Learn Hardcore Turkish: Sahneyi aydınlatan projektörler, özel efektlerle uyumlu çalışıyordu. - The projectors illuminating the stage were operating in harmony with the special effects.

The suffix -an (from -an/-en) attaches to a verb stem to form a present participle, turning the verb into an adjective-like form. So aydınlatan means “illuminating” or “that illuminates,” modifying projektörler (“projectors”).

Why is sahneyi in the accusative case (with -yi) instead of in the nominative?

Because aydınlatmak (“to illuminate”) is a transitive verb and when the object is specific or definite (“the stage”), Turkish marks it with the accusative -yi. If you said sahne aydınlatan projektörler, it would sound like “projectors that illuminate some unspecified stage.”

Why do we use özel efektlerle with -lerle twice? How does the “with” meaning work?

Özel efektler is the plural “special effects.” To express “with special effects,” you add the instrumental suffix -le, which harmonizes to -le after the front vowel e. Since the noun is already plural, you get efekt-ler-le → efektlerle. You could also say özel efektler ile, but fusing -le as a suffix is more common in conversation.

Why is the verb çalışıyordu not marked for plural even though projektörler is plural?

In Turkish, third-person singular and plural are identical in the continuous and past-continuous tenses. Both “he/she/it was working” and “they were working” use çalışıyordu. You can optionally mark plural with çalışıyorlardı, but it isn’t mandatory.

What’s the difference between çalışıyordu (“was working”) and the simple past çalıştı (“worked”)?

Çalışıyordu is the past continuous tense, used for an ongoing action in the past (“they were working”). Çalıştı is the simple past, describing a completed action (“they worked”). Here, the continuous sense fits because the projectors were running in sync with the effects.

How do özel efektlerle uyumlu function together? Could we say birlikte çalışıyordu instead?

Uyumlu çalışmak literally means “to work in harmony/compatibility.” Özel efektlerle uyumlu çalışıyordu emphasizes precise synchronization with the effects. Birlikte çalışıyordu (“were working together”) is possible but less specific about compatibility.

Why is there a comma after projektörler? Is it mandatory?

The comma separates the participle clause Sahneyi aydınlatan projektörler from the main verb clause özel efektlerle uyumlu çalışıyordu. It isn’t strictly mandatory, but it clarifies the sentence structure, especially when the descriptive clause is long.

Could we reorder the sentence or omit parts for a simpler version?

You could simplify to Projektörler sahneyi aydınlatıyor ve özel efektlerle uyumlu çalışıyordu, or even Sahneyi aydınlatan projektörler, efektlerle uyum içindeydi. Turkish word order is flexible, but the original keeps the participle right before its noun for clarity.