bavul: suitcase and rounded-vowel endings

The idea

The noun bavul means suitcase. Its last vowel is the rounded back vowel u, so the ending for my is -um in bavulum, and the accusative is -u in bavulu. The final l stays unchanged. For more than one, use bavullar; after an explicit number the noun stays singular, as in iki bavul.

Examples

• Bavulum çok ağır.My suitcase is very heavy.
• Bavulu arabaya koyduk.We put the suitcase in the car.
• Dün büyük bir bavul satın aldık.We bought a large suitcase yesterday.
• İki bavul taşıyorum.I am carrying two suitcases.
• Bavullar kapının yanında.The suitcases are next to the door.
• Bavulun rengi mavi.The suitcase is blue.

Watch out

Do not choose -ı just because a occurs earlier in the word: the last vowel is u, so write bavulu. The same form can also mean someone's suitcase; use the context.

Try it yourself

1. Benim ___ ağır. (bavul)

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   bavulum

   bavulum: the last vowel u gives the rounded possessive ending -um for my.

2. Bu ___ arabaya koyduk. (bavul)

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   bavulu

   bavulu: the demonstrative identifies a definite object, which takes accusative -u after u.

3. İki ___ taşıyorum. (bavul)

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   bavul

   bavul: after the number iki, the noun stays singular without a plural ending.

Use it today

Describe your suitcase and write where you put it. Then say how many suitcases you are carrying.