Learn Turkish · A1–A2
"Ali's Book": the Genitive İsim tamlaması
How to say "Ali's book", "the door of the house" and "Turkish coffee": two endings that work together.
The rule
- Turkish marks possession on both words: the owner gets -ın/-in/-un/-ün (after a vowel -nın), and the thing owned gets -ı/-i/-u/-ü (after a vowel -sı).
- Ali'nin kitabı — Ali's book. evin kapısı — the door of the house. Ayşe'nin annesi — Ayşe's mother.
- With pronouns: benim, senin, onun, bizim, sizin, onların + possessive ending: benim evim — my house.
- For a general type (not a specific owner), the first word has no ending: Türk kahvesi — Turkish coffee, okul müdürü — school principal.
Overview
| Ali'nin kitabı | Ali's book |
|---|---|
| annemin telefonu | my mother's phone |
| evin kapısı | the door of the house |
| Türk kahvesi | Turkish coffee (a type) |
| portakal suyu | orange juice |
Examples
- Bu, kardeşimin arabası.This is my brother's car.
- Öğretmenin adı ne?What is the teacher's name?
- Otelin telefon numarasını biliyor musun?Do you know the hotel's phone number?
- Bir portakal suyu, lütfen.An orange juice, please.