Learn Turkish: Büyükannem köyde yaşıyor. - My grandmother lives in the village.

The verb root is yaşa- (to live). In Turkish, when you add the present continuous suffix -yor to a verb that ends in the wide vowels -a or -e, that vowel 'narrows' to -ı, -i, -u, or -ü. Here, the -a narrows to -ı, making it yaşıyor.

How does the word büyükannem break down?

It combines büyük (big or great) and anne (mother) to make the single compound word büyükanne (grandmother). The -m at the end is the first-person possessive suffix, making it 'my grandmother'.

Does köyde follow standard vowel harmony rules?

Yes! The word köy (village) has the front rounded vowel 'ö'. According to two-way vowel harmony, words whose last vowel is a front vowel (e, i, ö, ü) take suffixes with 'e'. So, the locative suffix for 'in/at/on' becomes -de, giving us köyde (in the village).

How would I change this sentence to say 'My grandmother had to live in the village' using this lesson's grammar?