Shopping for clothes, free-time activities and adventures, How often questions, intonation of question tags, social language and describing people in our cultural celebrations

This week we visit a clothes shop! When we go shopping for clothes, we need some special verbs. To try on means «denemek, üzerinde prova etmek»: «Can I try on this jacket?». To wear means «giymek, takmak» and we use it for both clothes and accessories: «I wear my silver watch every day». To own means «sahip olmak»: «My brother owns three caps and two pairs of boots». Finally, to create means «yaratmak, tasarlamak»: «My aunt creates beautiful dresses for the school fashion show». Remember the Simple Present rule: with he, she and it these verbs take «-s»: tries on, wears, owns, creates. «Try» ends with consonant + y, so it becomes tries.

In a shop, the shop assistant (satış görevlisi) and the customer (müşteri) use polite and short sentences. The assistant asks: «Can I help you?» (Yardımcı olabilir miyim?). The customer says: «Yes, please. I'm looking for a raincoat.» (Evet, lütfen. Bir yağmurluk arıyorum.). Then the customer asks: «Can I try it on?» and the assistant answers: «Sure. The fitting room is over there.» (Tabii. Deneme kabini şurada.). After trying it on, we can say «It's too big / too small» (Çok büyük / çok küçük) or «It's perfect. How much is it?» (Mükemmel. Ne kadar?).

To describe the clothes we see, we use target adjectives before the noun: trendy (moda, son moda), cool (havalı), fancy (süslü, gösterişli), ordinary (sıradan), comfortable (rahat), different (farklı), thick (kalın) and thin (ince). For example: «I want a thick coat for winter», «This is a trendy jacket», «She has got a fancy dress for the wedding», «I like ordinary T-shirts because they are comfortable». The whole set of clothes a person wears together is called an outfit (kıyafet takımı, kombin).

Our daily life is not only school and homework. In our free time, we do many different activities. We read (okumak) a book or a magazine (dergi), we watch (izlemek) films or cartoons, we listen to music (müzik), we play video games on a computer, and we draw (çizmek) pictures. We also go shopping (alışverişe gitmek) with our families and go out (dışarı çıkmak) with our friends. For example: «On Saturdays, I go out with my cousins and we go shopping at the market».

Some people love adventures (maceralar). An adventurer (maceracı, kâşif) is a person who likes exciting and new experiences. Adventurers travel (seyahat etmek) to new places, follow a path (patika, yol) in the forest, read a map (harita) and find (bulmak) interesting things. «My uncle is an adventurer. He travels to the mountains every summer. He always takes a map and he never gets lost.» In Türkiye, people enjoy walking on nature paths, for example in the mountains of the Black Sea region or along old historic walking routes.

We also use two important adjectives: daily (günlük) and general (genel). «My daily routine starts at seven o'clock» means «Günlük rutinim saat yedide başlar». «In general, I am a happy person» means «Genel olarak mutlu bir insanım». And don't forget a small but very important action: to smile (gülümsemek). «She always smiles at her neighbours» — a smile is the easiest way to make a friend in any language!

We already know the frequency adverbs always, usually, often, sometimes and never. This week we add rarely (nadiren, çok seyrek). «Rarely» is very close to «never», but it is not zero: «I rarely wear a hat» means «Nadiren şapka takarım» — maybe two or three times a year. Like other frequency adverbs, rarely goes before the main verb («He rarely plays video games») but after am / is / are («She is rarely late»). Rarely already has a negative meaning, so we do not use it with «don't / doesn't»: «I rarely go shopping», not «I don't rarely go shopping».

To ask about frequency, we use the question «How often + do / does + subject + verb?» (Ne sıklıkla...?): «How often do you read a book?», «How often does she wear her glasses?». We can answer with a frequency adverb («I usually read a book before bed.») or with a frequency expression: every day (her gün), every morning (her sabah), every winter (her kış), once a week (haftada bir), twice a week (haftada iki kez), three times a month (ayda üç kez), once a year (yılda bir).

Pay attention to word order: frequency adverbs are in the middle of the sentence, but frequency expressions usually go at the end of the sentence. Compare: «She always wears her blue coat» and «She wears her blue coat every winter». Both sentences describe a habit, so we use the Simple Present Tense. In a listening text, these words are very important details: if you hear «once a week», «twice a month» or «rarely», write them down, because questions often ask about them.

In English, the music of the voice (intonation, tonlama) changes the meaning of a sentence. In Yes/No questions, our voice goes up (rising intonation ↗) at the end: «Do you wear glasses ↗?», «Does she own a bike ↗?». In Wh- questions (What, Where, When, How often...), our voice usually goes down (falling intonation ↘) at the end: «What do you wear on Sundays ↘?», «How often do you travel ↘?». This is different from Turkish, where we often use the question particle «mi» instead of the voice.

Question tags are special. The same tag can sound two different ways, and each way has a different meaning. When we are sure and only want the listener to agree or confirm, our voice goes down on the tag: «You wear a scarf every winter, don't you ↘?» (I know it; I'm just checking.) When we are not sure and really want information, our voice goes up on the tag: «Your brother draws maps, doesn't he ↗?» (I think so, but I'm not sure. Please tell me.)

Let's remember how we build the tag in the Simple Present: a positive sentence takes a negative tag (don't / doesn't), a negative sentence takes a positive tag (do / does), and the subject of the tag is always a pronoun. «Kerem reads a book every evening, doesn't he?» · «Your friends don't play video games, do they?». When you listen to a dialogue, try to hear the tone of the tag: a falling tag means the speaker is confident; a rising tag means the speaker is asking a real question.

Language is not only grammar; it is also how we treat people. This week we learn three useful sentences for everyday life. The first one is friendly: «I'll pop round to see you later!» (Sonra sana bir uğrarım!). «Pop round» means to visit someone quickly and informally, usually a neighbour, a friend or a relative. In Turkish culture, visiting neighbours and elders is a beautiful tradition; we often say «Akşam size uğrarım». Now you can say it in English too: «Grandma, I'll pop round to see you later with some fruit!»

The second sentence is about respect: «Don't make fun of people!» (İnsanlarla dalga geçme!). People look different: some are tall, some are short; some have got curly hair, some wear glasses; some people own trendy clothes, others wear ordinary clothes. These differences are normal and they make our world colourful. Making fun of someone's appearance (dış görünüş) or clothes hurts their feelings. In our culture and values, we respect everyone and we say kind words: «Your new glasses look cool!»

The third sentence helps us when something goes wrong: «Let's sort out the problem!» (Hadi sorunu çözelim!). «Sort out» means to solve or fix a problem calmly. Imagine two friends want to wear the same costume for the school show, or a classmate takes your scarf by mistake. Instead of shouting, we talk, listen and find a solution together: «Don't worry. Let's sort out the problem. You wear the red costume today, and I wear it tomorrow.»

Let's read a short text and find the important details. «My name is Zehra. I am eleven years old. I am of average height and I have got long straight black hair. Every year on 23 April, our school has got a big show. My classmates and I wear costumes from different countries. Our teacher creates the costumes with our parents. My best friend Can always wears a traditional Turkish costume with a red vest. His costume is fancy and colourful. Before the show, we always smile, sing and dance together. It is my favourite day of the year!»

When we read, we first skim the text (look at it quickly) to understand the general idea: it is about the 23 April show. Then we read it carefully to find the details: Zehra's appearance (average height, long straight black hair), who creates the costumes (the teacher with the parents), what Can wears (a traditional Turkish costume with a red vest) and the frequency word (always). Notice the possessive adjectives: «my classmates», «our school», «our teacher», «his costume», «their parents». «Our» (bizim) shows that something belongs to us, and «their» (onların) shows that something belongs to them.

Our special days also have their own outfits and routines. On 29 October Republic Day, many students wear red and white and carry Turkish flags. On 19 May, young people wear sports clothes for celebrations. During Eid al-Fitr (Ramazan Bayramı) and the Festival of Sacrifice (Kurban Bayramı), children usually wear their new holiday clothes («bayramlık»), visit their grandparents and kiss their hands. When you write your own paragraph, follow this plan: 1) introduce the person, 2) describe his or her appearance, 3) describe the outfit, 4) describe the routine or habit with a frequency adverb, 5) finish with your feelings.