Learn Turkish: Bebek ağladı ağlayacak, hemen emzir! - The baby is about to cry, breastfeed him immediately!

This is the imminent action structure you are learning in this lesson. By placing the 3rd person past tense (ağladı, cried) right next to the 3rd person future tense (ağlayacak, will cry) of the same verb, Turkish creates the meaning that an action is on the absolute verge of happening. It implies the event is so close it is hovering between the past and the future.

Could I use ağlamak üzere here instead?

Yes, Bebek ağlamak üzere also means the baby is about to cry. However, the ağladı ağlayacak pattern is often used in conversational Turkish to express a stronger sense of suspense, inevitability, or extreme immediacy. It feels more urgent than -mak üzere.

What is the root of the verb emzir?

The verb emzirmek (to breastfeed) is a causative form. It comes from the root emmek (to suck or absorb). The causative suffix -zir (a rare variation of the standard -dir causative suffix) changes the meaning to "cause to suck," which translates to breastfeeding. Here it is used in the imperative (command) form, emzir.

Why doesn't the Turkish sentence include a word for "him" or "her" in the second half?