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.
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 shown in -bold- print.
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.
English Construction: I shall go home - when the party is over.
Turkish Construction: When the party is over, - I shall go home. - Parti bitince, eve gidiyorum.
I went out to the library - after (eating) dinner.
After (eating) dinner, - I went out to the library. - Yemek yedikten sonra, kütüphaneye çıktım.
Ali put on his pyjamas - before he went to bed.
Before he went to bed, - Ali put on his pyjamas. - Ali, yatmadan önce, pijamasını giydi
We can have supper - as soon as we arrive at the hotel.
As soon as we arrive at the hotel, - we can have supper. - Otele varır varmaz (varınca), akşam yemeğini yeyebiliriz.
This construction 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.) One of the problems 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.
I went out to the library after dinner. - English Construction
After (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
Note that -dikten sonra means after doing, as an example yazdıktan sonra means after writing. The tense and person is taken from the final verb - Mektubu yazdıktan sonra çıktık - After writing the letter we went out. Or to show a different tense and person - Sen mektubunu yazdıktan sonra çıkabilirsin - After writing your letter you can go out
English Model: I went out to the library after (eating)dinner.
Turkish Model: Yemek yedikten sonra, kütüphaneye çıktım.
Mehmet went out to the library after he had (eaten) dinner.
Mehmet, yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktı.
You went out to the library after Mehmet had (eaten) dinner.
Siz, Mehmet yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktınız.
He went out to the library after (eating/having eaten) dinner.
O, yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktı.
I went out to the library after you had (eaten) dinner.
Ben, siz yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıktım.
They will go out to the library after (having eaten) dinner.
Onlar, yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıkacaklar.
I used to out to the library after we had (eaten) dinner.
Ben, biz yemek yedikten sonra kütüphaneye çıkardım.
You went out to the library after we had (had) dinner.
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 course 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.
English Model: I can not remember where I left my bicycle.
Turkish Model: Bisikletimi bıraktığım yeri hatırlayamıyorum. [hatırla-ya-m-ıyorum. = negative potential present continuous = I can not remember(ing)]
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.
I can not remember where you left my bicycle.
Bisikletimi bıraktığınız yeri hatırlayamıyorum.
I can not remember where he left my bicycle.
Bisikletimi bıraktığı yeri hatırlayamıyorum.
I can not remember where I left his bicycle.
Bisikletini bıraktığım yeri hatırlayamıyorum.
We will not remember wherever our bicycles are.
Bisikletimizi bıraktığımız yeri hatırlayamıyacağız.
He can never remember where to leave your bicycle.
Her zamanki gibi (Asla) bisikletini bırakacağı yeri hatırlayamaz.
You could not remember where you left my bicycle.
Bisikletimi bıraktığın yeri hatırlayamadın.
They can not remember where they left their bicycles.
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
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
I can not remember where you left my bicycle.
This is a Noun Clause as it can be replaced by pronoun it
I can't remember it.
Example of an Adverbial Clause
I can shop where credit cards are accepted
This is an Adverbial Clause - (can only be replaced by an adverb)
I can shop there.