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Questions & Answers about Biz şimdi oteldeyiz.
Why is the locative suffix -de here instead of -da or -te?
This is due to vowel harmony and consonant rules. The word otel ends in a voiced consonant (l), so the suffix starts with d instead of t. Since the last vowel in otel is an e, which is a front vowel, the suffix takes the front vowel form -de instead of the back vowel form -da.
What is the -y- doing in oteldeyiz?
The -y- is a buffer letter. In Turkish, when you add a suffix that starts with a vowel (like the 'we are' ending -iz) to a word that already ends in a vowel (like the locative -de), you need a buffer letter to keep the vowels from crashing into each other. So, otel-de-iz becomes otel-de-y-iz.
Could I just say şimdi oteldeyiz and leave out biz?
Yes, absolutely! Because the ending -iz in oteldeyiz already means 'we are', the pronoun biz is optional. In casual conversation, Turkish speakers often drop the pronoun unless they want to emphasize it.
Can I change the word order to Biz oteldeyiz şimdi?