Questions & Answers about Yolda ölü bir kuş gördük.
Why is it ölü bir kuş and not bir ölü kuş?
In Turkish, when you have an adjective and the indefinite article bir (a/an), the adjective almost always comes first. The standard pattern is Adjective + bir + Noun. So, 'a dead bird' translates to ölü bir kuş. If you said bir ölü kuş, it would sound more like 'one dead bird', emphasizing the number rather than the article.
Why isn't kuş in the accusative case here, since it's the direct object of the verb gördük?
We only use the accusative case ending for specific or definite direct objects (like 'the bird' or 'that bird'). Because we are talking about an indefinite object ('a dead bird', marked by bir), it stays in its bare dictionary form. If we saw the specific dead bird, it would be ölü kuşu gördük.