telefon (phone): telefonlar, telefonda, telefonum

The idea

Vowel harmony looks at the last vowel of a word. The last vowel of telefon is o, a back vowel, so the endings are the back ones: telefonlar, telefonda, telefondan, telefona. The rounded o also rounds the possessive: telefonum, telefonun, telefonumuz. After the consonant n the third-person ending is -u: telefonu, which is also the accusative.

Examples

• Telefonum masanın üstünde.My phone is on the table.
• Telefonumu evde unuttum.I forgot my phone at home.The accusative -u follows the possessive -um: telefon-um-u. The object is definite, so it takes the ending.
• Ali telefonda konuşuyor.Ali is talking on the phone.
• telefonlarphonestelefon·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix
• telefonlarımızdaon our phonestelefon·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·ımız-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·da-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, on
• telefonumdanfrom my phonetelefon·um-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: my·dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• Telefonun şarjı bitti.The phone's battery has run out.Telefonun is the genitive (the phone's), and şarjı carries the matching third-person ending.
• Babam her akşam annemi telefonla arıyor.My father calls my mother by phone every evening.-la means 'by means of' and is written as part of the noun: telefonla.

Watch out

The first syllable misleads learners: because of the e, they write telefonler or telefonde. Only the last vowel counts: telefonlar, telefonda. Also, telefonu can mean 'the phone' (as an object) or 'his/her phone'; the context tells you which.

Try it yourself

1. Add 'my' to telefon (phone): my phone.

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   telefonum

   telefonum: the last vowel is o, a back rounded vowel, so the ending is -um.

2. Make telefon (phone) plural: phones.

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   telefonlar

   telefonlar: despite the e in the first syllable, the last vowel o decides, so -lar and not -ler.

3. Add the locative to telefon (phone): on the phone.

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   telefonda

   telefonda: n is voiced, so the ending starts with d and not t, and the back vowel o gives -da.

4. Add the dative to telefon (phone): to the phone.

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   telefona

   telefona: the dative -a follows the consonant n directly; a back vowel gives a.

Use it today

Write three sentences about your phone: where it is (telefonum ...), what you do on it (telefonda ...) and who you call with it (telefonla ...). Check that every ending has a back vowel.