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İngilizce Dersleri: the second post in our series where we offer easy, everyday solutions to challenges that Turks have with the English language.

Keep in mind, that if you prefer video learning exercise we have a library of video learning exercises waiting for you in our Ingilizce Dersleri section! These videos are available to you at all times and are a great compliment to written exercises and live conversation classes.

If Turkish is your mother tongue, then you might have difficulty using açmak and kapatmak in English. Like many aspects of Turkish, the same words can be used across a number of different situations. And like many aspects of English, a literal translation does not work. In English, it’s slightly more complicated so we’ve chosen to include this concept in our İngilizce Dersleri series.

İngilizce Dersleri: How to use turn on/off and switch on/off

In Turkish, açmak and kapatmak are used respectively to turn on and turn off computers, lights and iPads. It is also used to hang up or to end a telephone call.

However, a literal translation just doesn’t work. You cannot open or close a computer, an iPad or a phone.

Luckily, the rules here are actually quite simple.

First, if the thing, device or appliance is powered by electricity, then you can switch it on or off and turn it on or off.

– You can turn on a lamp.

– You can turn off the oven.

– You can switch on a stereo.

– You can turn on a printer.

– And I often ask my students to switch off their iPads.

The exception is:

If you’re on the phone, in English you answer a phone call and you hang up at the end of the conversation.

– I hung up after speaking with my friend.

– I answered his call as soon as the phone rang.

– Don’t hang up!

– I answered his call on Skype.

You cannot open or close a phone in English.

And we think that covers it. A simple lesson, and with the amount of electronic devices in our daily lives, an important one!

As always, let us know if this was helpful, and why not suggest other topics you would like us to cover!

İngilizce Dersleri: this series offers easy, everyday solutions to challenges that Turks have with the English language.

If Turkish is your mother tongue, you might have difficulty with ago, earlier, before, after, in, and later. These words can be adverbs, conjunctions, prepositions and adjectives. Here we look at the most basic errors by Turks and provide a couple of examples to explain how you can use the idea of sonra and önce in English.

İngilizce for Turks: Ago, earlier, or before?

How do you express this idea in English: Üç gün önce sinemaya gittim.

You can use ago or earlier. Ago would be more common.

I went to the cinema three days ago is natural spoken English

I went to the cinema three days earlier is also correct, but more formal.

For example:

 – He left three days ago.

– He left three days earlier.

Don’t use before.

In the two sentences above, ago and later are adverbs.

İngilizce for Turks: How to use before

Next, how do you deal with: Sinemaya gitmeden önce kahve içtik?

To express this idea in English, you need to understand that önce joins two events. So before is the correct word to use:

– We drank coffee before we went to the cinema, or

– Before we went to the cinema we drank coffee.

In these examples, before is a conjunction.

Don’t use ago or later.

İngilizce for Turks: After, later or in?

Üç gün sonra sinemaya gidiyoruz.

Here, you are talking about an event in the future. The only correct word is in:

– We’re going to the cinema in three days.

And, üç gün sonra Istanbul’dan ayrılacak.

– He’ll leave Istanbul in three days.

What about this?

Üç gün önce Istanbul’dan ayrıldı.

This is something that happened in the past, so the correct word is ago.

– She left Istanbul three days ago.

Don’t use later.

But, if you are talking about an event that happened before another event in the past, then you need to use later or after.

For example:

Istanbul’a geldi. Üç gün sonra ayrıldı.

He arrived in Istanbul and left two days later.

Again, later is an adverb.

İngilizce for Turks: How to use after

After is both an adverb and a preposition in English

Biz geldikten sonra ayrıldı.

He left after we arrived.

Yemekten sonra sinemaya gidiyorum.

I’m going to the cinema after dinner.

In the first example, after is an adverb.

For the second example, after is a preposition.

I know that advanced learners and native English speakers might disagree with me, but the idea is to make the use of the words a little easier.

Keep in mind, that if you prefer video learning exercise we have a library of video learning exercises waiting for you in our Ingilizce Dersleri section! These videos are available to you at all times and are a great compliment to written exercises and live conversation classes.

As always, let us know if this was helpful, or any other topics you would like us to cover!