Questions & Answers about Çocuğun dudağında süt var.
Why is there an "n" in dudağında?
The root word is dudak (lip). First, we add the 3rd person possessive suffix -ı to make dudağı (his/her lip). Then, we want to add the locative suffix -da to mean "on his/her lip". In Turkish, whenever you add a case suffix (like -da) right after a 3rd person possessive suffix, you must insert the buffer letter n between them. So, it becomes dudağı + n + da.
How exactly is "the child's lip" formed in this sentence?
Turkish uses a two-part linking system to show possession. The owner (çocuk) gets the genitive case suffix -un to become çocuğun (the child's). The owned object (dudak) gets the possessive suffix -ı to become dudağı (his/her lip). Put them together, and you get çocuğun dudağı.
Why do both çocuğun and dudağında have a "ğ" in them?
This is consonant mutation at work. The original dictionary words are çocuk (child) and dudak (lip). When a word ends in a hard k and you add a suffix that starts with a vowel (like the -un in çocuğun or the -ı in dudağı), that hard k softens into a silent ğ to make it easier to pronounce.
Could I say "Süt çocuğun dudağında var" instead?