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Questions & Answers about Sokakta oynama, bahçede oyna.
Why does the negative command oynama use the -ma suffix instead of -me?
To tell someone not to do something, you add -ma or -me directly to the verb root. The verb root for 'to play' is oyna. Because its last vowel is a back vowel ('a'), vowel harmony dictates we use -ma, giving us oynama.
Why is the positive command 'play' just oyna?
In Turkish, the informal command for 'you' (singular) is exactly the same as the verb root. You just drop the -mak or -mek from the dictionary form. So, oynamak (to play) becomes the command oyna (play!).
Why is the ending for 'on the street' -ta (sokakta) but 'in the garden' uses -de (bahçede)?
Both suffixes are the locative case, meaning 'in', 'on', or 'at'. Normally, this suffix is -da or -de (as in bahçede, based on vowel harmony). But because sokak ends with a hard consonant ('k'), the 'd' hardens into a 't' to match it. This changes the suffix to -ta.
Why does the sentence put the places (sokakta, bahçede) before the actions?