Learn Hardcore Turkish: Onlar her sonbahar göçmen kuşlara eşlik eder. - They accompany migratory birds every fall.

Her means “every.” In Turkish, when you pair her with a noun to express “every,” the noun remains singular and takes no extra suffix. So her sonbahar literally translates as “every autumn.”

Why does göçmen kuşlara end with -lara, and what does that indicate?

The ending -lara is the dative plural suffix (plural -lar + dative -a). The verb eşlik etmek (“to accompany”) requires its object in the dative case (“to accompany to someone”). Because kuş (“bird”) is plural here, you add -lar for plural and then -a for dative, yielding kuşlara: “to the birds.”

What role does göçmen play before kuşlara, and why doesn’t it change form?

Göçmen is an adjective meaning “migratory.” Adjectives in Turkish do not take plural or case endings when modifying a noun. All inflection goes on the noun (kuşlara), so göçmen kuşlara means “to the migratory birds.”

Why is the verb eder used instead of ederler, since the subject is plural Onlar?

Turkish verbs indicate person (1st, 2nd, 3rd) but do not obligatorily mark number. The suffix -r in eder is 3rd person; it can refer to singular or plural. Adding -ler (yielding ederler) is optional and mostly used for emphasis or clarity.

Why is the subject Onlar explicitly stated, even though the verb ending already shows 3rd person?

Pronouns like Onlar are often optional in Turkish, because verb endings convey person. Here Onlar is included for emphasis or clarity (“They accompany…”). You could say simply Her sonbahar göçmen kuşlara eşlik eder and it would still mean “They accompany migratory birds every autumn,” though context would need to make “they” clear.

What does the verb phrase eşlik eder mean, and how is it structured?

Eşlik etmek means “to accompany.” It is a compound verb formed by the noun eşlik (“accompaniment”) plus the verb etmek (“to do/make”). In conjugated form you see only the root of etmek plus tense/person endings: eder = “he/she/they accompany.”

Why is the verb placed at the end of the sentence?

Turkish follows Subject-Object-Verb (S-O-V) word order. So after the subject (Onlar) and the object phrase (her sonbahar göçmen kuşlara), the conjugated verb (eşlik eder) comes last.

Could you drop her and say sonbahar göçmen kuşlara eşlik eder? If so, how would the meaning change?

Yes, you could. Sonbahar göçmen kuşlara eşlik eder would mean “Autumn accompanies migratory birds,” because without her the sentence refers to “autumn” as the subject. To keep “they” as the subject, you’d need Onlar at the start. To express “every autumn” you must include her.