You will name the owner of something by adding the genitive to a noun, and make the owned word agree with it.
The idea
The genitive marks the owner: Ali'nin kitabı, çocuğun topu. After a consonant it is -in, -ın, -un or -ün, following the last vowel; after a vowel an n comes first: -nin, -nın, -nun, -nün (kapının, kedinin). The owned noun takes the possessive ending as well.
| Last vowel | After a consonant | Example | After a vowel | Example |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| a, ı | -ın | kızın | -nın | masanın |
| e, i | -in | evin | -nin | kedinin |
| o, u | -un | okulun | -nun | kutunun |
| ö, ü | -ün | gözün | -nün | ütünün |
Examples
- Ali'nin kitabı şimdi masada.Ali's book is on the table now.Both words carry an ending: Ali'nin marks the owner, and kitabı, with its own -ı, marks what is owned. Ali'nin kitap would sound unfinished to a Turkish ear.
- Çocuğun topu bahçede.The child's ball is in the garden.The final k of çocuk softens to ğ before a vowel, so the genitive is çocuğun, not çocukun.
- Şimdi sınıfın penceresi açık.The classroom window is open now.
- Babamın telefonu nerede?Where is my father's phone?The owner can already be a possessive form: baba, then m for my, then the genitive ın give babamın.
- Kitabın kapağı yırtık.The cover of the book is torn.Two softenings meet here: kitap becomes kitabın before the genitive, and kapak becomes kapağı before the possessive -ı.
- Bu benim evim.This is my house.The pronoun ben has an irregular genitive, benim, never benin. The thing owned still takes its own ending: evim.
- evlerinof the housesevler-ler / -lar: the plural suffixin-in / -ın / -un / -ün: of, ’s (the genitive)
- anneminmy mother'sannem-im / -ım / -um / -üm / -m: myin-in / -ın / -un / -ün: of, ’s (the genitive)
- annesininof his or her motherannesi-i / -si: his, her, itsnin-in / -ın / -un / -ün: of, ’s (the genitive)
- kitaplarımızınof our bookskitaplar-ler / -lar: the plural suffixımız-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: ourın-in / -ın / -un / -ün: of, ’s (the genitive)
- Ankara'nınof AnkaraAnkara'nın-in / -ın / -un / -ün: of, ’s (the genitive)
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Watch out
Marking only the owner is the usual slip: Ali'nin kitap is unfinished, the Turkish is Ali'nin kitabı. Also remember that the final k of çocuk softens (çocuğun, not çocukun), and that ben has the irregular benim.
Try it yourself
Add the genitive to the name Ayşe: Ayşe's.
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Ayşe'nin
Ayşe'nin: the name ends in the vowel e, so the buffer n comes first, and the apostrophe follows the name.
Add the genitive to çocuk (child): the child's. Watch the last consonant.
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çocuğun
çocuğun: the final k softens to ğ before the vowel, and the last vowel o gives -un.
Add the genitive to kapı (door): the door's.
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kapının
kapının: the word ends in the vowel ı, so the buffer n gives -nın.
Ali's book is on the table. Write kitap with the ending that goes with Ali'nin.
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kitabı
kitabı: with Ali'nin the thing owned takes its own -ı, and the p softens to b.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Add the genitive to the name Ayşe: Ayşe's.
Add the genitive to çocuk (child): the child's. Watch the last consonant.
Add the genitive to kapı (door): the door's.
Ali's book is on the table. Write kitap with the ending that goes with Ali'nin.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: of the houses
Tap the parts in order to build this word: my mother's
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Write four sentences about things that belong to people you know, for example a friend's phone or the teacher's bag. Mark the owner's ending and the ending of the thing owned.