Learn Turkish: Dedemin evine uğramam lazımdı. - I had to drop by my grandfather's house.

To express past necessity ("had to"), we use a short verbal noun ending in -ma or -me, add a possessive ending to show who has to do the action, and follow it with lazımdı (was necessary). Here, uğra (drop by) + -ma (verbal noun) + -m (my) becomes uğramam (my dropping by). Then you add lazımdı to literally mean "my dropping by was necessary" or "I had to drop by."

Why does uğramak (to drop by) take the dative case ending -e in evine?

In Turkish, verbs of motion or direction usually take the dative case (meaning "to" or "towards"). When you drop by a place, you are directing your action toward it, so uğramak requires the dative case. That is why we say evine (to his house) instead of just using the plain noun.

Can you break down the suffixes in Dedemin evine?

This is a genitive-possessive phrase showing ownership. First, Dede (grandfather) + -m (my) + -in (genitive "of") becomes Dedemin (of my grandfather). Next, ev (house) + -i (possessive "his") + -n- (buffer letter) + -e (dative "to") becomes evine (to his house). Together, it means "to my grandfather's house."

Could I use instead of in this sentence?