Learn Hardcore Turkish: Roket kalkıyor. - The rocket is taking off.

Turkish does not have articles like the or a. A bare noun can be indefinite or definite by context. If you want a rocket, say bir roket; for that rocket, say o roket.

What case is roket in? Why is there no suffix?

It’s in the nominative case (the subject), which is unmarked. Turkish uses suffixes for other cases—like accusative -ı/-i, dative -e, genitive -in—but the subject remains bare.

How do you form the present continuous kalkıyor from the infinitive kalkmak?

Drop the infinitive suffix -mak from kalkmak, leaving the stem kalk.
Add the present continuous marker -(i)yor (vowel‐harmonized).
Attach the 3rd-person singular ending (Ø).
Result: kalk
- ıyor
  - Ø = kalkıyor.

Why is the suffix -iyor written as -ıyor here?

Due to vowel harmony: the stem kalk- contains the back vowel a, so the present continuous suffix takes the back vowel variant ı, yielding -ıyor. Other variants (-iyor, -uyor, -üyor) appear after front or rounded stems.

Why is there no pronoun like o (“it”) in Roket kalkıyor?

Turkish often omits subject pronouns when they’re clear. Since roket is already the subject, you don’t need o. To emphasize, you could say O roket kalkıyor.

Why does the verb come at the end of the sentence?

Turkish typically follows Subject-Object-Verb (SOV) word order. Even with no object here, the verb naturally appears at the end after the subject.

How would you say “The rockets are taking off” (plural)?

Add the plural suffix -ler to roket: roketler. The present continuous verb stays the same for 3rd-person plural:
Roketler kalkıyor.

Can kalkıyor also mean “is about to take off”?

Yes. In Turkish, the present continuous can describe an action happening right now or an imminent action in the near future, depending on context. Therefore Roket kalkıyor can mean “The rocket is taking off (now)” or “The rocket is about to take off.”