Breakdown of Komşunun çocukları da bahçede oynuyorlardı.
çocuk
child
bahçe
garden
oynamak
to play
de
too, also (da after a back vowel) / even if (concessive particle after conditional) / and (linking clauses)
komşu
neighbor
Questions & Answers about Komşunun çocukları da bahçede oynuyorlardı.
Why is there an -nun on komşu and an -ı on çocuklar?
This forms a specific possessive phrase meaning "the neighbor's children". The word komşu (neighbor) takes the genitive (owner) suffix -nun, and çocuklar (children) takes the possessive (owned) suffix -ı. If it were just talking about general "neighbor children" rather than a specific neighbor's kids, it would be komşu çocukları without the -nun.
Why is da written as a separate word here, while -de is attached to bahçe?
When written as a separate word, da or de is a conjunction that means "also" or "too" (the children were also playing). When it is attached directly to a word, like in bahçede, it is the locative suffix meaning "in", "on", or "at" (in the garden).
The dictionary verb for "to play" is oynamak. Why does it change to oynu- here?
This happens because of a rule called vowel narrowing. When a verb ends in a wide vowel like -a or -e (as in oyna-) and you add the continuous suffix -yor, that final vowel narrows to -ı, -i, -u, or -ü. Here, oyna- changes to oynu- to smoothly blend with the -yor suffix.
How do the suffixes on oynuyorlardı work to mean "they were playing"?
This is the past continuous tense, which is used for actions that were ongoing in the past. It breaks down into oynu- (play) + -yor (continuous/"ing") + -lar (they/plural marker) + -dı (past tense). Notice that in the third-person plural, the plural suffix -lar comes before the past tense suffix -dı.
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