Breakdown of Eskiden burada bir fırın vardı.
bir
a / an
var
there is / existent
burada
here
fırın
bakery / oven
eskiden
in the old days, formerly
Questions & Answers about Eskiden burada bir fırın vardı.
Why does eskiden have the -den ending like we are learning for "since," even though there is no beri here?
Eskiden comes from the word eski (old). The ablative suffix -den (from) is used here to point to a time origin ("from the old"). Over time, eskiden became a set expression meaning "in the past" or "in the old days." It doesn't need the word beri (since) to work!
I learned that fırın means "oven." How can it mean "bakery" here?
Fırın is used for both the appliance ("oven") and the shop itself ("bakery"). When someone says there is a fırın in the neighborhood, they mean the bakery shop. You can always tell which one it is from the context.
How is vardı formed? Is it just the word for "there is" plus a past tense ending?
Exactly. Var means "there is" or "exists." To say "there was," you just attach the past tense suffix -dı to it, making it vardı.
Why does the time word (eskiden) come before the place word (burada)?
In Turkish, it is the standard word order to put time expressions at the very beginning of the sentence to set the scene, followed by location words. It sounds just like saying "In the old days, here..." in English.
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