Learn Hardcore Turkish: Motoru çalıştırmak için yeterli yakıt olması zorunludur. - It is mandatory to have enough fuel to start the engine.

Çalışmak means “to work” (e.g. a machine runs, a person works). By adding the causative suffix -tır (with necessary vowel harmony and consonant adjustments) plus the infinitive -mak, you get çalıştırmak, “to make something work” or “to start something.” Hence motoru çalıştırmak literally means “to make the engine work,” i.e. “to start the engine.”

Why is there a -u on motoru?

The suffix -u (with buffer y if required) is the third-person singular definite direct object marker -(y)I. It tells us motoru is “the engine” (definite) as the object of çalıştırmak. Without it, motor could mean “an engine” (indefinite) or “engine” in general.

What role does için play, and why does it come after çalıştırmak?

İçin is a postposition meaning “for” or “in order to.” In Turkish you put the noun or nominalized verb first, then için. Here: • motoru çalıştırmak = “starting the engine” (infinitive nominalized) • … için = “for/in order to …”
Together: motoru çalıştırmak için = “in order to start the engine.”

What does yeterli mean, and why is it before yakıt?

Yeterli is an adjective meaning “sufficient” or “enough.” In Turkish, adjectives precede the nouns they modify. So yeterli yakıt = “sufficient fuel” / “enough fuel.”

Why are there no articles like “a” or “the” before motoru or yakıt?

Turkish has no separate words for “a” or “the.” Definiteness is shown by context and by suffixes. For instance: • motoru (with -u) = “the engine”
• yakıt (no suffix) = “fuel” in general, or “fuel” in an indefinite sense

What is olması doing here?

Olması is the nominalized (gerund) form of olmak (“to be”/“to exist”), in third-person singular. It turns “there is enough fuel” into “the existence of enough fuel.” Turkish often uses such nominalizations with expressions of necessity or obligation.

How does zorunludur express necessity?

Zorunlu is an adjective meaning “mandatory” or “necessary.” Adding the present-tense copular ending -dur (often seen in formal/written style) gives zorunludur, “it is necessary.” So yakıt olması zorunludur = “it is necessary that fuel exist,” i.e. “there must be enough fuel.”

Is there a more colloquial way to say the same thing?

Yes. For everyday speech you might hear: • Motoru çalıştırmak için yeterince yakıt şart.
– yeterince = “enough” (adverbial form)
– şart = “is required/necessary” (lit. “condition”)
This is less formal but conveys the same necessity.