Learn Turkish: Köpeğimiz sokakta bir top kovalardı. - Our dog used to chase a ball in the street.

It combines two tenses. First, the aorist suffix -r is added to show a general habit. Then, the past tense suffix -dı is attached. This combination of the aorist and the past creates the habitual past, which translates to "used to" or "would" do something in the past.

Why is the aorist suffix just -r in kovalardı, rather than -ar or -ır?

The verb stem is kovala- (to chase). Because this stem already ends in a vowel, you only need to add the consonant -r to form the aorist. You only use forms like -ar or -ır when the verb stem ends in a consonant.

Why did the k in köpek turn into a ğ in köpeğimiz?

This is a quick reminder of consonant mutation. When you add a suffix that starts with a vowel to a word ending in a hard consonant like k, it often softens. Here, adding the possessive -imiz (our) softens the k to a ğ to make pronunciation smoother.

Would the meaning change if the sentence used topu instead of bir top?