Learn Turkish: Siz inekleri elle sağıyordunuz. - You were milking the cows by hand.

The -i is the specific direct object marker (the accusative case). It points out exactly what is receiving the action of the verb. Because it is inekleri, it translates to "the cows" instead of just "cows" in general.

How does elle mean "by hand"?

It comes from the word el (hand) combined with the word ile (with / by means of). When ile is attached directly to a word ending in a consonant, it drops its first vowel and becomes -le or -la. So, el plus -le becomes elle.

How do the suffixes on sağıyordunuz work to mean "you were milking"?

This uses the past continuous tense, which combines two time markers. sağ is the verb root (to milk), and the -ı- is a buffer vowel. -yor means the action is continuous (like the English "-ing"). -du makes it past tense ("were"). Finally, -nuz shows that the subject is siz (you, plural or formal).

Wait, doesn't sağ mean "right" or "alive"?