Learn Turkish: İtfaiyeciler büyük alevleri söndürebildi. - The firefighters managed to put out the big flames.

It starts with the verb root söndür (put out). Next, we add the ability suffix -ebil, meaning "able to". Finally, we add the past tense suffix -di. Together, söndürebildi means "was able to put out" or "managed to put out".

Why is there an -i at the end of alevleri?

That is the accusative case suffix, which marks a specific direct object. The root is alev (flame), plus the plural -ler. Because they put out the specific big flames, we add -i to make it alevleri.

What are the pieces that make up the word itfaiyeciler?

The base word is itfaiye, which means fire department. The -ci suffix is added to create a profession (just like "-er" in English), making itfaiyeci (firefighter). Finally, -ler makes it plural.

The subject is plural (İtfaiyeciler). Why doesn't the verb have a plural ending like söndürebildiler?

In Turkish, when a plural subject refers to people and is explicitly mentioned in the sentence, the plural suffix -lar or -ler on the verb is optional. Leaving it off is very common and avoids repetition.