Questions & Answers about Ocak ayında orman bembeyaz ve bomboş görünüyordu.
How are the intensified words bembeyaz and bomboş formed?
They are made by taking the first syllable of the adjective (be- from beyaz, bo- from boş), adding an intensifying consonant (m, p, r, or s), and attaching it to the front. Here, both use m, making bem- + beyaz and bom- + boş. This structure is used to add emphasis, like saying 'bright white' or 'completely empty'.
Is there a rule for why both bembeyaz and bomboş take the letter m instead of p, r, or s?
Unfortunately, there is no strict grammatical rule for which of the four consonants (m, p, r, s) to use. It is based on how the word sounds best in Turkish, and you just have to memorize the most common ones. You will see this pattern frequently with colors and physical states.
Why do we say Ocak ayında instead of just Ocak'ta to mean 'in January'?
You can actually say Ocak'ta! But Ocak ayında (literally 'in the month of January') is a very natural and common way to refer to months in Turkish. It uses a noun compound: Ocak + ayı (month of January) + n (buffer) + da (in).