Turkish Language - The Demonstrative Pronouns
These are called Demonstrative because they demonstrate which item is being mentioned.
The simple Forms: bu, şu, o - this, that, that yonder..
bu kedi - this cat
şu fincan - that cup (near to.., between us..)
o adam - that man over there
The Suffixed Forms of the Demonstratives
The Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives - bu - this, şu - that, o- that yonder - use buffer letter -n- to become bun-, sun-, on- when adding any further suffixes.
| bu - this, this here | bunlar - these, these here |
|---|---|
| bu - this | bunlar - these |
| buna - to this | bunlara - to these |
| bunun - of this | bunların - of these |
| bunu - this (object) | bunları - these (obj.) |
| bunda - in/on/at this | bunlarda - in/etc these |
| bundan - from this | bunlardan - from these |
| bununla - with this | bunlarla - with these |
| şu - that, that there | şunlar - those, those just there there |
|---|---|
| şu - that | şunlar - those |
| şuna - to that | şunlara - to those |
| şunun - of that | şunların - of those |
| şunu - that (object) | şunları - those (obj.) |
| şunda - in/on/at that | şunlarda - on those |
| şundan - from that | şunlardan - from those |
| şununla - with that | şunlarla - with those |
| o - that yonder, that over there | onlar - those yonder, those over there |
|---|---|
| o - that yonder | onlar - those yonder |
| ona - to that | onlara - to those |
| onun - of that | onların - of those |
| onu - that (object) | onları - those (obj.) |
| onda - in/on/at that | onlarda - on those |
| ondan - from that | onlardan - from those |
| onunla - with that | onlarla - with those |
| The Demonstrative Pronouns and Adjectives - this, that, that yonder - use buffer letter -n- when adding further suffixes in all cases. | |
About Turkish demonstrative pronouns and adjectives
These are called demonstrative adjectives - this and that, these and those - and demonstrative pronouns - - this one and that one, these ones and those ones - because they demonstrate or describe which item is being talked about.
| bu - this (here) OR this (which was just mentioned) | bunlar - these |
| şu - that (nearby) OR that (which follows on) | şunlar - those (nearby) |
| o - that (over there, yonder) | onlar - those (over there) |
Turkish has two words for - that, those.
(1) şu - signifies something near by or something between the speakers. Şu also means - that which follows.. - eg. şu tavsiye - the following recommendation.
(2) o - signifies items far away or which does not lie between the speakers. o - is often used for descriptions of happenings in foreign countries and cities.
When adding any suffixes including the plural suffix -lar buffer letter -n- is always used with the Demonstratives - thus forming -nlar as the Plural Suffix.
Lets get nasty:
Care must be taken using - şu - and its extensions as it is also used in a derogatory sense (according to context).
Şu adama bakın! - Look at that bloke!
Şunu istemedim - I didn't want that! - (damn thing)
Şu kahrolasıca herif kim? - Who is that damn fellow? [quite strong language]
This is a "frozen form" - kahrolasıca - kah olmak - "to be overwhelmed". The suffixes are made up - ol-a-sı-ca - where -ası is a now defunct subjunctive ending with an added -ca suffix indicating "having the attribute of.."
However this word is best learned as a single unit; but really it should not be used as it is considered rather rude.
You can also say kaholsun! - "Let him be dammed!" It is really like a swear word in English and not to be taken lightly.. Be careful in its use!
Extended (suffixed) forms of demonstrative pronouns
These extended suffixed forms show the use of the buffer -n- which is always used with the demonstrative. The suffix -ca - concerning .. - is used with the demonstrative pronoun to produce - bunca - all this, bunlarca - all these, onca - all that, onlarca - all those. Note that - şunca - or - şunlarca - are not normally in use.
| The Singular Forms | ||
|---|---|---|
| bunu - this (as an Object of a verb) | şunu - that (nearby) (as an Object of a verb) | onu - that (yonder) (as an Object of a verb) |
| buna - to this | şuna - to that (nearby) | ona - to that (yonder) |
| bundan - from this | şundan - from that | ondan - from that |
| bunda - in/on this | şunda - in/on that | şundan is not generally used |
| bunca - all this | şunca - see note below | onca - all that |
Although - şunca - or - şunlarca - are not normally in use - however - it is sometimes used disparagingly. However, in Turkish it could be used to despise something in quantity or magnitude , or someone in muscular power. For instance, if someone has a small wound due to some reason and complaining too much about it then you could say - şunca/şuncacik, yaradan ölmezsin - You won't die from such a small wound (surely not..!.)
Thanks to Onur Üstünel for the notes above. - Jan 2007| The Plural Forms | ||
|---|---|---|
| bunları - these (as an Object of a verb) | şunları - those (as an Object of a verb) | onları - those (as an Object of a verb) |
| bunlara - to these | şunlara - to those | onlara - to those |
| bunlardan - from these | şunlardan - from those | onlardan - from those |
| bunlarda - in/on these | şunlarda - in/on those | onlarda - in/on those |
| bunlarca - all these | Not used | onlarca - all those |
Some examples:
bu ne? - what's this?
Bu bir büyük kedi - This is a big cat - [used as an adjective describing - "the cat"]
Bunca kediler uzun kuyruklu(dur) - All these cats are long tailed.
A note about the usage of - şu:
şu ne? - what is that (just there)?
O bir gazete - that is a newspaper - [Şu bir gazete - is incorrect and is not used as a pronoun when answering. It is only used as an adjective describing - "the newspaper". as shown in the previous example.] Onca gazeteler dünkü(dür) - All those newspapers are yesterday's.
Şu ne? - What is that (just there)?. The answer - Şu bir gazete - That is a newspaper - is incorrect.
The correct answer is - O bir gazete - as the answer to the question Şu ne?. Because after you ask the question - Şu ne? - the person being asks now knows where and what the subject actually is, therefore the answer must be something like - O bir gazete. As a phrase in its own right you can say such as - Şu bir gazete - That (just there) is a newspaper - but not as an answer to a question like - Şu ne? - What's that?
For example: There are some of your friends in your home and a newspaper (gazete) on the desk in this case,there are two possibilities:
If you are asked - Şu masanın üstündeki nedir? - What is it on that table? - then you must answer it like - O bir gazete or just - gazete - not - Şu bir gazete
If you want them to know that there is a newspaper, then you must say - Şu bir gazete - and here if they want to ask you where it is they must ask it like - Nerede o gazete? - not - Nerede şu gazete?
Summary:
Question: Şu ne? - What is that? - Answer: O bir gazete. - That is a newspaper.
Şu bir gazete - Cannot be a question, but if it causes a question like - Where is that newspaper? - then it must be: Nerede o gazete? - NOT - Nerede şu gazete?
Further Examples:
o ne? - what is that over there? - o bir dergi - that is a magazine
Bunca dergi - - All these are magazines. ["Bunlarca dergi" - is not generally used in modern Turkish]
bunlar ne? - what are these? - bunlar yeşil elma. - these (ones) are green apples.
şunlar ne? - what are those? - onlar beyaz ev. - those are white houses. - [See note on usage of - şu - in questions in the last section above.]
onlar kim? - who are those (people) over there? - onlar genç kızlar. - those (people) are young girls.
Onca kız genç. - All those girls are young.
- Should we use Onlarca kiz or Onca kiz? If you say: onlarca kiz - we understand there are some girls but they are in some groups and each group (has say) 10 girls.
buna bakar mısınız? - would you look at (to) this? - [Used as the object of - "to look"]
bunlara bakar mısınız? - would you look at (to) these? - [Used as an objective pronoun]
ona bakar mısınız? - would you look at that?
onlara bakar mısınız? - would you look at those?
Adverbial Forms of the Demonstratives:
There are further derivations of - bu, şu, o - which have produced the words - böyle, şöyle, öyle - the meanings are a follows:
böyle - In this way/thus - Onu böyle yaptım -I did it like this - [böyle is usually used with the First Person Pronoun]
şöyle - like that/in that manner - Onu şöyle yapın! - Do it like that! - [şöyle is usually used with the inperative]
öyle - such as that/like that - Onu öyle yaptı - He did it like that - [past tense is more distant, hence öyle is used]
The -ce suffix can also be added to form adverbs:
böylece - In this way/thus
şöylece is not really used much
öylece - such as that/like that
The -ce siffix give a sense of completion - böylece iş tamamlandı.. - and so the job was done thus..
Some Examples:
Böyle bir iş yapmayın! - Don't do anything like (this) that! [in Turkish Bu and böyle are used regarding a specific action, such as "jumping on the bed..", wheras English uses the the word "That!" as opposed to "This!" for emphasis.]
- Böylece onu yapın! - Do it this way..
şöyle böyle - just so-so - [Lit: like that, like this] - [as French - "comme ci comme ca"] - When asked How are you? - then şöyle böyle can be given as an answer - "So so... I'm up and down... I'm getting on OK.. etc.."
öyle bir sağanak yağmur yağdı ki.. - There was such a downpour that..
The "Formula Speak" - Öyle mi? - is also used a lot when listening with apparent disbelief to some one describing events. It means something like - Well I never.., Go on then.., Really??... - This formula is used a lot in normal daily conversation.
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