Breakdown of Mesai saat kaçta başlıyor?
kaç
how many
başlamak
to begin, to start
saat
hour / o'clock
mesai
shift / working hours
Questions & Answers about Mesai saat kaçta başlıyor?
Why do we use saat kaçta instead of just saat kaç?
Why is başlıyor in the continuous tense if we translate it as 'does the shift start'?
In Turkish, the present continuous tense ending in -yor is very often used for scheduled events and habits, similar to how we use the simple present tense in English. So başlıyor can mean 'is starting' right now, but here it means 'starts' as a regular schedule.
What exactly does mesai mean?
The word mesai refers to 'working hours' or a 'shift'. It is a very common word used in Turkey when talking about office hours, clocking in, or doing overtime.
Could I put saat kaçta at the beginning of the sentence?
Yes, saat kaçta mesai başlıyor? is also grammatically correct. However, Turkish usually places the question phrase right before the verb to emphasize what is being asked. Putting saat kaçta right before başlıyor sounds the most natural.