Learn Hardcore Turkish: Ben hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum. - I want to be able to go to the cinema again on the weekend.

istiyorum ends with -um, which means “I”.
So the sentence Hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum is already clear: “I want to be able to go…”.

Ben is optional and is mainly used for:

Emphasis: “I (as opposed to someone else) want to be able to go again.”
Clarity in context: when several people are being talked about.

So both are correct:

Ben hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.
Hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.

The second is more typical in neutral conversation unless you need emphasis.

Why is it hafta sonu and not hafta sonunda?

Hafta sonu literally means “week’s end” and is often used as a time expression meaning “on/at the weekend”.

In Turkish, many time expressions don’t need a case ending:

Dün sinemaya gittim. – I went to the cinema yesterday.
Yarın okula gideceğim. – I’ll go to school tomorrow.
Hafta sonu sinemaya gideceğim. – I’ll go to the cinema (at) the weekend.

You can say hafta sonunda, and it’s still correct. It often sounds:

a bit more specific: hafta sonunda = “at the end of the week / on the weekend (that particular time)”
or slightly more formal.

In everyday speech, hafta sonu is very common and perfectly natural.

Why does sinemaya take the -a / -ya ending?

sinemaya = sinema (cinema) + -a (dative case, “to / towards”).

In Turkish, verbs of movement (go, come, walk, run, etc.) usually take the dative case (-e / -a) for the destination:

Okula gidiyorum. – I’m going to school.
Eve geldim. – I came home.
Sinemaya gidiyoruz. – We’re going to the cinema.

You’d use other cases for different meanings:

sinemada (locative: -da/-de) = in/at the cinema
sinemadan (ablative: -dan/-den) = from the cinema

Here you are going to a place, so sinemaya is correct.

What does tekrar mean here, and where can it go in the sentence?

tekrar means “again / once more” and modifies the verb gidebilmek (“to be able to go”).

The most neutral positions are:

Ben hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.
Ben hafta sonu tekrar sinemaya gidebilmek istiyorum.

Both are natural. Putting tekrar closer to the verb usually makes the “again” part feel more connected to the action of going.

You can also use yine instead of tekrar:

yine is very common in speech and can mean “again” or “still”.
tekrar sounds a bit more like “once more / as a repetition”.

In this sentence, tekrar and yine are both fine; nuance is small.

How is gidebilmek formed, and what exactly does it mean?

gidebilmek is built from the verb gitmek (“to go”) plus a potential / ability suffix.

Breakdown:

git- – verb root: “go”
-(y)e bil- – “can, be able to”
- with consonant softening: git
  - -e bil → gidebil-
-mek – infinitive ending (“to …”)

So gidebilmek literally means “to be able to go” or “to manage to go / to be allowed to go” depending on context.

Compare:

gitmek istiyorum – I want to go.
gidebilmek istiyorum – I want to be able to go (the ability/possibility is in doubt or is the main point).

Why is it gidebilmek istiyorum and not gidebilmeyi istiyorum?

With istemek (“to want”), the most common and natural pattern is:

[verb in -mek/-mak] + istemek
e.g. gitmek istiyorum, yemek yemek istiyorum, gidebilmek istiyorum.

So gidebilmek istiyorum treats gidebilmek as a plain infinitive complement:
“I want to be able to go.”

You can say gidebilmeyi istiyorum, because infinitives in -mek/-mak can take case endings (-i, -e, etc.). But:

it’s relatively rare in everyday speech,
it can sound more formal or heavy,
and the simple gidebilmek istiyorum already expresses the idea perfectly.

For learners, it’s best to stick with:

[infinitive in -mek/-mak] + istiyorum.

Why use istiyorum (present continuous) instead of isterim?

Turkish has two common ways to say “I want”:

istiyorum – present continuous
- very common in everyday speech
- sounds immediate, current, personal:
  - Şimdi kahve istiyorum. – I want coffee (now).
isterim – aorist (simple present)
- can sound:
  - more formal, or
  - like a general preference / habit:
    - Genelde sessiz yerleri isterim. – I generally prefer quiet places.

In your sentence, istiyorum is natural because you’re talking about a current wish:

Ben hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.
“I (now) want to be able to go to the cinema again this weekend.”

İsterim here would sound less natural in normal conversation and more like a general statement of preference.

Does the verb have to go at the end? Can I change the word order?

Turkish is verb-final in its neutral word order, so:

Ben hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.

is the most neutral order: subject – time – place – adverb – verb – “want”.

You can move the other elements around for emphasis or style, as long as the main verb stays at the end:

Hafta sonu ben sinemaya tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.
Ben sinemaya hafta sonu tekrar gidebilmek istiyorum.
Ben hafta sonu tekrar sinemaya gidebilmek istiyorum.

These are all grammatically correct, but the focus changes slightly. For example, putting ben early can emphasise I, putting hafta sonu early can emphasise the time, etc.

As a learner, keeping the main verb (istiyorum) at the very end is the most important rule.

Could I just say gitmek istiyorum instead of gidebilmek istiyorum? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could say:

Ben hafta sonu sinemaya tekrar gitmek istiyorum.

This means “I want to go to the cinema again this weekend.”
The desire is simply to go.

With gidebilmek istiyorum, the focus is different:

gidebilmek istiyorum = “I want to be able to go / I want to manage to go / I want to be allowed to go.”

It suggests:

there is some obstacle (time, money, permission, health, etc.),
or you’re not sure yet if you can go,
and what you wish for is the possibility/ability, not just the action itself.

So:

gitmek istiyorum – I want to go.
gidebilmek istiyorum – I want (the chance / ability) to go.

Why is it pronounced gidebilmek and not gitebilmek?

The base verb is gitmek (to go), with root git-.

When you add a suffix beginning with a vowel, Turkish often softens or voices certain final consonants (like t → d, p → b, ç → c, k → ğ/g).

So:

git-
- -e bil- → gidebil- (t → d)
then add -mek → gidebilmek

This consonant change makes pronunciation smoother and is very common in Turkish word formation.