This is the 12166th most frequent Turkish word.
gülüyordu
"Was laughing."
In this sentence, 'gülüyordu' is used to describe an ongoing past action. Ali was actively laughing in the past while in the park.
Ali arkadaşlarıyla parktayken gülüyordu.
Ali was laughing while he was in the park with his friends.
Here, 'gülüyordu' refers to someone maintaining a laughing demeanor even while being internally preoccupied. It's a nuanced use to show simultaneous states.
Kuşların cıvıltısı onun yüzünde bir tebessüm oluşturmuştu, ama hala kendi düşüncelerine dalmışken gülüyordu.
The chirping of the birds had brought a smile to her face, yet she was still laughing while being lost in her thoughts.
In this example, 'gülüyordu' accentuates the degree of Ahmet's laughter in comparison to others during a shared past moment.