Breakdown of Kadın soruları cevaplamıyordu, bu yüzden memur ona beklemesini söyledi.
o
that / he / she / it
kadın
woman
soru
question
beklemek
to wait
Questions & Answers about Kadın soruları cevaplamıyordu, bu yüzden memur ona beklemesini söyledi.
Why is it cevaplamıyordu and not cevaplamayordu?
This is due to a rule called vowel narrowing. The root verb is cevaplamak (to answer) and its negative uses the suffix -ma. When the continuous tense suffix -yor is added right after an 'a' or 'e', it narrows that vowel. Here, the 'a' in -ma changes to an 'ı', making it cevaplamıyordu.
How does beklemesini söyledi translate to "told her to wait"?
To tell someone to do something in Turkish, you use a verbal noun. Bekleme is the action of waiting. The -si suffix makes it "her waiting" (possessive), and the -ni is the accusative case marker because this whole action is the direct object of söyledi. You are literally saying the officer "told her waiting."
Why does the sentence use ona instead of onu?
The verb söylemek (to tell/say) requires the dative case (to/towards) for the person receiving the information. While English simply says "told her," Turkish logic phrases this as "told to her," which is why ona is used instead of the accusative onu.
Why does soruları have the -ı suffix at the end?
The -ı is the definite accusative case marker. It is needed here because the questions are the specific, definite direct object of the verb. She wasn't just refusing to answer general questions; she was not answering the specific questions being asked.