Savunurken

Savunurken is a Turkish adverbial participle formed from the verb savunmak (to defend). The suffix -ken attaches to the verb stem to create a dependent clause that denotes simultaneity, roughly translating to “while defending” in English. It is used to indicate that one action occurs at the same time as another action in the main clause.

Grammatical notes indicate that savunurken is not a finite verb form; it does not agree with a subject and does not carry its own tense. The tense of the overall sentence is determined by the main clause, while the savunuken clause provides temporal context. The form can appear at the beginning or within a sentence and is often separated from the main clause by punctuation for clarity.

Usage examples illustrate its typical function. For example: Savunurken dikkatli ol. (Be careful while defending.) Another example: O, savunurken delil gösterdi. (He presented evidence while defending.) In both cases, savunurken links two actions and makes explicit their temporal relationship without requiring a conjunction.

Compared with other adverbial participles in Turkish, -ken is specifically used for simultaneous or concurrent actions. It is distinct from nouns such as savunma (defense) or a participle forms that express sequential or causal relations. Savunurken is common in both written and spoken Turkish, especially in descriptions of actions occurring during a defense or argument.

See also: Turkish grammar, adverbial participles, -ken clauses, savunmak.