All about Possessive Adjectives - my, your, her, our, etc:
The Possessive Adjective - my, your, his, her ,our, their - is a suffix which obeys vowel harmony rules. It is called a Possessive Adjective because it shows possession and describes a noun.
Which cat? - the answer - my cat. The word - my - is a Possessive Adjective describing the noun - cat.
In Turkish the suffix -ım,-im,-um,-üm added to words ending in a consonant or just -m when added to words ending in a vowel means - my.
| The E-Dotted Vowels | Singular | The E-Dotted Vowels | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| el | hand | elim | my hand |
| diş | tooth | dişim | my tooth |
| göz | eye | gözüm | my eye |
| gül | rose | gülüm | my rose |
| eller | hands | ellerim | my hands |
| dişler | teeth | dişlerim | my teeth |
| gözler | eyes | gözlerim | my eyes |
| güller | roses | güllerim | my roses |
| The A-UnDotted Vowels | Singular | The A-UnDotted Vowels | Plural |
|---|---|---|---|
| ay | month, moon | ayım | my month |
| kız | girl, daughter | kızım | my daughter |
| tost | toast | tostum | my toast |
| sabun | soap | sabunum | my soap |
| aylar | months, moons | aylarım | my months |
| kızlar | girls, daughters | kızlarım | my daughters |
| tostlar | toasts (slices of) | tostlarım | my toast(s) (slices of) |
| sabunlar | (bars of) soap(s) | sabunlarım | my soap(s) (bars of.) |
The Plural is always the First Suffix Added. The Possessive Suffix follows the Plural Suffix. Examples of tbe plural and additional suffixes:
ellerim - [el-ler-im] - my hands
odalarımız - [oda-lar-ımız] - our rooms
Adding the Possessive Adjective to words that end in a vowel
When the word ends in a vowel then the Possessive Suffix drops its own initial vowel.
kedi - cat
kedim - [kedi-m] - my cat
But the Possessive Suffix does not lose a vowel when attached to the plural of a noun as it follows the final consonant of -ler
kediler - cats
kedilerim - [kedi-ler-im] - my cats
The Third Person Singular Possessive Suffix -i becomes -si (uses Buffer Letter -s-) when added to a noun ending in a vowel.
oda - room
odası - oda-s-ı - his room
This example shows the addition of the buffer letter -s- in order to keep two vowels apart.
The suffixes for all the persons viz: my, your, his, our, your, their - are as follows. Note that they all obey Vowel Harmony Rules.
| Suffixed to Consonants | Meaning | Suffixed to Vowels |
|---|---|---|
| -ım -im -um -üm | my | -m |
| -ın -in -un -ün | your | -n |
| -ı -i -u -ü | his/her/its | -sı -si -su- -sü |
| -ımız -imiz -umuz -ümüz | our | -mız- miz -muz -müz |
| -ınız -iniz -unuz -ünüz | your | -nız -niz -nuz -nüz |
| -ları -leri | their | -ları -leri |
The word su - water is the single irregular noun in Turkish. It takes a buffer letter -y- with all its suffixes.
su - water, suyum - my water, suyun - your water, suyu - his water, suyumuz - our water, suyunuz - your water, suları - their water.
palto - overcoat
paltom - my overcoat
paltolarım - my overcoats
sokak - street
sokağım - my street
sokaklarım - my streets
göz - eye
gözün - your eye
gözleriniz - your eyes
armut - pear
armudu - his pear
armutları - his pears/their pear(s)
The last example (armutları - his pears/their pear(s)) above can be construed three ways :
armutlar -ı - his pears
armut -ları - their pear OR their pears ["armutlarları" - is wrong, the -lar suffix cannot be re-duplicated]. The context of conversation is usually enough for the correct interpretation to be understood.
It seems that "their pears" should be "armutlarları", but suffixes ending in -lar are never doubled, therefore the context should make clear the singularity or plurality of the noun.
However, to be explicit then - onun - his - or - onların - their - can be used:
onun armudu - his pear - [he has singular pear]
onun armutları - his pears - [he has plural pears]
onların armudu - their pear - [they have a singular pear]
onların armutları - their pears - [they have plural pears]
| Examples showing difference of singular and plural nouns | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| araba | car | oda | room | aile | family |
| arabamız | our car | odası | his room | ailesi | his family |
| arabalarımız | our cars | odaları | his rooms | aileleri | their family/families |
| otobüs | bus | şemsiye | umbrella | kulak | ear |
| otobüsümüz | our bus | şemsiyeniz | your umbrella | kulağınız | your ear |
| otobüslerimiz | our buses | şemsiyeleriniz | your umbrellas | kulaklarınız | your ears |
| domuz | pig | kapı | door | göz | eye |
| domuzu | his pig | kapım | my door | gözleri | his eyes/their eye(s) |
| domuzları | his pigs/their pig(s) | kapılarım | my doors | gözleri | his eyes/their eye(s) |
A noun with the possessive suffix being a noun in its own right can be subject to further suffixes.
Buffer letter -n- is used when adding second suffixes to possessed items for third person singular - his, her, its - and third person plural - their :
arabasına [araba-sı-n-a] - to his/her car
elmalarından [elma-ları-n-dan] - from their apple(s}
Here are some examples of extended possessed nouns where further suffixes have been added to make a new word.
kedi - cat - Singular - * kedi ends in a vowel so only suffix -m is added
kedim - my cat - [kedi-m]
kedimden - from my cat - [kedi-m-den]
kedime - to my cat - [kedi-m-e]
kediler - cats - Plural - * kediler ends in a consonant so suffix -im is added
kedilerim - my cats - [kedi-ler-im]
kedilerimden - from my cats - [kedi-ler-im-den]
kedilerime - to my cats - [kedi-ler-im-e]
araba - car - * araba ends in a vowel so only suffix -n is added
araban - your car - [araba-n]
arabana - to your car - [araba-n-a]
arabanda - in your car - [araba-n-da]
arabalar - cars - * arabalar ends in a consonant so total suffix -ım is added
arabaların - your cars - [araba-lar-ın]
arabalarına - to your cars - [araba-lar-ın-a]
arabalarında - in your cars - [araba-lar-ın-da]
elma - apple - * elma ends in a vowel so third person suffix - using buffer letter -sı is added
onun elması - his apple - [elma-s-ı]
onun elmasında - in his apple - [elma-s-ı-n-da]
onun elmasından - from his apple - [elma-s-ı-n-dan]
Note: onun - his - is used to show that this apple belongs to one person
Remind me about buffer letter -n-
A noun with the possessive suffix can be subject to further suffixes. Buffer letter -n- is used when adding second suffixes third person singular - his, her, its - and third person plural - their
elmalar - apples
onun elmaları - his apples - [elma-lar-ı]
onun elmalarında - in his apples - [elma-lar-ı-n-da]
onların elmasında - in their apple - [elma-s-ı-n-da]
onların elmasından - from their apple - [elma-s-ı-n-da]
onların elmaları - their apples - [elma-ları]
onların elmalarında - in their apples - [elma-ları-n-da]
onların elmalarından - from their apples - [elma-ları-n-dan]
Note: onların - their is used to show that this/these apple(s) belongs to more than one person
köy - village
köyümüz - our village - [köy-ümüz]
köyümüzde - in our village - [köy-ümüz-de]
köyümüzden - from our village - [köy-ümüz-den]
köyler - villages
köylerimiz - our villages - [köy-ler-imiz]
köylerimizde - in our villages - [köy-ler-imiz-de]
köylerimizden - from our villages - [köy-ler-imiz-den]
köpek - dog
köpeğiniz - your dog - [köpeğ-iniz]
köpeğinizde - on your dog - [köpeğ-iniz-de]
köpeğinize - to your dog - [köpeğ-iniz-e]
Note: The Rule of Consonant Mutation - -k changes to -ğ - is operating here when a vowel suffix is being added to a hard consonant.
köpekler - dogs
köpekleri - their dogs - [köpek-leri]
köpeklerine - to his dogs - [köpek-ler-i-n-e] or to their dog(s) - [köpek-leri-n-e]
köpeklerinden - from their dogs - [köpek-leri-n-den]
ev - house
onların evi - their house - [ev-i]
onların evine - to their house - [ev-i-n-e]
onların evlerinde - in their houses - [ev-leri-n-de]
onların evlerinden - from their houses - [ev-leri-n-den]
evler - houses
onun evleri - his houses - [ev-ler-i]
onun evlerinde - in his houses - [ev-ler-i-n-de]
onun evlerinden - from his houses - [ev-ler-i-n-den]
Remind me again about buffer letter -N-
A noun with the possessive suffix can be subject to further suffixes. Buffer letter -n- is used when adding second suffixes to possessed nouns and also for third person singular - his, her, its - and third person plural - their - suffixes.