Düşman köprüde bekliyordu.

• Düşman = enemy / the enemy
• köprüde = on/at the bridge
  
  • köprü = bridge
  • -de = a location ending, meaning something like in / on / at
• bekliyordu = was waiting

A very literal breakdown is:

• Düşman = enemy
• köprü-de = bridge-at/on
• bekliyor-du = waiting-was

So Turkish is building the meaning with endings rather than separate words like English often does.

Because -de here is a case ending, not a separate word.

Turkish often uses endings where English uses prepositions. So instead of saying:

• at the bridge
• on the bridge
• in the bridge (depending on context)

Turkish adds the locative suffix directly to the noun:

• köprü = bridge
• köprüde = at/on the bridge

Be careful: there is also a separate word de/da meaning also / too, but that is different and is written separately.

This is because of two Turkish sound rules:

1. Vowel harmony decides between e and a
2. Consonant harmony decides between d and t

For köprü:

• The last vowel is ü, which is a front vowel
• So the suffix uses e, not a

Also:

• köprü ends in a vowel, so the suffix keeps d, not t

So:

• köprü + de → köprüde

Compare:

• evde = at home
• okulda = at school
• parkta = in the park
• sokakta = on the street

Turkish -de/-da/-te/-ta is broader than any single English preposition. It can correspond to:

• in
• on
• at

depending on the noun and the situation.

So:

• evde = at home / in the house
• masada = on the table
• köprüde = on the bridge / at the bridge

English chooses different prepositions for different kinds of places and surfaces. Turkish often just uses the locative ending.

It comes from the verb beklemek, meaning to wait.

Here is the build-up:

• bekle- = verb stem
• -iyor = progressive aspect, like is waiting
• -du = past tense

So:

• bekliyor = is waiting
• bekliyordu = was waiting

This is why bekliyordu usually corresponds to English was waiting.

This happens because of how the progressive suffix -iyor attaches.

With many verbs ending in a vowel-like stem shape such as bekle-, the final vowel changes or drops before -iyor:

• bekle- + -iyor → bekliyor

So you do not get bekleiyor.

This is a normal pattern in Turkish:

• anla- → anlıyor = is understanding
• başla- → başlıyor = is starting
• bekle- → bekliyor = is waiting

It is just something learners get used to as part of the present continuous form.

Usually, yes: bekliyordu is the normal way to say was waiting.

But like English past continuous, it can sometimes have slightly different shades depending on context, such as:

• background description: The enemy was waiting on the bridge
• ongoing past action: When we arrived, the enemy was waiting
• sometimes habitual past in context: The enemy used to wait on the bridge

So was waiting is the safest main meaning, but context can widen it a little.

Turkish does not have a definite article like English the.

So düşman can mean:

• the enemy
• an enemy
• sometimes just enemy in a general sense

The exact meaning depends on context.

In a sentence like Düşman köprüde bekliyordu, many learners will naturally understand it as The enemy was waiting on the bridge, because that fits the situation. But Turkish itself does not force the here.

Normally, no. Düşman is singular here.

If you wanted to make it clearly plural, you would usually say:

• düşmanlar = enemies

So:

• Düşman köprüde bekliyordu = The enemy / an enemy was waiting on the bridge
• Düşmanlar köprüde bekliyordu = The enemies were waiting on the bridge

That said, some singular nouns in Turkish can sometimes be understood collectively in the right context, but the basic grammar here is singular.

Because Turkish often does not need one.

First, the noun düşman is already the subject, so adding a pronoun would be unnecessary.

Second, Turkish third-person forms do not mark gender the way English does. So bekliyordu can go with:

• he was waiting
• she was waiting
• it was waiting

Context tells you which one is meant. In this sentence, düşman gives you the subject, so no pronoun is needed.

Turkish word order is flexible, although some orders sound more neutral than others.

The given sentence:

• Düşman köprüde bekliyordu

is a natural, neutral way to say it.

You could also say:

• Köprüde düşman bekliyordu

This puts more attention on köprüde or creates a slightly different focus. The verb often stays at the end in ordinary statements, but the other parts can move around for emphasis.

So the original sentence is not the only possible order, just the most straightforward one.

A rough guide:

• düşman ≈ dyush-man
• köprüde ≈ kuh-pry-deh (with rounded front vowels, not exact English sounds)
• bekliyordu ≈ bek-lee-yor-du

A few key sounds:

• ü is like a rounded ee sound
• ö is like a rounded e sound
• ş = sh
• ü and ö do not have perfect English equivalents

So the trickiest part for English speakers is usually the vowels in düşman and köprüde.

Here, beklemek is being used without an object, and that is completely normal.

• Düşman köprüde bekliyordu = The enemy was waiting on the bridge

You can also use beklemek with an object when you are waiting for someone or something:

• Seni bekliyorum = I am waiting for you

So English often uses wait for, but Turkish commonly just uses beklemek directly with the thing or person being waited for.

In your sentence, no object is needed because the point is simply where the enemy was waiting.