Breakdown of Siz mayıs ayında nereye gidiyorsunuz?
siz
you (plural/formal)
gitmek
to go
nereye
where to
ay
month
Questions & Answers about Siz mayıs ayında nereye gidiyorsunuz?
Why do we say mayıs ayında instead of just using the word for May?
In Turkish, to say "in May", it is very common to say "in the month of May". Ay means "month". When you combine the specific month mayıs and the general word ay, you need a compound noun ending, making mayıs ayı (the month of May). To say "in", we add the locative case -da, but first we need the buffer letter -n-, resulting in mayıs ayında.
Why isn't the month mayıs capitalized in this sentence?
In Turkish, days of the week and months of the year are only capitalized if they are part of a specific date with a number (like 19 Mayıs). If you are just talking about the month in general, it starts with a lowercase letter.
Why is the word for "where" written as nereye here instead of nerede?
The verb gitmek (to go) involves movement toward a destination, so it requires the "to" ending (the dative case). Nere means "what place", and adding the buffer -y- plus the ending -e gives us nereye (to where). Nerede means "at where" and is used with verbs where you stay in one location.
The dictionary form of "to go" is gitmek. Why is it spelled with a "d" in gidiyorsunuz?