Learn Turkish: Nereye gitsem, insanlar ana dilini korumak için gayret ediyor. - No matter where I go, people make an effort to protect their mother tongue.

This uses the pattern for "no matter..." taught in this lesson. By combining a question word like nereye (where to) with a verb in the conditional form gitsem (if I go), it translates to "no matter where I go" or "wherever I go".

Why is it ana dilini and not just ana dil?

The Turkish term for "mother tongue" is a compound noun, ana dili, which must include the possessive suffix -i. Since it is the specific direct object of the verb korumak (to protect), it also needs the accusative case suffix. We add the buffer letter -n- followed by the accusative -i, resulting in ana dilini.

Since the subject is insanlar (people), shouldn't the verb be gayret ediyorlar?

It could be, but it doesn't have to be. In Turkish, when the subject is a plural human noun, adding the plural suffix -lar to the verb is optional. Using the singular form gayret ediyor is very common and grammatically correct here.

How does gayret ediyor work?

Gayret is a noun meaning "effort" or "endeavor." It is paired with the auxiliary verb etmek (to do / to make) to form the compound verb gayret etmek, which means "to make an effort" or "to strive".