Breakdown of Baban salonda kanepede oturuyor muydu?
oturmak
to sit
baba
father
salon
living room
mi
question particle (mı/mi/mu/mü)
kanepe
couch
Questions & Answers about Baban salonda kanepede oturuyor muydu?
How exactly does oturuyor muydu translate to 'was sitting'?
This is the past continuous question form! It takes the verb root otur (sit) and adds the continuous suffix -uyor. Then, it separates the question particle mu, adds the buffer letter y, and attaches the past tense -du. Together, they form 'was he sitting?'.
Why are there two location suffixes used back-to-back in salonda kanepede?
Turkish often lists locations from the largest area to the smallest. Salonda puts the action in the living room, and kanepede narrows it down to the couch. Even though English says 'on the couch in the living room', Turkish prefers this zooming-in order.
Where is the word for 'your' in this sentence?
It is built right into the word baban. The letter -n added to baba is the possessive suffix for 'your' (singular informal). You could say senin baban, but Turkish usually drops the word senin because the suffix already makes the owner clear.
Why does the question particle take the form muydu here instead of miydi?
The question particle changes its vowels to harmonize with the word right before it. Because it follows oturuyor, it uses the vowel u to match the rounded vowels in that verb. If you wanted to ask 'Was it on the couch?' and put the particle after kanepede, it would become miydi.
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