Çocuk şeytandan korktu.

Because the verb korkmak (to be afraid / to fear) normally takes the ablative case in Turkish, usually marked by -dan / -den / -tan / -ten.

So:

• şeytan = devil
• şeytandan = literally from the devil

But with korkmak, that -dan ending is the normal way to express being afraid of someone/something.

So Turkish says something closer to:

• Çocuk şeytandan korktu.
• literally: The child feared from the devil
• natural English: The child was afraid of the devil.

This is due to two regular Turkish sound rules:

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

In şeytan:

• the last vowel is a, so the suffix uses a rather than e
• the word ends in n, which is a voiced consonant, so the suffix starts with d, not t

So:

• şeytan + dan = şeytandan

Other nouns would take different forms, for example:

• evden = from the house
• ağaçtan = from the tree
• köpekten = from the dog

Because çocuk is the subject of the sentence, and Turkish subjects are normally in the basic form of the noun, often called the nominative.

So here:

• çocuk = the child / child
• şeytandan = of the devil / from the devil
• korktu = was afraid / feared

Only şeytan gets a case ending because it is the complement required by korkmak.

Korktu comes from the verb korkmak (to be afraid, to fear).

Breakdown:

• verb stem: kork-
• past tense ending: -du / -dı / -dü / -di / -tu / -tı / -tü / -ti

Here it becomes -tu, so:

• kork-tu = was afraid / feared

Why -tu?

• the last vowel in kork- is o, so the suffix vowel becomes u
• the final consonant k is voiceless, so the past marker uses t instead of d

Turkish does not have a word exactly like English the.

So çocuk can mean:

• child
• the child

and şeytan can mean:

• devil
• the devil

You understand whether it is definite or indefinite from context. In many simple examples like this, English naturally uses the, but Turkish does not need a separate article.

Yes. This is a very normal Turkish word order.

A common neutral Turkish pattern is:

• Subject + other elements + verb

So here:

• Çocuk = subject
• şeytandan = complement of the verb
• korktu = verb

That gives:

• Çocuk şeytandan korktu.

The verb often comes at the end in Turkish.

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, but changing the order usually changes the focus or emphasis, not the basic meaning.

For example:

• Çocuk şeytandan korktu. = neutral
• Şeytandan çocuk korktu. = stronger focus on the devil
• Korktu çocuk şeytandan. = possible in speech or stylistically marked, but less neutral

For a learner, the safest default is to keep the neutral order with the verb at the end.

It can correspond to both, depending on context.

• Çocuk şeytandan korktu. can be translated as:
  • The child feared the devil
  • The child was afraid of the devil

In everyday English, was afraid of is usually the more natural translation.

Because korkmak does not normally take the accusative object.

Many English speakers expect a direct object after fear, but Turkish uses a different structure. With korkmak, the thing feared is marked with the ablative:

• correct: şeytandan korktu
• not normal here: şeytanı korktu

So this is an important verb pattern to memorize:

• birinden korkmak = to be afraid of someone
• bir şeyden korkmak = to be afraid of something

A rough pronunciation guide:

• Çocuk ≈ cho-jook
• şeytandan ≈ shay-tan-dan
• korktu ≈ kork-too

A few helpful letter notes:

• ç = ch as in chair
• ş = sh as in shoe
• u is pronounced like oo in food

So the whole sentence sounds roughly like:

• cho-jook shay-tan-dan kork-too

Korktu is third person singular past.

It can mean:

• he was afraid
• she was afraid
• it was afraid

In this sentence, the noun çocuk already tells us who the subject is, so no separate pronoun is needed.

Turkish often omits pronouns when the subject is already clear.

The dictionary forms are:

• çocuk = child
• şeytan = devil
• korkmak = to be afraid / to fear

In the sentence, two of these appear in changed forms:

• şeytan → şeytandan because of the ablative ending
• korkmak → korktu because of the past tense ending

Not necessarily by grammar alone. Turkish often leaves definiteness to context.

So depending on context, çocuk could mean:

• the child
• a child

and şeytan could mean:

• the devil
• a devil
• even the devil figure in a general sense

In many textbook translations, English uses the child and the devil because that sounds most natural, but Turkish itself does not force that interpretation here.