Yağmur başlamadan önce samanı ambara taşıdık.

Başlamadan önce literally means something like before starting or before it started.

It breaks down like this:

• başla- = the verb stem to start / begin
• -ma- = negative marker
• -dan = from / without having
• önce = before

So başlamadan önce is a very common Turkish pattern meaning:

• before doing X
• before X happens

In this sentence, yağmur başlamadan önce means before the rain started.

Even though there is a negative element inside the form (-ma-), the whole expression does not mean before it did not start. It is just how Turkish forms the idea before starting / before it starts.

That is normal in Turkish. Turkish often uses a structure like:

• Verb + -madan önce = before doing
• Noun/phrase + önce = before X

So instead of English before the rain started, Turkish says:

• yağmur başlamadan önce

Literally, this is closer to:

• the rain not-having-started before

That sounds strange in English, but it is a standard Turkish pattern.

Because yağmur is the subject of the subordinate clause, not a direct object.

In yağmur başlamadan önce:

• yağmur = the rain
• başlamak = to start

So the rain is the thing that starts. Subjects in Turkish are usually unmarked in the basic form, unless another structure requires something different.

If you said yağmuru, that would usually suggest the accusative form, which is used for a definite direct object, and that would not fit here.

Because samanı is the direct object of taşıdık (we carried), and it is understood as a specific thing: the hay.

• saman = hay
• samanı = the hay / the specific hay

Turkish often uses the accusative ending for a definite or specific direct object.

Compare:

• saman taşıdık = we carried hay
  more general, indefinite
• samanı taşıdık = we carried the hay
  specific hay

So in this sentence, samanı suggests a particular hay that both speaker and listener can identify.

Because the action involves movement toward / into the barn, not location in the barn.

• ambar = barn / granary / storehouse
• ambara = to the barn / into the barn
  this is the dative ending -a / -e
• ambarda = in the barn / at the barn
  this is the locative ending -da / -de

Since taşımak here means carrying something to a destination, Turkish uses the dative:

• samanı ambara taşıdık = we carried the hay into/to the barn

If you said ambarda, it would sound more like the action happened there, not that the hay was moved there.

Taşıdık comes from taşımak, meaning to carry / transport / move.

It breaks down like this:

• taşı- = carry
• -dı- = past tense
• -k = we

So taşıdık means:

• we carried
• we moved
• we transported

Turkish usually does not need a separate word for we here, because the ending already shows the person.

Because Turkish verb endings usually show the subject clearly.

In taşıdık, the ending tells you the subject is we. So adding biz is usually unnecessary.

• taşıdık = we carried
• biz taşıdık = we carried
  with extra emphasis on we

So the sentence does not need a separate pronoun unless the speaker wants contrast or emphasis.

Yes. Yağmur başlamadan önce functions like a time clause: it tells when the main action happened.

The sentence has:

• yağmur başlamadan önce = before the rain started
• samanı ambara taşıdık = we carried the hay to/into the barn

So the first part gives the timing, and the second part gives the main event.

This kind of structure is very common in Turkish.

The given word order is natural, but Turkish word order is more flexible than English.

The neutral version is:

• Yağmur başlamadan önce samanı ambara taşıdık.

You could also say:

• Samanı yağmur başlamadan önce ambara taşıdık.
• Samanı ambara yağmur başlamadan önce taşıdık.

These are still grammatical, but the emphasis changes.

In general:

• the main verb often comes at the end
• earlier parts of the sentence can move around for focus or style

So the sentence is not completely fixed, but the original version is a very normal way to say it.

Yes. The idea is that the main action happened prior to the starting of something.

So here:

• first, we carried the hay to the barn
• later, the rain started

That is exactly why -madan önce is used: it places one event before another event begins.

Because Turkish usually avoids putting certain endings directly onto a final consonant cluster in a way that would be awkward. With ambar + a, the result is simply ambara, which is easy to pronounce.

This is just the normal addition of the dative ending:

• ambar
  • -a → ambara

There is no unusual change here beyond adding the case ending.

Yes, that is a very natural English translation.

Turkish says literally:

• before the rain started

But in English, we often prefer:

• before it started raining

Both express the same idea here. Turkish often uses a noun like yağmur (rain) where English may prefer a clause with it.

Both can be translated as we took the hay to the barn, but they focus a little differently.

• taşımak = to carry, transport, move
  emphasizes the act of moving/carrying
• götürmek = to take (to somewhere)
  emphasizes taking something to a destination

So:

• samanı ambara taşıdık suggests physically carrying or transporting the hay
• samanı ambara götürdük means we took it there, without focusing as much on the carrying process

In this sentence, taşıdık fits well because hay is something you physically move.

Yes, very much so. This is a highly useful pattern:

• Verb stem + -madan önce = before doing X

Examples:

• Gitmeden önce ara. = Call before leaving.
• Yemek yemeden önce ellerini yıka. = Wash your hands before eating.
• Uyumadan önce kitap okurum. = I read before sleeping.

So the sentence is a good model for a very common Turkish structure.