Adverbial Clauses Explained

General Notes

This page is something of a preparatory and important explanation of what is a wide subject and which is treated differently in Turkish than English as is explained below.

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Adverbial Clauses of Time

Order of Main and Subordinate Clauses

In English we always put the main part of the meaning at the beginning of a sentence as below:

I shall go home -when -the party is over.
I went out to the library -after- (eating) dinner.
He put on his pyjamas -before- he went to bed.
We can have supper -as soon as- we arrive at the hotel

All the above are ways of describing what will or did happen, with the adverb shewn in -bold- print.

Of course, Turkish as always says it backwards. So generally the Turkish construction to put the most important part last, with the main verb at the end of the sentence.

1. I shall go home - when the party is over.
   When the party is over, -I shall go home. - Turkish Construction
   Parti bitince, eve gidiyorum.

1. I went out to the library - after (eating) dinner.
   After (eating) dinner, -I went out to the library. - Turkish Construction
   Yemek yedikten sonra, kütüphaneye çıktım.

1. Ali put on his pyjamas - before he went to bed.
   Before he went to bed, -Ali put on his pyjamas. - Turkish Construction
   Ali, yatmadan önce, pijamasını giydi.

1. We can have supper - as soon as we arrive at the hotel.
   As soon as we arrive at the hotel, -we can have supper. - Turkish Construction
   Otele varır varmaz (varınca), akşam yemeğini yeyebiliriz.

This puts the main verb last in the sentence, which of course is one of the main rules of Turkish Grammar.

We shall now look in greater detail how Turkish manages all these time modifying words and clauses - (before.. after.. as soon as.. etc.)

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Differing Aspects of Adverbial Clauses

Who...? - Did or will do what...? and When...?

The Golden Horn

Another problem that we have to contend with is the relationship of the temporal adverb with the subjects and objects. This is best shown by example.

Let us slightly change one of our examples viz.

1. I went out to the library after dinner.
   Ater (eating) dinner, I went out to the library - Turkish Construction
   Yemek yedikten sonra, kütüphaneye çıktım.

Let us show this example in some other forms. We can make the choice to change the subject or objects easily in English. So can, of course, Turkish - but we must be aware that Turkish treats this problem from another angle just because of the different constructions involved

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Examples of Different Aspects of Time Clauses

English Model: - I went out to the library after (eating)dinner.
Turkish Model: Yemek yedikten sonra, kütüphaneye çıktım.

1. Mehmet went out to the library after he had (eaten) dinner.
2. Mehmet, yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktı.

1. You went out to the library after Mehmet had (eaten) dinner.
2. Siz, Mehmet yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktınız.

1. He went out to the library after (eating/having eaten) dinner.
2. O, yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktı.

1. I went out to the library after you had (eaten) dinner.
2. Ben, siz yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktım.

1. They will go out to the library after (having eaten) dinner.
2. Onlar, yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıkacaklar.

1. I used to out to the library after we had (eaten) dinner.
2. Ben, biz yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıkardım.

1. You went out to the library after we had (had) dinner.
2. Siz, biz yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktınız.

In the examples above we can see that the changes in the final verb tense in Turkish changes the English tense of the actual aspect of - eating dinner. But of couse it is not usual for us to state this - eating aspect - in English as it is normally understood and has become redundant.

You can see there are many differing aspects of subject, object and tenses in this simple sentence and changes have to be made in Turkish - just as in English. The problem does not end here as it can be applied to any adverbial clause - but the same rules apply.

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Adverbial Clauses of Place - Where.. Wherever..

English Model: I can not remember where I left my bicycle.
Turkish Model: Bisikletimi bıraktığım yeri hatırlayamıyorum.

In truth this example is a Noun Clause grammatically - I cannot remember where I left it - as the pronoun - it - replaces a noun - the bicycle.

Further Aspects of other Noun Clauses

1. I can not remember where you left my bicycle.
2. Bisikletimi bıraktığınız yeri hatırlayamıyorum.

1. I can not remember where he left my bicycle.
2. Bisikletimi bıraktığı yeri hatırlayamıyorum.

1. I can not remember where I left his bicycle.
2. Bisikletini bıraktığım yeri hatırlayamıyorum.

1. We will not remember wherever our bicycles are.
2. Bisikletimizi bıraktığımız yeri hatırlayamıyacağız.

1. He can never remember where to leave your bicycle.
2. Her zamanki gibi (Asla) bisikletini bırakacağı yeri hatırlayamaz.

1. You could not remember where you left my bicycle.
2. Bisikletimi bıraktığın yeri hatırlayamadın.

1. They can not remember where they left their bicycles.
2. Bisikletlerini bıraktıkları yeri hatırlayamıyorlar.

We just need to be aware of what we are trying to say at the time, and use the Turkish Constructions accordingly

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A Grammatical Note

Manisa Turkish is primarily a website to explain Turkish grammatical usage for English Speakers. Many of us do not really know the Grammatical Terms of our own language.

However, to try to explain the difference between a Noun Clause and an Adverbial Clause we offer the following examples:

Example of a Noun Clause

1. I can not remember where you left my bicycle.
2. This is a Noun Clause as it can be replaced by pronoun - it
3. I can't remember it. - which is grammatical

Example of an Adverbial Clause

1. I can shop where credit cards are accepted
2. This is an Adverbial Clause - (can only be replaced by an adverb)
3. I can shop there.