Cases in the Turkish language

Lesson vocabulary

Noun cases in the Turkish language

Linguists of the Turkish language distinguish 8 cases.

1. nominative case (= indefinite accusative)
2. dative case
3. locative case
4. ablative case
5. definite accusative case
6. instrumental/comitative case
7. genitive case
8. equative case (expressing a point of view or similarity)

Some of the cases correspond perfectly to English prepositions or syntactic roles, while some do not have direct analogies in the English language and represent unique grammatical forms.

Of course, verb government (i.e., the dependence on using a specific case after a certain verb) in the Turkish language is unique, doesn’t always match English logic, and is memorized and refined as you study the language.

The main things to remember when starting to study the case system are:

1) If the noun phrase to which you need to attach a case affix is an izafet (a noun compound), the buffer letter (interfix) n is used, followed by the appropriate case ending:

2) The order of affixes in a word is as follows: if it is necessary to express the plurality of objects, the plural affixes (-lar, -ler) are placed first, followed by the possessive affixes (-m, -n, -sı, -mız, -nız, -ları), and only after them come the case affixes.

Öğrenci + ler + iniz + e - to your students
Arkadaş + lar + ım + la - with my friends

Accusative Case (Definite and Indefinite)

The main meaning of the accusative case in the Turkish language is the same as in English grammar: it marks the direct object upon which the verb’s action is directed. The accusative case answers the questions Kimi? - ‘Whom?’, Neyi? - ‘What?’. In Turkish, two types of accusative cases are distinguished: the first is called indefinite, or nominative, since the noun does not receive any affixes and is used in the form in which the word appears in the dictionary; the second is called definite. It is formed by the affixes -ı, -i, -u, -ü after consonants and -yı, -yi, -yu, -yü after vowels.

The indefinite accusative is used if the object upon which the action transitions is single and non-specific (usually translating with ‘a/an’ or no article in English). In this case, the word bir, which acts as an indefinite article, is often used in Turkish.

O bir kitap okuyor. - He is reading a book (some book).

The definite accusative case is always used if:

1) The direct object is a proper noun, i.e., the accusative case points to specific items:

Dün Ahmet’i gördüm. - Yesterday I saw Ahmet.
İstanbul’u çok seviyorum. - I love Istanbul very much.

2) The noun denoting the direct object has a possessive affix or is expressed by a personal or demonstrative pronoun (meaning it refers to a specific, definite object, often translating with ‘the’ in English).

Arkadaşlarını gördüm - I saw your friends.
Onu bekliyorum. - I am waiting for him.
Şu kitabı istiyorum. - I want that book.

Exercise 7.1. Write the sentences by attaching the definite accusative case affixes.

Personal pronouns, when attaching the accusative case affix, take the following forms:

Exercise 7.2. Write the sentences by attaching the accusative case affixes.

Dative Case: affixes -a / -e

The general meaning of the dative case in Turkish broadly corresponds to English prepositions like “to” or “for”:

1) The recipient to whom an action is directed, answering the question Kime? ‘to whom?’, ‘for whom?’

2) The dative case in Turkish also indicates the destination of a movement and answers the question Nereye? ‘to where?’

The dative case in Turkish is formed by the affixes -a, -e, if the noun ends in a consonant (for example, okul+a = okula, ev+e = eve) and with the buffer letter y if the noun ends in a vowel (for example, masa + ya = masaya, üniversite + ye = üniversiteye).

Kime kitabı veriyorsun? - To whom are you giving the book?
Babama kitabı veriyorum. - I am giving the book to my father.

Bugün kime gidiyorsun? - To whom are you going today? (Whose place are you visiting?)
Bugün Ali’ye gidiyorum. - Today I am going to Ali’s.

Nereye gidiyorsun? - Where are you going to?
Okula gidiyorum. - I am going to school.

The personal pronouns ben and sen change the vowel in their root when attaching the dative case affix.

Exercise 7.3. Write the sentences by attaching the dative case affixes.

Exercise 7.4. Write the sentences by attaching the dative case affixes.

Ablative Case: affixes -dan / -den / -tan / -ten

The ablative case in the Turkish language denotes the starting point of a movement or action and answers the question Nereden? ‘from where?’, Kimden? ‘from whom?’, Neden? ‘from what?’, ‘why?’. The ablative case is formed by the affixes -dan / -den after vowels and voiced consonants, and -tan / -ten after voiceless consonants.

Nereden geliyorsun? - From where are you coming?
Piknikten geliyorum. - I am coming (returning) from a picnic.

O okuldan çıktı. - He went out from the school.

Ben köpekten korkuyorum. - I am afraid of dogs. (lit.: I fear from the dog.)
This means: “I fear the danger, aggression, or negative impact coming from the dog.”

Personal pronouns take the following forms when the ablative case affix is added:

Exercise 7.5. Write the sentences by attaching the ablative case affixes.

The Postposition ile (Instrumental/Comitative Case)

Meanings related to ‘with’ or ‘by means of’ are expressed in Turkish by combining the postposition ile with nouns and pronouns. The postposition ile is usually written separately from the word; however, very often you can see its short form -la, -le after consonants and -yla, -yle after vowels, which is written together with the word. By attaching the postposition ile to interrogative pronouns, we get the questions Ne ile ‘(with/by) what?’, Kiminle ‘with whom?’.

Let’s look at the meanings conveyed by the postposition ile:

1) Acts as a means of transportation (by)

Ben okula otobüs ile (otobüsle) gidiyorum. - I go to school by bus.

2) Instrument of action (with / by means of)

Kalem ile (kalemle) mektup yazıyorum. - I am writing a letter with a pen.

3) Meaning of accompaniment (with)

- Kiminle tatile gidiyorsun? - Who are you going on holiday with?
- Ailemle. - With my family.

- Kiminle konuşuyorsun? - Who are you talking with?
- Babamla konuşuyorum. - I am talking with my father.

Personal pronouns, when attaching the postposition ile, take the following forms:

Exercise 7.6. Write the sentences by attaching the postposition ile.

Genitive Case

The genitive case in Turkish corresponds to the “of” construction or the possessive “’s” in English, and is used to form structures discussed in lesson 6 known as possessive izafet.

If the dependent word (the possessor) is an inanimate noun, the question Neyin? (Of what?) is asked; if it is animate, the question is Kimin? (Whose?).

Exercise 7.7. Write the sentences by attaching the genitive case affixes.

1. Kalem renk.
2. Onlar kitaplar.
3. Kedi yavru.
4. Ahmet ev.
5. Ev bahçe.
6. Dedem şapka.
7. Ali’ çanta.
8. Kapı kol.

Affix -ca / -ce: meanings and usage (Equative case)

The word-building affix -ca, -ce (-ça, -çe) in the Turkish language has several meanings.

1. When attached to adjectives, it somewhat strengthens the quality they denote (translating to ‘quite’ or ‘rather’).

güzel - güzelce - beautiful - quite beautiful
büyük - büyükçe - big - rather big

2. In combination with adjectives and nouns, this affix forms adverbs of manner.

güzelce yazdı - he wrote beautifully
açıkça söylemek - to speak openly (frankly)
gizlice girdi - she entered secretly
çocukça yaptı - he acted childishly (like a child)

3. When attached to nouns, the affix -ca forms adverbs with a comparative meaning, answering the question Nasıl? ‘how?’. Such adverbs often translate to English using ‘like a...’ or ‘in a ... way’. These adverbs correspond in meaning to the combination of a noun with the comparative conjunction gibi (‘like’).

insan - insanca - insan gibi
human - humanely - like a human
asker - askerce - asker gibi
soldier - like a soldier - like a soldier

4. If the affix -ca is attached to personal pronouns, it conveys the speaker’s point of view and answers the question Kimce? ‘in whose opinion?’ / ‘according to whom?’

Sence İstanbul güzel mi? - In your opinion, is Istanbul beautiful?
Bence Ali çalışkan değil. - In my opinion, Ali is not hardworking.

Synonyms for the considered forms are the following (using ‘göre’):

5. The marker -ca can convey an instrumental meaning of large quantities, translating to ‘by the...’ or ‘for...’.

binlerce - by the thousands
saatlerce - for hours

Topic: What do you do for a living? (Ne iş yapıyorsunuz?)

Exercise 7.8. Read the dialogue. Create a story about your family.

— Merhaba Sadık!
— Merhaba Emre!
— Sadık, senin kaç kardeşin var?
— Bir kız, bir erkek kardeşim var.
— Onlar öğreniyorlar mı yoksa çalışıyorlar mı?
— Kızkardeşim ilkokulda ikinci sınıfta okuyor, erkekkardeşim ise bir şirkette muhasebecilik yapıyor.
— Peki, baban ne iş yapıyor?
— O çalışmıyor, o emekli.
— Annen de çalışmıyor mu?
— Hayır, o çalışıyor.
— Mesleği ne?
— O hemşire. Kendi işini çok seviyor, o yüzden hâlâ çalışmaya devam ediyor.
— Çok güzel! Senin iyi bir ailen var.

Exercise 7.9. Match the statements.

Exercise 7.10. Read the names of the professions. Tell where these people work and what they do at work.

Doktor, öğretmen, aşçı, tamirci, avukat, müdür, sekreter, polis, ressam

Exercise 7.11. Read the text and answer the questions.

Ertürk Bey bir okulda Türkçe öğretmendir. O öğrencilere Türkçe öğretiyor. Ertürk Bey 26 yaşındadır. O, sabah saat 8:00’de evden çıkıyor. 8:30’da derse giriyor. Sınıfta 15 öğrenci var. Öğrenciler çok çalışkanlar. Onlar Türkçe’yi çabuk okuyorlar. Ertürk Bey öğrencilerini çok seviyor. Öğrenciler de Ertürk Bey’i çok seviyorlar. Öğrenciler derste kitap okuyorlar, alıştırma yapıyorlar, yazı yazıyorlar ve konuşuyorlar. Öğrenciler Türkçe dersini çok seviyorlar. Diyorlar ki, Türkçe öğrenmek çok kolay.

1. Ertürk Bey nerede çalışıyor?
   
2. Ertürk Bey ne iş yapıyor?
   
3. Ertürk Bey kaç yaşındadır?
   
4. Sınıfta kaç öğrenci var?
   
5. Öğrenciler derste ne yapıyorlar?
   
6. Türkçe dersi zor mu?
   
7. Öğrenciler Türkçe dersini seviyorlar mı?
   

Are the following statements true or false? If true, write “doğru” (“true/correct”), if false, write “yanlış” (“false/incorrect”).

1. Ertürk Bey öğretmendir.
2. Ertürk Bey işe otobüsle gidiyor.
3. Ertürk Bey saat 8:30 evden çıkıyor.
4. Öğrenciler çok tembeller.
5. Türkçe dersi çok kolay.
6. Öğrenciler Ertürk Bey’i çok seviyorlar.