Breakdown of Siz samanın üstünde uyuyordunuz.
siz
you (plural/formal)
uyumak
to sleep
üstünde
on top of, above
saman
straw
Questions & Answers about Siz samanın üstünde uyuyordunuz.
Why does it say samanın üstünde instead of just samanda for 'on the straw'?
While samanda means 'in/at the straw', Turkish uses a specific pattern to mean 'on top of'. It pairs the genitive ending -ın on saman (straw's) with the word üst (top) plus a possessive ending. So samanın üstünde literally translates to 'at the top of the straw'.
Let's break down the word üstünde. What does the -n- do?
The base word is üst (top). We add the 3rd person possessive suffix -ü to make üstü (its top). When you attach a case ending like the locative -de (at/on) to a word that already has a 3rd person possessive suffix, Turkish requires the buffer letter -n- in between. So it becomes üst + -ü + -n- + -de.
How does the verb uyuyordunuz show 'were sleeping'?
This verb combines two time markers. It takes the root uyu (sleep) and adds the present continuous suffix -yor (sleeping) followed directly by the past tense suffix -du (were). Together, -yordu creates the past continuous tense ('were sleeping'). Finally, -nuz is the 'you' (plural or formal) personal ending.
Why is the past tense suffix -du here instead of the usual ?