Learn Turkish Talking About Family
Learn Turkish Talking About Family
Detailed Turkish Grammar Explanation: Possessive Suffixes & “To Be”
| 🇹🇷 Turkish | 🔤 Phonetics | 🗣️ English | 📚 Detailed Grammar Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annen nasıl? | an-nen na-sıl? | How is your mother? | Anne-n: The -n is the 2nd person singular possessive suffix (for “you” – sen). It means “your”.Structure: Noun ( Anne) + Possessive Suffix (-n) = Your mother. |
| ANNEM iyi. | an-nem i-yi. | MY MOTHER is good/well. | Anne-m: The -m is the 1st person singular possessive suffix (for “I” – ben). It means “my”.Zero Copula: In Turkish, the verb “to be” (is/are/am) is not used in the present tense. The sentence is simply: [Subject] + [Adjective]. So Annem iyi literally translates to “My mother good,” which means “My mother is good.” |
| Annen nasıldı? | an-nen na-sıl-dı? | How was your mother? | Nasıl-dı: Here, -dı is the past tense suffix of the verb “to be” (was/were). It is attached to the adjective nasıl (how).Structure: Adjective ( nasıl) + Past Tense “to be” (-dı) = How was…? |
| Annemiz | an-ne-miz | Our mother | Anne-miz: The -miz is the 1st person plural possessive suffix (for “we” – biz). It means “our”. |
| AnnelERİ | an-ne-le-ri | His/her/its/their/your(formal) mother | Anne-ler-i: This is a two-part suffix.1. -ler: This is the plural suffix (like -s in English).2. -i: This is the 3rd person possessive suffix (for “he/she/it” – *o* or “they” – onlar). It means “his/her/its” or “their”.Important: While anne-ler-i can technically mean “their mothers,” it is most commonly used to mean “his/her mother.” Context is key. For clarity, Turks often add the owner: Onun annesi (His/her mother). |
| Onların anneleri | on-la-rın an-ne-le-ri | Their mothers | Onlar-ın: This is the genitive case suffix -ın (their/of them). It explicitly states the owner.Anne-ler-i: Again, this is the plural noun (anneler – mothers) + the 3rd person possessive suffix (-i).Structure: Owner in Genitive ( Onların) + Owned Thing (anneleri) = Their mothers. This structure is called the “Possessive Relationship” (Tamlayan-Tamlanan İlişkisi). |
| Bizim annemiz | bi-zim an-ne-miz | Our mother | Biz-im: This is the genitive case for “we” (our). While annemiz already means “our mother,” adding bizim emphasizes the possession. It’s like saying “Our mother” for emphasis. |
| Sizin anneniz | si-zin an-ne-niz | Your (formal or plural) mother | Siz-in: Genitive case for the formal/plural “you” (your).Anne-niz: The -niz is the 2nd person plural/formal possessive suffix (for “you” – siz). It means “your”. |
| Benim annem = annem | be-nim an-nem = an-nem | My mother = my mother | Ben-im: Genitive case for “I” (my).Anne-m: 1st person singular possessive suffix (my).Using benim annem is emphatic (“My mother…”). Using just annem is the standard, neutral way to say “my mother.” Both are correct. |
| Anne nerede? | an-ne ne-re-de? | Where is mother? | Nere-de: The -de is a locative case suffix meaning “in/at/on”.Zero Copula: Again, the verb “is” is dropped. Literally: “Mother where-at?” |
| Şimdi annem salonda. | şim-di an-nem sa-lon-da. | Now my mother is in the living room. | Salon-da: Locative case suffix -da (in/at/on the living room).The full sentence structure is: [Time] + [Subject] + [Location+Locative]. The verb “is” is implied. |
| Dün annen neredeydi? | dün an-nen ne-re-dey-di? | Where was your mother yesterday? | Nere-de-y-di: This combines three elements:1. Nere (where)2. -de (locative suffix – at)3. -ydi (past tense “to be” – was)It literally means “Where-at-was?” |
| Dün annem mutfaktaYDI. | dün an-nem mut-fak-ta-y-dı. | Yesterday my mother was in the kitchen. | Mutfak-ta-y-dı: This is a crucial structure.1. Mutfak (kitchen)2. -ta (locative suffix – in, becomes -ta after a hard consonant)3. -ydı (the past tense suffix for “to be” – was).In Turkish, the past form of “to be” is directly attached to the noun/adjective. It’s not a separate word. So “was in the kitchen” becomes a single word: mutfaktaydı. |
Learn Turkish Talking About Family
Summary of Key Grammar Points:
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Possessive Suffixes: Turkish doesn’t use separate words like “my, your, our.” Instead, it adds suffixes directly to the noun.
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-(i)m= my -
-(i)n= your (singular, informal) -
-(s)i= his/her/its -
-(i)miz= our -
-(i)niz= your (plural/formal) -
-leri= their
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The Verb “To Be” (Copula):
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Present Tense: It is hidden (Zero Copula).
Annem iyi= My mother (is) good. -
Past Tense: It becomes a suffix
-di/-dı/-du/-dü(depending on vowel harmony) and is attached to the word.İyiydi= (She) was good.Mutfaktaydı= (She) was in the kitchen.
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Possessive Relationship (iyelik ilişkisi): For emphasis or clarity, you can use the structure: [Owner in Genitive Case] + [Owned Thing with Possessive Suffix]. The genitive case suffixes are
-in,-ın,-un,-ün.-
Benim arabam(My car) –Ben-im(I + genitive),araba-m(car + my) -
Onun annesi(His/her mother) –On-un(He/She + genitive),anne-si(mother + his/her)
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