Learn Turkish: Bu ilaç neden gerekli? - Why is this medicine necessary?

Neden means 'why' or 'for what reason'. It is the most common question word that you would answer using çünkü. For example, if someone asks Bu ilaç neden gerekli?, you might answer Çünkü hastasın (Because you are sick).

Why is the question word neden in the middle of the sentence?

Unlike English, which puts 'why' at the very beginning, Turkish usually places question words right before the word they are asking about. Here, neden is placed right before gerekli because we are asking why it is necessary.

Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?

In Turkish, the 'to be' verb (am/is/are) is often just a suffix, and for the 'it' form (third person singular), that suffix is usually left off completely in everyday speech. So gerekli alone works perfectly for 'is necessary'.

Does the -li ending on gerekli mean anything?

Yes! The root word is gerek, which means 'need' or 'necessity'. The suffix -li means 'with' or 'having'. Putting them together makes gerekli, which translates to 'having necessity' or 'necessary'.