1At a glance
First look at the word’s last vowel: it picks the ending’s vowel. Then look at its last letter: it decides what happens where the two meet.
Two teams -lar/-ler
- It looks at
- the word’s last vowel
- What changes
- the ending’s vowel: a after a ı o u, e after e i ö ü
- Endings
- the plural -lar, -mak, -da, -dan, -(y)a
- Example
- çocuklar, köprüler — children, bridges
- Its quirk
- only the last vowel counts: otobüs has two os, but it’s otobüste
Four teams -ı/-i/-u/-ü
- It looks at
- the word’s last vowel
- What changes
- the ending’s vowel: ı after a ı, i after e i, u after o u, ü after ö ü
- Endings
- mı, “I am” -(y)ım, “my” -(ı)m, -dı, -(ı)yor
- Example
- kızım, gülüyor — my daughter, is laughing
- Its quirk
- mı is written apart, but takes its vowel from the word in front: Evde mi?
A voiceless end d → t
- It looks at
- the word’s last letter
- What changes
- the ending’s d turns into t after f s t k ç ş h p — Fıstıkçı Şahap
- Endings
- -da, -dan, -dı
- Example
- parkta, uçaktan, konuştu — in the park, off the plane, talked
- Its quirk
- the word itself stays put: git → gitti
Softening k → ğ
- It looks at
- the word’s last letter and the ending’s first
- What changes
- p ç t k at the end of the word, before a vowel: b c d ğ
- Endings
- -(y)a, “my” -(ı)m, “his” -(s)ı, -(ı)yor
- Example
- çocuğa, dolabım, gidiyor — to the child, my cupboard, is going
- Its quirk
- one-syllable words usually don’t: topa. After n, k gives g: rengi
2The key points
- Endings grow on one after another, and each one looks at whatever is right in front of it, earlier endings included: çanta → çantam → çantamda.
- Two teams or four is the ending’s choice, not the word’s. -da only knows a and e; mı knows all four. Learn each ending together with its teams.
- Where the two meet, the ending’s first letter decides who gives way. A consonant, and if anything changes, it’s the ending: kitapta. A vowel, and it’s the word: kitaba.
- Two vowels won’t sit side by side. When a word ends in a vowel and the ending starts with one, a y goes in between: Antalya’ya, hastayım.
- One piece won’t play: -yor. The vowel in front of it follows the four teams, but -yor itself never changes: geliyor, okuyor, görüyor.
- Not sure? Say it out loud. These rules aren’t there to be learned by heart: it’s simply easier on your tongue and lips, and your ear will tell you before any table does.
3How it works
| where? | where to? | my | |
|---|---|---|---|
| kapıends in a vowel | kapıda | kapıya | kapım |
| gözfront vowel | gözde | göze | gözüm |
| çocukvoiceless end | çocukta | çocuğa | çocuğum |
| ağaçvoiceless end | ağaçta | ağaca | ağacım |
| renkn before k | renkte | renge | rengim |
| topone syllable | topta | topa | topum |
| burundrops a vowel | burunda | burna | burnum |
And the last one, the rarest. In a handful of two-syllable words the second vowel drops out when the ending starts with a vowel: there’s no room for it any more. Before a consonant it stays: burunda, but burnum. There aren’t many of these, and half of them are bits of your face. Pick them up one at a time, as they come.
oğul → oğlu— son → his son
ağız → ağzın— mouth → your mouth
şehir → şehrimiz— city → our city
isim → isimler— name → names: before a consonant the vowel stays
4In real life
— Çocuklar nerede? — Bahçedeler, ağacın altında.— Where are the kids? — In the garden, under the tree.
— Kitabım nerede? — Dolapta, bak!— Where’s my book? — In the cupboard, look!
Oğlum dün İzmir’den geldi.My son got in from İzmir yesterday.
— Neyin var? — Burnum akıyor, bugün evdeyim.— What’s the matter? — My nose is running, I’m staying home today.
Uçaktan indik, şimdi otobüsteyiz.We’re off the plane, and now we’re on the bus.
— Anahtarın nerede? — Çantamda.— Where’s your key? — In my bag.
Sokakta çocuklar top oynuyor.The kids are playing ball in the street.
5Where it’s easy to slip
| Not like this | Like this | Why |
|---|---|---|
| gözlar | gözler | ö is a front vowel, so it’s -ler. |
| ağaçda | ağaçta | ç is in Fıstıkçı Şahap, so the d turns into t. |
| dolapım | dolabım | The ending starts with a vowel, so the p goes soft. |
| renğim | rengim | After n, k becomes g, not ğ. |
| burunum | burnum | Before a vowel, burun loses its second vowel. |
| görüyür | görüyor | -yor never changes. |
- Get one letter wrong and you’ll still be understood. Turks hear slips like these from foreigners every day and stopped noticing long ago. The rules come with habit, not with cramming.
6Check yourself
Four questions, each with two or three rules at once. Check every join before you choose: the slip can hide in any of them.
1How do you ask “Are the children in the garden?”
2“What colour is the car?” renk is “colour”. Put it in the right form.
Arabanın ? ne?
3A cupboard is a dolap. Which pair is “my cupboard” and “in the cupboard”?
4How do you say “My son went to the park yesterday”?