Izafet in the Turkish language: noun compounds and spatial words

Lesson vocabulary

Attributive phrases (Noun compounds)

In the Turkish language, there are several types of constructions expressing attributive relationships in a simple sentence. Let’s name them:

1. Affixless type of attributive phrases
2. Indefinite (single-affix) izafet
3. Possessive izafet
4. Izafet chain

Affixless type of attributive phrases

This type covers adjective-noun phrases where the adjective describes a direct, inherent quality of the object.

geniş yol - wide road
genç kız - young girl
akıllı çocuk - smart child

When declining such phrases, only the noun changes; the adjective remains unchanged.

Indefinite (single-affix) izafet

In English, when we want to show that one noun categorizes another (like “football field” or “dining table”), we simply put the two nouns together. In the Turkish language, such combinations are called indefinite (single-affix) izafet. These noun compounds express various relationships: a dining table is a table intended for dining; a washing machine is a machine that washes, etc.

In these structures, only the main (second) word receives a suffix, while the dependent (first) word remains without any formal markers.

If the main word ends in a consonant, it takes the affixes ı i u ü; if it ends in a vowel, it takes sı si su sü.

Türk koleji - Turkish college
okul bahçesi - school garden

This noun compound can be preceded by a descriptive adjective. In this case, the word bir (acting as an indefinite article) is usually inserted between the adjective and the noun compound:

Zor bir Türkçe sınavı - a difficult Turkish language exam
Büyük bir spor salonu - a large sports hall

Exercise 6.1. Attach the indefinite izafet affixes.

Exercise 6.2. Translate into Turkish.

Football/Soccer ball, school bag, children’s doctor (pediatrician), bus stop, swimming pool, school garden, sports hall, neighbor’s door, Turkish exam, a blue school notebook, teachers’ room, pocket watch, headache, computer desk, washing machine

Possessive izafet

A combination of two nouns expressing possession (like “the door’s handle” or “the book of the father”) is called a possessive izafet in Turkish.

In Turkish, the dependent word (the possessor) comes first, and the main word (the possessed) follows it. The dependent word takes the affixes ın, in, un, ün if it ends in a consonant, and nın, nin, nun, nün if it ends in a vowel. The main word takes ı, i, u, ü if it ends in a consonant, and sı, si, su, sü if it ends in a vowel.

Consonant + ın in un ün + ı i u ü

evin kapısı - the door of the house (the house’s door)
televizyonun anteni - the television’s antenna

Vowel + nın nin nun nün + sı si su sü

arabanın tekeri - the car’s wheel
caddenin sonu - the end of the street

It should be noted that the affixes expressing possession are added after all other personal affixes:

Kardeş + im + in defter + i — my sibling’s notebook
Baba + nız + ın kitap + lar + ı — your father’s books

Notice that sometimes the affix nın (ın) attached to the dependent word changes the meaning of the phrase entirely (changing it from an indefinite izafet to a possessive one):

Kadının elbisesi - the woman’s dress (a specific dress belonging to that woman)
Kadın elbisesi - a women’s dress (a dress made for women in general)

Exercise 6.3. Attach the possessive izafet affixes.

Exercise 6.4. Translate into Turkish.

Ali’s bag, the room’s window, the television’s antenna, the father’s book, the sister’s table, the room’s door, the university’s library, the teacher’s notebook, the book’s page, the end of the garden, the friend’s notebooks, the school’s garden, Turgut’s mother, the center of the city, the sister’s dress, the child’s eyes, the phone number.

Exercise 6.5. Translate into Turkish.

The room’s door - our room’s door, the friend’s notebook - your (pl.) friends’ notebooks, the book’s page - the books’ pages, the sister’s computer - my sister’s computer, the father’s cat - their father’s cat, the son’s school - my son’s school, the parents’ garden - his parents’ garden.

Izafet chain

Sometimes complex nested structures arise, like “the color of Ayşe’s bag” or “the glass of my grandfather’s glasses”. In this case, a so-called izafet chain consisting of several links is formed. The first link can be either a possessive izafet or an indefinite one, which takes the affix ın in un ün or nın, nin, nun, nün on top of its own affixes. The second link is the final possessed word, which takes the affixes ı i u ü or sı si su sü.

Ayşe’ + nin çanta + sı + nın reng + i — the color of Ayşe’s bag
Sınıf kapı + sı + nın kol + u — the handle of the classroom door
Dede + m + in gözlüğ + ü + nün cam + ı — the glass of my grandfather’s glasses

Exercise 6.6. Attach the izafet chain affixes.

Senin evin çatı
Onun araba marka
Bizim şehrimiz kale
Sizin doktorunuz tavsiye
Onların kitapları ad
Ali’nin evi pencere
Yatak odası halı
Benim kedim gözler
Okul yemekhanesi sandalyeler

Spatial words in the Turkish language

In Turkish, there are special spatial words that specify the location of an object in space. In most cases, they correspond to English prepositions of place (on, under, behind, between, etc.), but grammatically they act as nouns (literally meaning “the top”, “the inside”, “the back”).

yan - side, next to, beside
iç - inside, interior
üst, üzer - top, surface, on, over
alt - bottom, under
arka - back, behind
ara - space between, between
ön - front, in front of
köşe - corner
karşı - opposite, across from
orta - middle, center
sağ - right (side)
sol - left (side)

These spatial words are used as the second part of a possessive izafet structure. They act as the main word and, accordingly, take the possessive affixes (-ı, -i, -u, -ü after consonants and -sı, -si, -su, -sü after vowels). Since these words describe a location in space, they very often receive the locative case affix as well, which is preceded by the buffer letter n.

Sandalye neresinde? - Where is the chair?
Kapı + nın arka + sı + n + da. - The chair is behind the door (literally: at the door’s back).

Durak neresinde? - Where is the bus stop?
Okul + un sol + u + n + da. - To the left of the school (literally: at the school’s left).

However, if, for example, it is necessary to indicate the direction of movement (“where to?” - Where did you put my book?), the dative case affix can be used instead:

Kitabını dolabının altına koydum. - I put your book under the cupboard (to the cupboard’s bottom).

Exercise 6.7. Translate the following phrases into English.

Sınıfın içinde, kapının sağında, duvarın arkasında, sinemanın karşısında, panonun altında, kutunun içinde, odanın köşesinde, masanın üstünde, pencerenin altında, ütünün yanında, evin arkasında, masanın önünde, mağazanın solunda, rafın üstünde, buzdolabının yanında, sandalyenin altında, televizyonun üstünde, kapının önünde, yatağın altında.

Exercise 6.8. Attach the necessary affixes.

1. Sinema karşı.
2. Sandalye yan.
3. Çanta iç.
4. Sehpa üst.
5. Tuvalet iç.
6. Tezgâh üst.
7. Koltuk yan.
8. Televizyon alt.
9. Garaj iç.
10. Market köşe.

Exercise 6.9. Answer the questions using the words given in brackets.

1. Televizyon, odanın neresinde? (odanın köşesi)
   
2. Siyah kedi, sehpanın neresinde? (sehpanın altı)
   
3. Beyaz kedi, sandalyenin neresinde? (sandalyenin üstü)
   
4. Çiçek, pencerenin neresinde? (pencerenin üstü)
   

5. Koltuk, dolabın neresinde? (dolabın yanı)
   
6. Şişeler, dolabın neresinde? (dolabın içi)
   
7. Tablo, dolabın neresinde? (dolabın üzeri)
   
8. Sehpa, odanın neresinde? (odanın ortası)
   
9. Sandalye, sehpanın neresinde? (sehpanın önü)
   

Exercise 6.10. Answer the questions using the words given in brackets.

1. Köpek nerede? (kapının önü)
   
2. Park nerede? (evin yanı)
   
3. Top nerede? (kutunun içi)
   
4. Tarkan nerede? (ağacın altı?)
   

5. Postahane nerede? (caddenin köşesi)
   
6. Hastahane nerede? (parkın arkası)
   
7. Kedi nerede? (çatının üstü)
   
8. Onun evi nerede? (sinemanın üstü)
   
9. Ali’nin çantası nerede? (oturma odası)
   

Topic: My house (Eviniz kaç odalı?)

Exercise 6.11. Read the dialogue.

— Merhaba Aysel!
— Merhaba Fatih!
— Eviniz nerede?
— Evimiz Çamlıca’da. Sizin eviniz nerede?
— Bizim evimiz Göztepe’de.
— Eviniz kaç odalı?
— Dört odalı. Peki sizinki kaç odalı?
— Bizim evimiz altı odalı.
— Müstakil mi?
— Evet.
— Bahçesi var mı?
— Evet var. Bahçede köpeğimin kulübesi var.
— Benim böyle bir şansım yok. Çünkü biz apartmandayız.

Exercise 6.12. Create similar dialogues based on the given answers:

Exercise 6.13. Read the text. Using the vocabulary from the lesson, describe your house.

Topic: My room

Exercise 6.14. Read the dialogue. Describe your room.

— Senin odan var mı?
— Evet, var.
— Odanda neler var?
— Pencerenin yanında yatağım var. Pencerenin karşısında ise küçük bir vitrin var. Kitaplığım pencerenin yanında. Çöp kutusu ise köşede.
— Bilgisayarın var mı?
— Evet, var.
— Odan düzenli mi?
— Evet, her zaman düzenlidir. Ya seninki?
— Benim odam her zaman dağınıktır.

Word-building affix -lı, (-li, -lu, -lü)

The word-building affix -lı, (-li, -lu, -lü) is used to form adjectives from nouns, meaning “having” or “with”. When translating into English, it often corresponds to adjectives ending in “-y” or “-ed”, or descriptive phrases using the preposition “with”.

Başarı - başarılı insan - success - successful person
Sakal - sakallı dede - beard - bearded grandfather (grandfather with a beard)
Krema - kremalı pasta - cream - creamy cake (cake with cream)
Saygı - saygılı çocuk - respect - respectful child
Şeker - şekerli çay - sugar - sugary tea (tea with sugar)
Koku - kokulu sabun - smell / scent - scented soap
Tuz - tuzlu çorba - salt - salty soup
Çamur - çamurlu yol - mud - muddy road
Gözlük - gözlüklü adam - glasses - man with glasses

In its second meaning, the affix -lı, (-li, -lu, -lü) is attached to geographical names to form adjectives denoting origin or nationality:

Ankara - Ankaralı sporcu - athlete from Ankara
Avrupa - Avrupalı gençler - youth from Europe (European youth)

Nerelisiniz? - Where are you from?
Ben İstanbulluyum. - I am from Istanbul.

Word-building affix -sız, (-siz, -suz, -süz)

The antonym of the word-building affix -lı, (-li, -lu, -lü) in its first meaning is the affix -sız, (-siz, -suz, -süz), indicating the absence of a quality. In most cases, it translates to English using the suffix “-less” or the preposition “without”.

Şeker - şekersiz - sugar - sugarless (without sugar)
Su - susuz - water - waterless (without water)
Bahçe - bahçesiz - garden - without a garden