Learn Turkish: Kütüphane saat dokuza kadar açık. - The library is open until nine o'clock.

Kütüphane saat dokuza kadar açık.

The library is open until nine o'clock.

Breakdown of Kütüphane saat dokuza kadar açık.

Questions & Answers about Kütüphane saat dokuza kadar açık.

Why is there an -a at the end of dokuza?

The word kadar means 'until' or 'up to', and it always requires the word before it to take the 'to/towards' direction ending (called the dative case). Because the last vowel in dokuz (nine) is 'u', we follow vowel harmony rules and add -a to make it dokuza. Together, dokuza kadar means 'until nine'.

Why do we need the word saat here? Can we just say dokuza kadar?

You can just say dokuza kadar, but adding saat makes it completely clear that you mean 'nine o'clock'. In Turkish, when referring to a specific time on the clock, you put the word saat (which means clock or hour) right before the number.

Where is the word for 'is' in this sentence?

In Turkish, the present tense words for 'is' or 'are' are often completely left out. You just state the subject (Kütüphane) and the describing word (açık). The 'is' is naturally understood by context, so 'Library until nine open' perfectly translates to 'The library is open until nine'.

Why is açık (open) at the very end of the sentence?

Turkish puts the most important action or state at the very end of the sentence. Since açık (open) is the core piece of information telling us the state of the library, it takes the final spot where a verb would normally go.