Dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık.

Because kala normally takes the time you are approaching in the dative case.

• dokuz = nine
• dokuza = to nine / toward nine

So dokuza çeyrek kala literally means something like with a quarter remaining to nine.

This is the standard Turkish pattern for “quarter to ...” and similar expressions:

• dokuza on kala = ten to nine
• bire beş kala = five to one

Çeyrek means a quarter, and kala comes from the verb kalmak, meaning to remain / be left.

So:

• çeyrek kala = with a quarter left
• dokuza çeyrek kala = when a quarter was left to nine = at quarter to nine

This is a very common way to tell time in Turkish.

It comes from the verb kalmak, but in this kind of time expression it works as part of a set structure.

You do not need to think of it as a fully independent verb in the sentence. In time expressions, learners usually just memorize the pattern:

• [hour in dative] + [amount of time] + kala

For example:

• ikiye on kala = ten to two
• altıya beş kala = five to six

So yes, it is related to a verb, but here it is best learned as a fixed time-telling pattern.

Turkish often expresses time without a separate word matching English at.

In Dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık, the time expression itself functions adverbially, so it already tells you when the action happened.

Turkish does this a lot:

• Saat üçte geldim. = I came at three.
• Dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık. = We left at quarter to nine.

So English often needs at, but Turkish often does not.

Because it is optional here.

You can say:

• Dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık.
• Saat dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık.

Both are natural. Adding saat makes the sentence a little more explicit, but it is often omitted when the meaning is already clear.

Çıktık is the past tense, first person plural form of çıkmak.

• çık- = verb stem
• -tı / -ti / -tu / -tü = past tense
• -k = we

So çıktık means we went out or we left, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means we left.

Because Turkish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb already shows the person clearly.

Çıktık already means we left, so biz is not necessary.

You could say:

• Biz dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık.

But it is usually unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.

Yes. Turkish word order is flexible, although some versions sound more neutral than others.

The given sentence:

• Dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık.

is very natural, with the time expression first.

You could also say:

• Çıktık dokuza çeyrek kala.

But this is less neutral and may sound more marked or conversational depending on context.

For learners, the safest and most natural version is:

• [time expression] + [verb]

For past, Turkish uses geçe instead of kala.

• Dokuzu çeyrek geçe = at quarter past nine

Compare:

• Dokuza çeyrek kala = quarter to nine
• Dokuzu çeyrek geçe = quarter past nine

Notice the case changes too:

• kala usually takes the upcoming hour in the dative: dokuza
• geçe usually takes the hour in the accusative: dokuzu

This difference is very important in Turkish time expressions.

Because the two time patterns use different grammatical structures.

• kala goes with the dative: dokuza
• geçe goes with the accusative: dokuzu

So:

• dokuza çeyrek kala = quarter to nine
• dokuzu çeyrek geçe = quarter past nine

This is one of those patterns that is easier to learn as a chunk than to overanalyze at first.

It can be used with other amounts of time too.

Examples:

• Dokuza beş kala = five to nine
• Dokuza on kala = ten to nine
• Dokuza yirmi kala = twenty to nine
• Dokuza yarım saat kala = half an hour before nine

So the pattern is productive, not limited to çeyrek.

Yes, it is very natural.

For 8:45, Turkish commonly says:

• Dokuza çeyrek kala

This is often more natural than trying to say something like eight forty-five in a direct numerical way, especially in everyday speech.

That said, people can also use digital-style time expressions in the right context, but the kala/geçe system is extremely common in spoken Turkish.

Yes, in time expressions çeyrek means a quarter of an hour, so 15 minutes.

Examples:

• Saat üçü çeyrek geçiyor. = It’s quarter past three.
• Dörde çeyrek var. = It’s quarter to four.
• Dokuza çeyrek kala çıktık. = We left at quarter to nine.

Outside time expressions, çeyrek can also mean one quarter of something more generally.