Basic SOV Order

The standard, neutral word order in Turkish is Subject-Object-Verb (SOV): the verb comes at the end of the sentence.

Components

• Subject (Özne): the person or thing doing the action or being described. It has no case ending, and subject pronouns are often dropped because the verb ending already shows the person.
• Object (Nesne): the person or thing affected by the action. A specific (definite) object takes the accusative -(y)I (-ı/-i/-u/-ü); a non-specific object has no ending and stands directly before the verb.
• Predicate (Yüklem): the verb (or a noun/adjective with personal endings), conjugated for tense, mood and person. It comes last.

Examples

• Ben elma yedim. (I ate an apple / apples.)
  Subject: ben (I), Object: elma (non-specific), Verb: yedim (I ate)
• Ben elmayı yedim. (I ate the apple.)
  Object: elmayı (specific — accusative with buffer y)
• Ayşe kitabını okuyor. (Ayşe is reading her book.)
  Object: kitabını (her book — possessive + accusative)
• Kedi süt içti. (The cat drank milk.)

Where Do Time and Place Go?

A typical neutral order is: Subject – Time – Place – Object – Verb.

• Annem sabah mutfakta çay yaptı. (My mother made tea in the kitchen in the morning.)
• Yarın okulda bir sınav var. (There's an exam at school tomorrow.)

Flexibility for Emphasis

Turkish word order is flexible because case endings show each word's role. The element placed immediately before the verb carries the focus; elements placed after the verb are background information or afterthoughts.

• Elmayı ben yedim. (It was I who ate the apple.) — the subject ben is focused.
• Ben elmayı yedim. (I ate the apple.) — neutral.
• Yedim elmayı. (I ate it, the apple.) — the object is an afterthought; typical of speech.

Adjectives always come before their noun, and adverbs normally come before the verb they modify.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Ben yedim bir elma. (English order) → ✓ Ben bir elma yedim.
• ✗ Ben kitap okudum. (meaning "I read the book") → ✓ Ben kitabı okudum. (a specific object needs the accusative)
• ✗ Kitabı ben okudum to mean a neutral "I read the book" — this actually stresses "I" (it was me).