Questions & Answers about Uçak üç gün sonra kalkıyor.
Why use the present continuous tense kalkıyor if the flight is in three days?
Just like in English ('The plane is taking off in three days'), Turkish often uses the present continuous tense (-ıyor) to talk about fixed future plans or scheduled events. The time phrase üç gün sonra makes it clear that it hasn't happened yet.
Doesn't sonra mean 'after' or 'later'? Why is it translated as 'in three days'?
Yes, sonra means 'after' or 'later.' In Turkish, to say something will happen 'in [amount of time],' you literally say it will happen '[amount of time] later.' So, üç gün sonra literally translates to 'three days later,' which is the standard way to say 'in three days' in Turkish.
Can I use kalkıyor for things other than airplanes taking off?
Absolutely! The verb kalkmak basically means 'to rise' or 'to get up.' It is the standard verb for people getting out of bed, but it's also used for the departure of almost any public transport—buses, trains, and ferries all use kalkmak to leave.
Why is the time expression (üç gün sonra) in the middle of the sentence?
In Turkish, the typical word order is Subject - Time - Place - Object - Verb. Here, the subject Uçak comes first, followed by the time it happens (üç gün sonra), and it ends with the verb kalkıyor.