Breakdown of Büyükannem köyde yaşıyor.
yaşamak
to live / to experience / to undergo
köy
village
büyükanne
grandmother
Questions & Answers about Büyükannem köyde yaşıyor.
Why is the verb yaşıyor instead of yaşayor?
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?
To use the past personal necessity structure, you must change the subject to the genitive case (Büyükannemin), turn the verb into a short verbal noun with a possessive (yaşaması), and add the necessity word. The sentence becomes Büyükannemin köyde yaşaması lazımdı (or gerekiyordu).
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