You will decide whether an object is a specific one that needs the accusative or a general one that stays bare, and add the right ending.
The idea
Turkish has no word for 'the'. A direct object that is specific, one you and the listener can point to, takes the accusative: kitabı okuyorum (I am reading the book). This covers things with a possessor (arabamı), names (Ali'yi), pronouns (beni, seni, onu) and nouns after bu or şu. A general object stays bare: kitap okuyorum, su içiyorum. After a consonant the ending is -ı, -i, -u or -ü by the last vowel; after a vowel it is -yı, -yi, -yu or -yü: pencereyi, suyu. A final p softens: kitap → kitabı.
| Last vowel | After a consonant | Example | After a vowel | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | -ı | kızı | -yı | arabayı |
| e, i | -i | evi | -yi | pencereyi |
| o, u | -u | okulu | -yu | suyu |
| ö, ü | -ü | gözü | -yü | ütüyü |
Examples
- Ben kitabı okuyorum.I am reading the book.
- Annem pencereyi açıyor.My mother is opening the window.
- Çocuklar ekmek yiyor.The children are eating bread.No ending: this is bread in general, not one particular loaf. A general object stays bare.
- Seni görüyorum.I see you.Pronouns always take the accusative: sen becomes seni.
- Zeynep'i bekliyorum.I am waiting for Zeynep.A name does not soften: Zeynep'i, not Zeyneb'i. Only common nouns like kitap → kitabı change.
- Suyu içiyorum.I am drinking the water.Su ends in a vowel, so a buffer y comes before the ending: suyu. Without the ending, Su içiyorum means water in general.
- arabamımy car (as the object)arabam-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: myı-i / -ı / -u / -ü: marking the definite object
- Ali'yiAli (as the object)Ali'yi-i / -ı / -u / -ü: marking the definite object
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Watch out
Learners put the ending on every object, because English has a word before the noun. Suyu içiyorum means one particular water, for example the glass on the table; for 'I drink water' say Su içiyorum. The opposite slip is dropping it from a possessed or named object: Arabam yıkıyorum is wrong, say Arabamı yıkıyorum.
Try it yourself
Add the accusative to kitap (book): the book as a specific object.
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kitabı
kitabı: the book is a particular one, so it takes the accusative; the final p softens to b and the last vowel a gives -ı.
Fill in sen (you) in its object form: I see you.
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seni
seni: a pronoun object always takes the accusative, and the vowel e gives -i.
Add the accusative to the name Ali: I am waiting for Ali.
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Ali'yi
Ali'yi: a name is specific; the apostrophe separates it, and since Ali ends in a vowel the ending gets a y: -yi.
I drink milk in general. Do not add the accusative to süt (milk).
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süt
süt: this is milk in general, not a particular glass, so the object stays bare.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Add the accusative to kitap (book): the book as a specific object.
Fill in sen (you) in its object form: I see you.
Add the accusative to the name Ali: I am waiting for Ali.
I drink milk in general. Do not add the accusative to süt (milk).
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: my car (as the object)
Tap the parts in order to build this word: Ali (as the object)
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Write four sentences about your day, two with a general object and two with a specific one (your own things, a name or bu). Check which objects need the ending.