Learn Hardcore Turkish: Acil bir durumda hemen ambulans çağırmak gerekir. - In an emergency, you need to call an ambulance immediately.

Acil means “urgent, emergency,” bir is the indefinite article “a/an,” durum means “situation,” and -da is the locative suffix meaning “in.”
So Acil bir durumda = “in an emergency situation.”

Why is there no accusative suffix on ambulans?

In Turkish, a direct object takes the accusative suffix (-ı/-i/-u/-ü) only if it’s definite or specific. Here ambulans is indefinite (“an ambulance”), so it remains without the accusative.

Why is çağırmak in the infinitive form?

Turkish expresses impersonal necessity with the structure Infinitive + gerekir (“it is necessary to…”). The infinitive stays unconjugated to mean “to call.”

How does the impersonal necessity construction work and why is there no subject?

The pattern Infinitive + gerekir creates a general obligation without naming a subject: it’s like saying “one must call an ambulance” or “you must call an ambulance,” but in an impersonal, universal way.

What is the difference between gerekir, gerek var, lazım, and the suffix -meli/-malı?

• gerekir: formal, impersonal necessity (“it is necessary”).
• gerek var: more colloquial equivalent of gerekir.
• lazım: adjective meaning “necessary”; you say çağırmak lazım.
• -meli/-malı: verb suffix for personal obligation (e.g. çağırmalısın = “you must call”).

What does hemen add to the sentence and can I use derhal instead?

Hemen means “immediately.” It usually comes before the verb or after the condition phrase (Acil bir durumda hemen…). Derhal is a more formal synonym, so derhal ambulans çağırmak gerekir is also correct.

Why doesn’t ambulans follow Turkish vowel harmony?

Ambulans is a loanword (from French ambulance). Foreign stems often don’t obey vowel harmony, though you still attach Turkish suffixes as usual (e.g. ambulansa, ambulansın).