Breakdown of Bitiş için ikiye beş kala pistte olacağım.
iki
two
beş
five
olmak
to be
için
for
kala
to (the hour)
bitiş
finish
pist
track
Questions & Answers about Bitiş için ikiye beş kala pistte olacağım.
How does ikiye beş kala mean "at five to two"?
To say an event happens at a certain time before the hour, Turkish uses the dative case (to/towards) on the hour, plus the minutes, and the word kala. Here, we add the dative suffix -e with a buffer letter -y- to iki (two) to make ikiye. We add the minutes (beş) and kala (literally "remaining"). So, ikiye beş kala literally means "with five remaining to two."
Why do we use kala here instead of var?
We use var to state what time it is right now, like Saat ikiye beş var (It is five to two). However, this sentence is about an event happening at a specific time. When saying that an event happens at [minutes] to [hour], var changes to kala.
Where does the word bitiş come from?
It is formed from the verb bitmek (to finish or end). Adding the suffix -iş turns the verb into a noun, meaning "the finish" or "the ending."
Why does the locative suffix on pist take the form -te in pistte?
The word pist (track) ends in t, which is a voiceless consonant. Because of consonant harmony, the locative suffix -da/-de (in/on/at) changes to -ta/-te to match the hard sound, becoming pistte.
Why is there a ğ in olacağım?
The root verb is olmak (to be) and the future tense suffix is -acak, making olacak. When we add the "I" personal suffix -ım, the hard k is trapped between two vowels and softens into a ğ (soft g), resulting in olacağım.
Learn Bitiş için ikiye beş kala pistte olacağım and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free