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Questions & Answers about Asker kışladayken dinlenir.
How exactly is kışladayken formed?
It is made of the noun kışla (barracks), the locative suffix -da (in/at), the buffer letter -y-, and the suffix -ken (while). You need the -y- because kışlada ends in a vowel.
Why doesn't -ken follow vowel harmony to become -kan after the "a" in kışlada?
The suffix -ken is one of the few exceptions in Turkish grammar. It never changes to follow vowel harmony and always stays exactly as -ken.
How do we know who is in the barracks if kışladayken has no personal ending?
The suffix -ken doesn't take personal endings like "I" or "you". You look at the main subject of the sentence, which is asker (soldier), to know who the sentence is talking about.
Why does the verb use the aorist tense (dinlenir) instead of the present continuous (dinleniyor)?
The aorist suffix -ir shows that this is a general truth or a habit: soldiers, in general, rest when they are in the barracks. If you used dinleniyor, it would mean a specific soldier is resting there right now.