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Questions & Answers about Yarış akşamları başlardı.
How do we get the meaning "used to start" from başlardı?
This is the Aorist Past tense, which is perfect for describing past habits. It is built from the verb root başla- (to start), the aorist suffix -r (showing a general habit), and the past tense suffix -dı. Together, the -rdı combination translates to the English "used to" or "would" (do something).
Why is the aorist suffix in başlardı just -r instead of -ar or -ır?
Because the verb root başla- ends in a vowel. When a verb root ends in a vowel, the aorist suffix is always just -r (just like okur or söyler). We then simply attach the past tense suffix -dı to it.
Why is there an -ı at the end of akşamları? Doesn't akşamlar already mean "evenings"?
Yes, akşamlar means "evenings", but to say "in the evenings" as a regular, recurring time, Turkish adds the third-person possessive suffix -ı. You will see this pattern with other times of day too, such as sabahları (in the mornings) or geceleri (at night).
If this happened over multiple evenings, why is Yarış singular?