otobüs: bus, and why it takes -te and -ten

The idea

otobüs ends in the voiceless consonant s, so the locative and the ablative start with t: otobüste, otobüsten. The last vowel ü is front and rounded, so the possessives are -üm, -ün, -ü (otobüsüm) and the dative is otobüse. The s never softens: it is otobüsü, not otobüzü.

Examples

• Otobüs on dakika sonra geliyor.The bus comes in ten minutes.
• Ben otobüse biniyorum.I am getting on the bus.The verb binmek (to get on) takes the dative: otobüse, not otobüste. After a consonant the ending is a bare -e, and the front vowel ü gives e.
• Okula otobüsle gidiyorum.I go to school by bus.The ending -le means by or with and is written joined to the word: otobüsle. It stays -le after the s because the last vowel ü is front.
• Otobüste boş yer yok.There is no free seat on the bus.The final s is voiceless, so the locative begins with t: otobüste, never otobüsde.
• Merkezde otobüsten iniyoruz.We get off the bus in the centre.The verb inmek (to get off) takes the ablative: otobüsten, with t after the voiceless s. In merkezde the ending has d because z is voiced.
• Son otobüsü kaçırdım.I missed the last bus.Here -ü marks one particular bus, the last one, as the object. The same letters in Onun otobüsü mean his or her bus. The s does not soften.
• Otobüsümüz sabah yedide kalkıyor.Our bus leaves at seven in the morning.After a consonant the ending for our is the full -ümüz, and the rounded front vowel ü repeats in it.
• otobüslerimizdenfrom our busesotobüs·ler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·imiz-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·den-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• otobüsümeto my busotobüs·üm-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my·e-e / -a / -ye / -ya: to, towards
• otobüslerdein the busesotobüs·ler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·de-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, onAfter the plural -ler the last sound is r, which is voiced, so the locative is -de again. Compare otobüste, with no plural.

Watch out

Do not write otobüsde or otobüsden: after s the ending needs a t. Also pick the case the verb wants: you get on otobüse (binmek) and get off otobüsten (inmek), but you are otobüste. After the plural -ler the d comes back: otobüslerde.

Try it yourself

1. Add the locative to otobüs (bus): on the bus.

   Show answer or example answer

   otobüste

   otobüste: the word ends in the voiceless s, so the ending starts with t, and the front vowel ü gives -te.

2. Add the right ending to otobüs (bus): I am getting on the bus.

   Show answer or example answer

   otobüse

   otobüse: binmek (to get on) takes the dative, which needs no buffer after a consonant, and ü gives -e.

3. Add “my” to otobüs (bus): my bus.

   Show answer or example answer

   otobüsüm

   otobüsüm: after a consonant “my” is the full -üm, not just -m, and the rounded front ü is repeated.

4. Add the ablative to otobüs (bus): from the bus.

   Show answer or example answer

   otobüsten

   otobüsten: s is voiceless, so the ablative begins with t, and the front vowel gives -ten.

Use it today

Write three sentences about your daily trip: where you get on, where you get off and who is on the bus. Underline every ending and check its vowel and its first consonant.