Belge: document forms and ownership

The idea

The stem belge stays intact: belgeyi, belgeye, belgede, belgeden and belgenin. Possession gives belgem (my document) and belgesi (his/her document). When the latter becomes a specific object, use belgesini: belge + si + n + i. The shape belgeleri is ambiguous: it can be the plural object, his/her documents, or their document(s); the sentence supplies the reading.

Examples

• Belgeyi dün taradım.I scanned the document yesterday.
• Belgede iki tarih var.There are two dates on the document.
• Belgeleri ayrı klasörlerde saklıyoruz.We keep the documents in separate folders.
• Bu belgeye bir açıklama ekledim.I added a note to this document.
• Belgenin son sayfası eksik.The last page of the document is missing.
• Şirketin belgesini ayrı bir dosyaya kaydettim.I saved the company’s document in a separate file.
• Belgelerimizden biri okunmuyor.One of our documents is unreadable.
• Üç belgeyi tek dosyada birleştirdim.I combined three documents into a single file.

Watch out

Do not let an owner disappear when you add the object ending. Şirketin belgeyi taradım leaves the possessive phrase incomplete; use Şirketin belgesini taradım. The -si links the document to the company, and -ni makes that document the object. Conversely, belgeyi alone does not say who owns it.

Try it yourself

1. Complete: I scanned this document yesterday. Bu ___ dün taradım. (belge)

   Show answer or example answer

   belgeyi

   belgeyi: bu points to a particular document, and scanning acts on it, so it takes the accusative. The final vowel of belge requires a linking y before -i.

2. Complete: I scanned the company’s document. Şirketin ___ taradım. (belge)

   Show answer or example answer

   belgesini

   belgesini: şirketin identifies the company as the owner. Keep belgesi and add -ni because that owned document is what you scanned.

3. Complete: This information was taken from an old document. Bu bilgi eski bir ___ alınmış. (belge)

   Show answer or example answer

   belgeden

   belgeden: the document is the source from which the information was taken. There is no owner here; the ablative attaches directly to belge.

4. Complete: One of our documents is missing. Bizim ___ biri eksik. (belge; çoğul)

   Show answer or example answer

   belgelerimizden

   belgelerimizden: bizim identifies us as the owners, while biri selects one item from a group. Build the plural, then our ownership, then the source: belge + ler + imiz + den.

Use it today

Invent a short note about sorting digital documents. Include a document you scanned, a company’s document and one item from your own collection. Use belgeyi, belgesini and belgelerimizden; underline the parts that identify an owner.