Learn Hardcore Turkish: Hava sıcaklığı 30 dereceye ulaştığında kilometrelerce yürümek zorlaşır. - When the temperature reaches 30 degrees, walking for kilometers becomes difficult.

In Turkish the verb ulaşmak (“to reach”) requires its object to be in the dative case (marked by -e/-a). Adding -ye to derece gives dereceye, so 30 dereceye ulaştığında literally means when it reaches 30 degrees.

What does the suffix -dığında in ulaştığında mean?

-dığında is a temporal subordinate-clause suffix meaning when or once. It attaches to the past-tense stem (ulaştı-) plus the buffer consonant -ğ-, then -ında. So ulaştığında functions as when it has reached.

What does kilometrelerce mean? Why not just kilometreler?

kilometrelerce = kilometre (kilometer) + plural -ler + intensifier/distributive suffix -ce, which conveys “for many” or “several.”
– kilometreler alone is just “kilometers.”
– kilometrelerce means “for kilometers (and kilometers)” or “for miles and miles.”

Why is yürümek in the infinitive form here instead of a finite verb?

In Turkish, the infinitive (stem + -mek/-mak) acts like a noun. Here yürümek (“walking”) is the subject of the main clause, so the sentence reads “Walking becomes difficult.” The finite verb zorlaşır applies to that noun.

What’s the difference between zorlaşır and zor olur in this context?

– zor olmak means to be difficult (a static state).
– zorlaşmak means to become more difficult (a change of state).
Since the sentence describes increasing difficulty as the temperature rises, zorlaşır (“becomes difficult/gets harder”) is more precise than zor olur.

Why is it hava sıcaklığı instead of havanın sıcaklığı?

Both are correct:
– Hava sıcaklığı is a noun-noun compound meaning air temperature. It’s concise and very common.
– Havanın sıcaklığı uses the genitive-possessive construction, literally the temperature of the air, and is slightly more formal/explicit.