Learn Turkish: Patron neyi anlatıyor? - What is the boss explaining?

The word ne means "what". But because the "what" is the specific object receiving the action (the thing being explained), we have to add the accusative case suffix. Since ne ends in a vowel, we add the buffer letter y, then the suffix i, making neyi (what specific thing).

Can I just say "Patron ne anlatıyor?" instead?

Yes, but the meaning changes slightly. Using ne asks a general question: "What is the boss talking about?" or "What kind of thing is the boss explaining?". Using neyi makes it specific, asking "What specific thing (that we probably already know about) is the boss explaining?"

Why is the question word "neyi" in the middle of the sentence instead of at the beginning?

In Turkish, question words usually sit exactly where the answer will go. A standard Turkish sentence follows a Subject-Object-Verb order. Here, patron (the boss) is the subject, neyi (what) is the object, and anlatıyor (is explaining) is the verb at the very end.

How is the verb "anlatıyor" formed?