Learn Turkish: Biz ahşabı şöyle şekillendirmek için birbirimize yardım ediyoruz. - We help each other shape the wood like this.

Both can translate to "like this," but şöyle is often used when you are physically demonstrating how to do something right in front of someone, or drawing their attention to a specific method. If you use şöyle in this sentence, you are likely showing the other person the shaping technique right as you speak!

The dictionary word for wood is ahşap. Why is it spelled ahşabı here?

Two things are happening. First, it takes the accusative case suffix -ı because it is the specific direct object being shaped ("the wood"). Second, adding a vowel suffix to words ending in p, ç, t, or k usually causes consonant mutation. Here, the hard p softens to a b.

Why is birbirimize (each other) in the dative case?

The compound verb yardım etmek (to help) always requires its object to be in the dative case. In Turkish, you don't help someone directly; you give help "to" them. The base birbiri (each other) gets the 1st person plural possessive -miz (our), followed by the dative -e (to).

How does şekillendirmek translate to "to shape"?