Questions & Answers about Çocuklar okulun dışında oynuyor.
Why does okul (school) have the -un suffix here?
To say "outside the school" in Turkish, we use a possessive structure that literally translates to "at the school's outside." Because of this, okul takes the genitive (possessive) suffix -un, becoming okulun.
How is the word dışında (outside) put together?
It starts with the root dış (exterior/outside). Then we add the 3rd-person possessive suffix -ı ("its"). Before we can add the locative suffix -da ("at/in"), we need the buffer letter -n- to link them. So, dış + ı + n + da literally means "at its outside."
The verb root for "play" is oyna-. Why does it change to oynuyor instead of "oynayor"?
When a verb root ends in the broad vowel a or e and we add the present continuous suffix -yor, that final vowel gets narrowed to fit vowel harmony. Here, the a in oyna- drops and is replaced by u, creating oynuyor.
Since the subject is plural (çocuklar), shouldn't the verb be oynuyorlar?
In Turkish, if a human subject is explicitly stated in its plural form (like çocuklar), adding the plural suffix -lar to the verb is optional. Saying Çocuklar okulun dışında oynuyorlar is also correct, but dropping the suffix on the verb is very common and sounds completely natural.
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