Learn Turkish: Biz sadece tembel yarışmacıları eledik. - We eliminated only the lazy contestants.

In Turkish, the most emphasized information is usually placed directly before the verb. By putting the whole phrase sadece tembel yarışmacıları (only the lazy contestants) right before the verb eledik, the sentence places the focus entirely on who was eliminated, answering the implicit question 'Who did you eliminate?'

How does the position of sadece change the focus of this sentence?

Sadece (only) modifies the word or phrase immediately following it. Here, it sits before tembel yarışmacıları, meaning 'only the lazy contestants.' If you moved it to the beginning of the sentence (Sadece biz...), the focus would shift to mean 'Only WE eliminated the lazy contestants.' If you put it right before the verb (...sadece eledik), it would mean 'We ONLY eliminated them' (maybe we didn't interview them).

Why is the ending -ı added to yarışmacılar?

That is the accusative case suffix, which marks a specific direct object. Because the sentence refers to specific people—THE lazy contestants, rather than just lazy contestants in general—it requires this marker. The suffix follows 4-way vowel harmony, so the plural word yarışmacılar takes -ı.

What is the root verb of eledik, and how is it built?