Breakdown of Uzaylılar bir koloni kurardı.
bir
a / an
kurmak
to set up
uzaylı
alien / extraterrestrial
koloni
colony
Questions & Answers about Uzaylılar bir koloni kurardı.
Why does kurardı end in both -ar and -dı?
This is the past aorist tense. It combines the aorist suffix -ar (which usually indicates general or habitual present) with the past tense suffix -dı. Together, they form the meaning of "used to do" for past habits, or "would do" for hypothetical situations, which is exactly how it is used in this sentence.
How is the word uzaylılar built?
It starts with uzay, which means "space". Adding the suffix -lı gives it the meaning of "a person or thing from a place" (just like Amerikalı for someone from America). So, uzaylı means "space person" or alien, and the -lar suffix simply makes it plural.
Since uzaylılar is plural, why isn't the verb pluralized as kurarlardı?
In Turkish grammar, if a plural subject is an animal or inanimate object, the verb usually stays singular. If the subject is human, making the verb plural is optional as long as the subject is explicitly stated in the sentence. Aliens fall into a fun gray area, but because the subject is right there and clearly plural, leaving the verb singular is perfectly natural.
Does the verb kurmak always mean to establish something big like a colony?