrase recalls the topic after konuşuruz. With the topic already established, yarın supplies the time being proposed.
Complete Mektubu ___ yazdı, Deniz değil. Choose Ece or Ece'yi to correct who wrote the letter.
Show answer or example answer
Ece
Ece: the contrast corrects who wrote the letter. Mektubu is already the object, so adding an object ending to the writer would change her grammatical role.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Reorder Deniz / raporu / bugün / gönderdi to answer “When?”. Put the time directly before the verb and the verb last.
Deniz raporu bugün gönderdi. / Raporu Deniz bugün gönderdi.
Reorder bugün / raporu / Deniz / gönderdi to answer “Who?”. Put the sender directly before the verb and the verb last.
Bugün raporu Deniz gönderdi. / Raporu bugün Deniz gönderdi.
In Yarın konuşuruz bu konuyu, the topic is already known. Write the two words after the verb that recall it.
Complete Mektubu ___ yazdı, Deniz değil. Choose Ece or Ece'yi to correct who wrote the letter.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write three questions about who sent a report, what was sent and when. Answer each with a full sentence, placing the requested information immediately before the verb. Keep the case endings.