Breakdown of Birlikte seyahat etmek istiyoruz.
istemek
to want / to require / to call for
birlikte
together
seyahat etmek
to travel
Questions & Answers about Birlikte seyahat etmek istiyoruz.
How do we express wanting to do an action in this sentence?
To say you want to do an action, you use the full dictionary form of the verb (ending in -mak or -mek) followed by a conjugated form of istemek (to want). Here, we have the infinitive seyahat etmek (to travel) followed by istiyoruz (we want).
Why does 'to travel' take two words (seyahat etmek)?
In Turkish, many verbs are formed by combining a noun with a helper verb like etmek (to do/make). Seyahat is a noun meaning 'journey' or 'travel', so seyahat etmek literally means 'to make a journey'. Because it is a compound verb, the infinitive -mek only goes on the helper verb.
Why is it spelled istiyoruz and not 'isteyoruz'?
The root of the verb is iste- (want). When we add the present continuous ending -yor, a special Turkish pronunciation rule kicks in: verbs ending in 'a' or 'e' narrow that vowel. Here, the 'e' changes to an 'i', making it istiyor. Then we add the personal ending -uz for 'we'.
Why is birlikte (together) placed at the very beginning?
In Turkish, the main conjugated verb usually goes at the very end. The subject 'we' is already built into the verb istiyoruz, so we don't need to write biz (we) at the start. This leaves birlikte to naturally sit at the beginning, placed before the action it describes (seyahat etmek).
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