Breakdown of Gitar çalmak istiyor.
istemek
to want / to require / to call for
gitar
guitar
çalmak
to play (an instrument) / to play (a recording, music)
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Questions & Answers about Gitar çalmak istiyor.
Why do we use the dictionary form çalmak before istiyor?
When you want to say you "want to do" an action, you use the infinitive form of the main verb (ending in -mak or -mek) immediately followed by the conjugated verb istemek (to want). Here, çalmak is "to play" and istiyor is "he wants". It translates perfectly to "He wants to play".
I thought "to play" was oynamak. Why does this sentence use çalmak?
You use oynamak for playing sports, games, or acting. However, for playing musical instruments, you must always use çalmak. (Fun fact: çalmak is also the verb used for ringing a bell, knocking on a door, or even stealing!)
Why doesn't the word gitar have any endings, like gitarı?
When you talk about playing an instrument in general, Turkish uses the bare, uninflected noun. You don't need the specific object marker (-ı or -i) unless you are talking about playing one very specific, previously mentioned guitar.
There is no word for "he" in this sentence. How do we know who wants to play?
In Turkish, the subject is built into the verb ending. The verb istiyor has no personal suffix after the -yor ending, which makes it third-person singular ("he", "she", or "it"). Depending on the context, this sentence could equally mean "She wants to play the guitar."