Learn Turkish: Şantaj yapmalarına rağmen teklifi kabul etmedi. - Despite them blackmailing him, he did not accept the offer.

This is the core structure for 'despite someone doing' that this lesson covers. It builds on the verb root yap- (to do). We add the short verbal noun suffix -ma, making it a noun. Then we add the 3rd person plural possessive -ları (their). Finally, because rağmen (despite) always requires the dative case, we add a buffer -n- and the dative suffix -a. Literally, it reads as 'despite to their doing'.

How do we know who is blackmailing whom in this sentence?

The suffix -ları in yapmalarına tells us that 'they' are the ones doing the blackmailing (şantaj). The person who did not accept the offer is indicated by the main verb kabul etmedi, which has no personal suffix at the end, meaning the subject is 'he', 'she', or 'it'. The 'him' who is being blackmailed is simply inferred from context; in Turkish, obvious pronouns are often dropped.

Why is the word for offer written as teklifi here instead of just teklif?

The -i at the end is the definite accusative case marker. Because the sentence says he rejected 'the offer' (a specific, known offer rather than just any offer), it is the direct object of the verb kabul etmek (to accept). Therefore, it requires the accusative case.

Why are kabul and etmedi written as two separate words?