süt (milk): sütü, süte, sütten

The idea

Süt is a one-syllable noun with the front rounded vowel ü and a final t. That t never softens, so sütü, süte, sütün and sütüm keep it in every form. The vowel of the ending follows ü: it is e (süte, sütte, sütten, sütler) or ü (sütü, sütüm, sütün). After the voiceless t the locative and ablative start with t, so sütte and sütten are written with two t letters. The plural sütler is rare and means kinds of milk.

Examples

• Sütü buzdolabına koydum.I put the milk in the fridge.
• Çocuk sütten hoşlanmıyor.The child does not like milk.Hoşlanmak (to like) takes the ablative, so it is sütten, not sütü. After t the ablative starts with t.
• Kedi sütümü içti.The cat drank my milk.
• Bir bardak süt istiyorum.I want a glass of milk.After a measure word such as bardak (glass), the milk stays bare: bir bardak süt, with no ending on süt.
• Bu sütte şeker var mı?Is there sugar in this milk?
• Sütün rengi beyaz.The colour of milk is white.Sütün is the genitive, “of milk”. The same spelling is also “your milk”, as in senin sütün.
• sütümüzdenfrom our milksüt·ümüz-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·den-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• sütümdein my milksüt·üm-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my·de-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, on

Watch out

Do not soften the final t the way kitap becomes kitabı: it is sütü, never südü, and sütte, never sütde. Remember too that sütü can also mean “his milk” and sütün can also mean “your milk”; the sentence decides.

Try it yourself

1. Add the accusative to süt (milk): I am drinking the milk.

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   sütü

   sütü: the accusative marks the particular milk as the object; the last vowel ü is front and rounded, so the ending is -ü, and the t stays hard.

2. Add the locative to süt (milk): in the milk.

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   sütte

   sütte: after the voiceless t the locative starts with t, and the front vowel gives -te; two t letters are correct and sütde is wrong.

3. Add the possessive to süt (milk): my milk.

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   sütüm

   sütüm: “my” after a consonant is -üm because the last vowel is ü; the t does not soften.

4. Add “our” and the ablative to süt (milk): from our milk.

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   sütümüzden

   sütümüzden: three layers: süt + ümüz (“our”, harmony with ü) + den (ablative: d after the voiced z, and the front vowel gives e).

Use it today

Write four sentences about milk in your kitchen: one with a glass or a litre of milk, one with -ten, one with a possessive and one with the accusative. Check that the t stays in every form.