Oğlan parkta koşuyor.

The boy is running in the park.

Breakdown of Oğlan parkta koşuyor.

• park: the park
• koşmak: to run
• -ta: in
• oğlan: the boy

Questions & Answers about Oğlan parkta koşuyor.

What does the ending -yor in koşuyor mean?

It marks the Turkish present continuous tense (şimdiki zaman): an action happening right now. So koşuyor means “is running.”

How do you get koşuyor from the dictionary verb koşmak (“to run”)?

• Start with the stem: koş- (drop -mak).
• Add the present-continuous suffix -(I)yor, where (I) follows 4-way vowel harmony based on the last vowel of the stem.
• The last vowel in koş- is o (back, rounded), so the harmony vowel becomes u: koş-
  • -uyor → koşuyor.

Why is it parkta and not parkda?

Because of consonant assimilation with the locative suffix. The locative is -DA/-DE, but after a voiceless consonant (like k, p, t, ç, f, h, s, ş), D becomes T. Since park ends in voiceless k, you get -ta. Also, vowel harmony picks a (not e) because the last vowel in park is a back vowel (a): hence parkta.

What case is parkta?

The locative case, meaning “in/at/on.” Turkish uses case suffixes instead of separate prepositions for basic spatial relations, so parkta = “in/at the park.”

Why is there no word for “the” or “a”?

Turkish has no articles like English. Bare nouns can be specific or generic depending on context. If you want to explicitly say “a,” you use bir: Bir oğlan parkta koşuyor (“A boy is running in the park”). “The” is usually inferred from context.

Is the word order fixed? Could I move words around?

Default sentence order is Subject–(Time/Place/etc.)–Verb, with the verb typically last. Oğlan parkta koşuyor is the neutral order. You can move constituents for emphasis, but the most informative element usually appears right before the verb. For example, Oğlan parkta koşuyor emphasizes the location (“in the park”). Putting words after the verb (e.g., Oğlan koşuyor parkta) is possible but sounds marked/afterthought-like.

Can I drop the subject and just say “Parkta koşuyor”?

Yes. Turkish is pro-drop. Parkta koşuyor can mean “He/She is running in the park,” if the subject is clear from context.

What’s the difference between oğlan and çocuk?

• oğlan = boy (male child), more colloquial/regionally common; in some contexts it can sound rustic or informal.
• çocuk = child (gender-neutral). To be explicit with “boy,” many speakers say erkek çocuk.

Where is the person/number marking on koşuyor?

It’s in the verb ending. In 3rd person singular, there’s no extra personal suffix beyond -yor: koşuyor = “he/she is running.” Other forms:

• Ben: koşuyorum
• Sen: koşuyorsun
• O: koşuyor
• Biz: koşuyoruz
• Siz: koşuyorsunuz
• Onlar: koşuyorlar

Why not use koşar instead of koşuyor?

Koşar is the aorist (habitual/general): “The boy runs (as a habit).” Koşuyor is present continuous: “The boy is running (right now).”

How do I make it plural: “The boys are running in the park”?

Use plural on the noun and usually on the verb:

• Oğlanlar parkta koşuyorlar. With an overt human plural subject, adding -lar on the verb (koşuyorlar) is standard, though you may hear it omitted in casual speech: Oğlanlar parkta koşuyor.

How do I negate it?

Insert the negative morpheme -mA- before -yor, with vowel harmony:

• Oğlan parkta koşmuyor. = “The boy is not running in the park.”

How do I ask “Is the boy running in the park?”

Use the question particle mi/mı/mu/mü, which follows vowel harmony and comes after the predicate:

• Oğlan parkta koşuyor mu? Here it’s mu because the last vowel of koşuyor is back/rounded.

Any pronunciation tips for the words here?

• oğlan: The letter ğ (soft g) isn’t pronounced like g; it lengthens/smooths the preceding vowel. Roughly “OH-lahn.”
• koşuyor: ş is “sh.” Approx. “koh-SHOO-yor.”
• parkta: Pronounce the final k clearly; approx. “PARHK-tah.”
  Turkish vowels are pure; avoid diphthongs.

Why not parka or parktan?

Those are different cases:

• parka (dative) = “to the park”
• parkta (locative) = “in/at the park”
• parktan (ablative) = “from the park” Choose the case that matches the meaning.

Should there be an apostrophe in parkta?

No. Apostrophes are only used with proper names. For example, “in Central Park” would be Central Park’ta. The common noun park takes parkta without an apostrophe.

Can I use a pronoun instead of oğlan?

Yes: O parkta koşuyor. Here o = he/she/it (no grammatical gender in Turkish). If you want “that boy,” you can say o oğlan or şu oğlan.

How would I say “the boy in the park is running”?

Use the attributive suffix -ki: Parktaki oğlan koşuyor. Literally “the boy who is in the park is running.”

Does parkta mean both “in the park” and “at the park”?

Yes. Turkish locative -da/-de/-ta/-te covers English “in/at/on,” with context deciding which English preposition fits best.