Learn Turkish: Yeni bir tuval almak için mağazaya gitmişti. - He had gone to the store to buy a new canvas.

In Turkish, when an adjective modifies a noun alongside the indefinite article bir, the adjective must come first. The pattern is always [Adjective] + bir + [Noun]. If you were to say bir yeni tuval, it would sound specifically like you are counting: "one new canvas" rather than just "a new canvas."

How does the phrase almak için work to mean "to buy" here?

The word için generally means "for," but when you place it directly after a full infinitive verb ending in -mAk, it creates a purpose clause meaning "in order to." Therefore, almak için literally translates to "in order to buy" or "in order to take."

Wait, doesn't almak mean "to take" rather than "to buy"?

It means both! While its core literal meaning is "to take" or "to get," almak is the standard, everyday verb used for "to buy" in Turkish. The context of going to a store (mağazaya) makes it perfectly clear that a purchase is happening rather than a theft.

Why does the verb gitmişti have two past tense suffixes (-miş and -ti)?