Suffix order: evlerimizden

The idea

A noun takes its endings in a fixed order: stem, plural, possessive, case. ev + ler + imiz + den gives evlerimizden, 'from our houses'. Each ending picks its own vowel by harmony. After the third-person possessive (-i, -si, -leri) the case ending gets a linking n: evinde, evlerinde, never evide.

Examples

• Kitaplarım şimdi çantamda.My books are in my bag now.The plural lar comes before the possessive ım: kitaplarım. In çantamda the possessive m comes before the locative da.
• Çocuklarımız bu akşam dedesinin evinde kalacak.Our children will stay at their grandfather's house this evening.After the possessive -i the case ending takes a linking n: evinde, not evide. The same n appears in dedesinin after -si.
• Dün arkadaşlarıma hediye aldım.Yesterday I bought presents for my friends.
• evlerimizdenfrom our housesev·ler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·imiz-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·den-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out ofRead from the left: ev (house), ler (plural), imiz (our), den (from). The order never changes.
• çocuklarınızdanfrom your childrençocuk·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·ınız-ınız / -iniz / -unuz / -ünüz: your (plural, polite)·dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• masalarımızato our tablesmasa·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·ımız-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·a-e / -a / -ye / -ya: to, towards
• ağaçlarımızdanfrom our treesağaç·lar-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·ımız-imiz / -ımız / -umuz / -ümüz: our·dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out ofWithout the plural the ç would soften: ağacımız. After lar the ç stays: ağaçlarımız.
• öğretmenlerinizdenfrom your teachersöğretmen·ler-ler / -lar: the plural suffix·iniz-ınız / -iniz / -unuz / -ünüz: your (plural, polite)·den-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of

Watch out

For 'my houses' the plural comes before the possessive: evlerim, not evimler. (A plural after a possessive does exist, as in annemler, 'my mother and her people', but it means something else.)

Try it yourself

1. Form 'in our houses' from ev (house): plural, our, locative.

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   evlerimizde

   evlerimizde: the plural ler comes first, then imiz for 'our', and the locative de closes the word.

2. Form 'my books' from kitap (book): plural first, then my.

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   kitaplarım

   kitaplarım: the plural lar comes before the possessive ım. One book would be kitabım, with p softened to b before a vowel.

3. Form 'from our schools' from okul (school): plural, our, ablative.

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   okullarımızdan

   okullarımızdan: lar, then ımız, then dan; after the voiced z the case starts with d.

4. We are meeting at Ali's house. Add the possessive and the locative to ev (house).

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   evinde

   evinde: after the possessive -i the case ending takes a linking n, so -nde and not -de.

Use it today

Take kapı, pencere and oda and write 'from our ...' for each in the plural, in the right order. Say each ending aloud as you add it.