Mektup: letter, cases and possession

The idea

For this noun, final p becomes b before a vowel: mektubu, mektuba, mektubun, mektubum. The last vowel u gives rounded possessives such as mektubumuz. Before consonants, keep p: mektupta, mektuptan, mektuplar. For “our letters”, add the plural first: mektuplarımız; the possessive now follows the a in -lar.

Examples

• Bu mektubu yarın göndereceğim.I will send this letter tomorrow.
• Mektubum hâlâ çekmecede.My letter is still in the drawer.
• Bu mektupta güzel haberler var.There is good news in this letter.
• Annem bu mektuba cevap yazıyor.My mother is writing a reply to this letter.
• Mektubun sonunda bir tarih var.There is a date at the end of the letter.
• Ablam onun mektubunu zarfa koydu.My older sister put his/her letter in an envelope.
• mektubumuzdanfrom our lettermektub·umuz-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• mektuplarımızour lettersmektup·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·ımız-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our

Watch out

Mektubu okuyorum means “I am reading the letter”; it does not by itself mark an owner. In onun mektubu, the same final -u marks possession. To make that whole phrase the object, use onun mektubunu okuyorum: keep the possessive, add linking n, then the accusative -u.

Try it yourself

1. Complete: I will send this letter today. Use the accusative.

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   mektubu

   mektubu: “this letter” is the specific thing being sent, so it takes the accusative. The vowel ending changes final p to b; there is no owner in this phrase.

2. Complete: There are two addresses in this letter.

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   mektupta

   mektupta: the two addresses are in the letter. Final p stays because the locative begins with a consonant, and its voiceless sound calls for -ta.

3. Complete with “our letters”: Our letters are in this box.

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   mektuplarımız

   mektuplarımız: the prompt requires several letters belonging to us. After -lar, the last vowel is a, so “our” is -ımız, not -umuz; p stays before l.

4. Complete: My older sister is reading his/her letter. Keep possession and add the object ending.

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   mektubunu

   mektubunu: onun identifies the owner, so begin with mektubu. Reading takes this possessed letter as its specific object; add n and -u without deleting the possessive.

Use it today

Write three connected sentences about an imaginary letter: whose it is, what is in it, and who reads it. Then change “our letter” to “our letters” and check the possessive vowel.