Words used in place of nouns are termed pronouns.
In Turkish basic pronouns are divided into two categories
(1) - Pronouns in word form
(2) - Pronouns in suffix form
Word Type pronouns are divided into four groups
(A) Personal pronouns- (Kişi zamirleri)
(B) Demonstrative pronouns - (İşaret zamirleri)
(C) Indefinite pronouns - (Belgisiz zamirler)
(D) Interrogative pronouns - (Soru zamirleri)
Pronouns are used in place of nouns or names. - ben, sen, o .vs. - I, You, He/She/It . etc.
Personal pronouns can be Pluralized and may take suffixes of Condition.
Singular: Ben, sen, o - I, you, he/she/it
Plural: biz, siz, onlar - we, you, they
| Simple Form | Object Form | Movement To. | Static Form | Movement from. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yalın hâl | -i hâli | -e hâli | -de hâli | -den hâli |
| ben - I | beni - me(obj.) | bana - to me | bende - in/on/at me | benden - from/by me |
| sen - you(sing.fam.) | seni - you(obj.) | sana - to you | sende - in/on/at you | senden - from/by you |
| o - he/she/it | onu - him/her/it (obj.) | ona - to him/her/it | onda - in/on/at he/she/it | ondan - from/by him/her/it |
| biz - we | bizi - us (obj.) | bize - to us | bizde - in/on/at us | bizden - from/by us |
| siz - you (pl. polite.) | sizi - you (obj.) | size - to you | sizde - in/on/at you | sizden - from/by you |
| onlar - they | onları - them (obj.) | onlara - to them | onlarda - in/on/at them | onlardan - from/by them |
Sen - you (singular) - is used for friends, children and family, whilst - siz - you (plural)" is used for politeness, strangers and to show respect [Similar to " vous." as used in French.]
For instance a child instead of saying "My teacher, the head is calling you " - (which uses - sen - friendly, intimate), would say "My teacher, the head is calling you" - (using - siz - polite, respectful).
The conventions of using word form pronouns or suffix form pronouns. Generally speaking unless the person is heavily stressed in speech, the suffixed form is used.
| Stressed | Preferred | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| Benim defterim | defterim | my notebook |
| Senin defterin | defterin | your notebook |
| Onun defteri | defteri | his/her/its notebook |
| Bizim defterimiz | defterimiz | our notebook |
| Sizin defteriniz | defteriniz | your notebook |
| Onların defteri | defterleri | their notebook(s) |
| Subject Pronoun | Reflexive pronoun |
|---|---|
| Ben - I | Kendim - myself |
| Sen - you | Kendin - yourself |
| O - he/she/it | Kendi (kendisi) - himself/herself/itself |
| Biz - us | Kendimiz - ourself, ourselves |
| Siz - you | Kendiniz - yourself, yourselves |
| Onlar - they | Kendileri - their self, their selves |
Kendi - self - is also a pronoun, it can be pluralized - kendiler - selves - and have suffixes added:
Kendi kendine konuşuyor. - He is talking to himself
Note that in the example above - keni kendine - self to self (literally) - is reduplicated. This often happens with the kendi reflexive pronoun in Turkish, as a discrete subject is usually stated.
Kendi kalemini kullan. - Use your pen yourself
Kendimize güvenimiz kalmadı. - We are not sure of ourselves
Sorunlarını, kendileri çözsün. - Let them answer the questions themselves.
Demonstrative Pronouns are use to point out [Demonstrate.] nouns which have already been stated, as in:
Bu, şu, o - this, that, that yonder
Singular: - Bu, şu, o - this, that, that yonder
Plural: - Bunlar, şunlar, onlar - these, those, those yonder
Demonstrative Pronouns can be pluralized and have Suffixes of Condition added to them.
Buffer letter -n- is used for all suffixes which can be added to the demonstratives.
| Yalın hâl | -i hâli | -e hâli | -de hâli | -den hâli |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| bu - this | bunu - this (obj.) | buna - to this | bunda - in/on/at this | bundan - from/by this |
| şu - that | şunu - that (obj.) | şuna - to that | şunda - in/on/at that | şundan - from/by that |
| o - that yonder | onu - that yonder (obj.) | ona - to that yonder | onda - in/on/at that yonder | ondan - from/by that yonder |
| bunlar - these | bunları - these (obj.) | bunlara - to these | bunlarda - in/on/at these | bunlardan - from/by these |
| şunlar - those | şunları - those (obj.) | şunlara - to those | şunlarda - in/on/at those | şunlardan - from/by those |
| onlar - those yonder | onları - those yonder (obj.) | onlara - to those yonder | onlarda - in/on/at those yonder | onlardan - from/by those yonder |
öteki - the other over there, the offside
beriki - the other just here, the nearside
burası - this place here
şurası - that place just there
orası - that place over there
böylesi - this way thus
öylesi - that way thus.
All these are also considered as Demonstrative Pronouns and as such can be pluralized and suffixed;
Öteki evi aldık - sıfat - We bought the other house over there. - Dem. Adj. adjective
Ötekini aldık- işaret zamiri - We bought the other one over there - Dem. Prn.
Şu bölüme bakla ektik - sıfat - We planted broad beans in that area - Dem Adj.
Şuraya bakla ektik - işaret zamiri - We planted broad beans just there - Dem. Prn.
O kısmı çapaladık - sıfat - We hoed that part - Dem. Adj.
Orasını çapaladık - işaret zamiri - We hoed over there - Dem. Prn.
Böyle insan görmedim - sıfat - I haven't seen such a man thus - Dem. adj.
Böylesini görmedim - işaret zamiri - I haven't seen one like that - Dem. Prn.
Öyle adamdan hiçbir şey olmaz - sıfat - Nothing comes from a man like that - Dem. Adj.
Öylesinden hiçbir şey olmaz - işaret zamiri - Nothing comes from such as that. - Dem. Prn.
Demonstrative pronouns are used with a noun to form a Qualifying Noun completion
Bunun evi - This one's house
Şunun kalemi - That one's pen
Onun çantası - That one's bag
Bunların arabası - These's car(s) - (The car belonging to these)
Şunların arkadaşları - Those's friends - (The friends of those [people])
Onların oyuncakları - Those's toys
Ötekinin saçı - The other one's [over there] hair
Berikinin pantolonu - The nearer one's trousers
Burasının yolu - This place's road - (the road just here)
Şurasının havası - The weather there
Orasının üzümü - That place's grapes - (the grapes from there)
Öylesinin parası - That type [that such of] of money
Böylesinin malı - This type [this such of] of goods
Differences between Demonstrative Adjectives and Pronouns
The words for Demonstrative Adjectives and pronouns are the same. In order not to mix them we should consider the following differences.
Demonstrative Adjectives cannot take a plural, whereas Demonstrative Pronouns can do so. Thus - bunlar - these ones, ounlar - those ones, şunlar - those ones - are always pronouns.
Demonstrative Adjectives describe and qualify the noun and always precede it. The Demonstrative Pronoun is used in place of the noun itself.
Inside sentences a comma is placed after the Demonstrative pronouns - Bu, şu, o
As a demonstrative pronoun - o - it - is used for replacing the noun of things.
Also, as a demonstrative pronoun - o - it - is used for replacing the noun of persons.
As a demonstrative adjective - o - that - will precede the noun that it qualifies.
Examples of the alternatives:
O, sularda yaşar. - işaret zamiri - That [one - a whale?], lives in water - Dem. Prn.
O, ödevlerini yapamamış. - kişi zamiri - He/she apparently has not done the homework. - Personal Prn.
O plaja biz de gittik. - işaret sıfatı - We also went to that beach - Dem. Prn
Where noun is indefinite (not specific) or not apparent it can be replaced with an Indefinite Pronoun
| Turkish - English | Examples |
|---|---|
Biri - one |
Biri yemeğini yemedi. - One of them did not eat his meal. Indefinite Pronouns can be pluralized and have suffixes of Condition attached. Indefinite adjectives do not. Indefinite Pronouns can be suffixed with possessive pronouns. Indefinite Adjectives cannot. As with simple pronouns, Indefinite Pronouns can be used in place of nouns. The Indefinite Adjective form describes and precedes its noun. |
Interrogative Pronouns can take the place of a noun. Interrogative Adjectives describe nouns.
Ne? - what?
kim? - who?
kaça? - how much?
kaçını? - which one?
nereye? - where to?
neyi? what one?.
Ne alacaksın? - What will you buy?
Kim gelecek? - Who will come?
Kaça aldın? - How much did you buy them for?
Kaçını yaptın? - Which one did you make?
Nereye gideceksin? - Where are you going to?
Neyi beğendin? - What did you like?
Nereden geliyorsun? - Where are you coming from?
They can be pluralized and also take suffixes
Marketten neler aldın? - What (items) did you buy from the market?
Geziye kimler gidecek? - Who (plural) will go on the trip?
Nereden geliyorsun? - Where are you coming from?
Neyi seçtin? - What (one) did you choose?
These are two types
(1) Relative Pronouns - (İlgi zamiri)
(2) Personal pronouns - (İyelik zamiri)
(1) Relative Pronouns
In the completion of descriptive nouns, the suffix -ki can be added to the completed noun and then used in place of the noun + noun completion.
Ali'nin arabası, Ayşe'nin arabasından daha güzeldir. - So we can say -
Ayşe's car is better than Ali's ca.r
Ali'nin arabası, Ayşe'ninkinden daha güzeldir. - So we can say -
Ayşe's one is better than Ali's car.
Bizim koltuklar, Fatmalar'ın koltuklarından daha yenidir. - So we can say -
Our chairs are newer that Fatma's chairs.
Bimkiler, Fatmalar'ın koltuklarından daha yenidir. - So we can say -
Our ones are newer that Fatma's chairs.
Bahçenin domatesi, seranın domatesinden daha lezzetlidir. - So we can say -
Our tomatoes are tastier than the greenhouse tomatoes
Bahçeninki, seranınkinden daha lezzetlidir. - So we can say -
Ours are tastier than the greenhouse ones.
"Ahmet'in kitabi" yerine "Ahmet'inki." - So we can say -
"Ahmet's one" in the place of "Ahmet's book."
(2) Personal Pronouns
The addition of the -in - of., belonging to. - suffix to the noun signifies that it is a possessor. It answers the question - Who is the owner?
Personal pronouns can also be used in suffix form and are called Personal Suffixes
Personal Pronoun Suffix
Singular : -(i)m, -(i)n, -(s)i - Singular: my, your, his/hers/its (as suffixes)
Plural: -(i)miz, -(i)niz, -leri - Plural: our, your, their (as suffixes)
All these suffixes are subject to Vowel Harmony Rules
| Tekil kişiler - Singular | Çoğul kişiler - Plural |
|---|---|
| Çantam - my bag | Çantamız - our bag |
| Çantan - your bag (fam.) | Çantanız - your bag (pol.) |
| Çantası - his/her/its bag | Çantaları - their bag(s) |
| Buffer Letter (Kaynaştırma Harfi) -s- used in third person singular when noun already ends in a vowel - see - çantası - his/her/its bag - in the table above. | |
| Tekil kişiler - Singular | Çoğul kişiler - Plural |
|---|---|
| Okulum - my school | Okulumuz - our school |
| Okulun - your school | Okulunuz - your school |
| Okulu - his/her/its school | Okulları - their school(s) |
| Tekil kişiler - Singular | Çoğul kişiler - Plural |
|---|---|
| Kalemim - my pen | Kalemimiz - our pen |
| Kalemin - your pen | Kaleminiz - your pen |
| Kalemi - his/her/its pen | Kalemleri - their pen(s) |
The suffix -i of the third person singular must not be mistaken for the suffix -i as an Object Condition suffix. If the -i suffix is directly fixed to a noun then it is the Personal pronoun - he/she/it - otherwise it is the Objective Condition suffix -i
Kalemi kaybolmuş. - It seems he/she has lost his pen.
The -i - his/her - suffix pronoun signifies the owner
Kalemi bir dukkandan almıştık. - It seems we bought the pen from a shop
Here the -i suffix = Object Condition suffix
Generally the Personal Pronoun -i - he/she/it - and the Object Condition -i Suffix are used together.
In these cases the first suffix -i is a pronoun and the second suffix -i is an Object Condition Suffix.
Kalemini [kalem-i-n-i] bana verdi. - He/She gave his/her pen to me
-i = Personal Pronoun (his/her), -n- = Buffer letter between vowels, -i = Object Condition
Evini [Ev-i-n-i] sattı. - He/She sold his/her house
-i = Personal Pronoun (his/her), -n- = Buffer letter between vowels, -i = Object Condition