Breakdown of Babam yaramaz köpeğimizle bahçede uçurtma uçururdu.
köpek
dog
bahçe
garden
baba
father
ile
with / by / and (linking nouns)
yaramaz
naughty
uçurtma
kite
uçurmak
to fly (something)
Questions & Answers about Babam yaramaz köpeğimizle bahçede uçurtma uçururdu.
How does uçururdu translate to "used to fly"?
This verb uses the habitual past tense, which is formed by combining the aorist suffix with the past tense suffix. Starting with the verb uçurmak, we add the aorist suffix -ur to show a broad habit, followed by the past tense suffix -du. Together, uçur-ur-du literally means "he used to fly (something)."
I thought the verb "to fly" was uçmak. Why is the verb here uçurmak?
Uçmak means "to fly" as an action you do yourself, like a bird or an airplane. Because the father is flying a kite, he is making the kite fly. This requires the causative suffix -ur, which changes uçmak (to fly) into uçurmak (to make fly).
Why does the word for kite, uçurtma, look like it has a verb ending?
It actually comes from a verb! The -ma suffix can be used to permanently turn an action into a physical noun. Uçurtma comes from uçurtmak (another form of making something fly). So, an uçurtma (kite) is literally a "thing that is made to fly."
How does the word köpeğimizle break down into "with our dog"?
It combines three parts: the root köpek (dog), the first-person plural possessive -imiz (our), and the instrumental suffix -le (with). When we add the vowel-starting suffix -imiz, the final hard k in köpek undergoes consonant mutation and softens into a ğ, giving us köpeğimizle.
Learn Babam yaramaz köpeğimizle bahçede uçurtma uçururdu and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free