-leri / -ları: their house, their car

The idea

To say “their”, add -leri after a word whose last vowel is front (e i ö ü) and -ları after one whose last vowel is back (a ı o u): evleri, arabaları. The two shapes are the same after a vowel and after a consonant, because the ending begins with l. Before another suffix it takes -n-: evlerinde, okullarına.

Examples

• Komşular arabalarını bugün yıkıyor.The neighbours are washing their car today.
• Öğrenciler kitaplarını masaya koydu.The students put their books on the table.
• Misafirler odalarında dinleniyor.The guests are resting in their rooms.
• evlerindein their houseev·leri-leri / -ları: their house, their car·nBuffer -n-: evinde, evinden, evine·de-de / -da / -te / -ta: in, at, on
• arabalarınato their cararaba·ları-leri / -ları: their house, their car·nBuffer -n-: evinde, evinden, evine·a-e / -a / -ye / -ya: to, towards
• okullarındanfrom their schoolokul·ları-leri / -ları: their house, their car·nBuffer -n-: evinde, evinden, evine·dan-den / -dan / -ten / -tan: from, out of
• ağaçlarıtheir treeağaç·ları-leri / -ları: their house, their carThe ç does not soften: ağaçları is the tree of several people, ağacı the tree of one person. The ending begins with l, not with a vowel.
• köpekleritheir dogköpek·leri-leri / -ları: their house, their carThe k stays: köpekleri is the dog of several people, köpeği the dog of one person.
• kitaplarıtheir bookkitap·ları-leri / -ları: their house, their carThe same form can also mean the books of one person: kitap + plural -lar + -ı (one owner). The sentence tells you which.

Watch out

Do not soften the last consonant: it is kitapları, ağaçları, köpekleri, never kitabları, ağacları or köpeğleri. Softening belongs to kitabı, ağacı, köpeği (one owner), where the ending starts with a vowel. Also, kitapları alone can mean one person's books, so the sentence has to decide.

Try it yourself

1. Add “their” to köpek (dog): their dog.

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   köpekleri

   köpekleri: the last vowel ö is front, so -leri; the ending begins with l, so the k does not soften (köpeği is the single-owner form).

2. Add “their” to araba (car): their car.

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   arabaları

   arabaları: the last vowel a is back, so -ları; the word already ends in a vowel, but the ending still begins with l, so nothing is dropped or inserted.

3. Add “their” to göz (eye): their eye.

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   gözleri

   gözleri: the last vowel ö is front, so -leri; the final vowel of the ending is always i or ı, never rounded.

4. Add “their” and the ending for “to” to okul (school): to their school.

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   okullarına

   okullarına: okul has the back vowel u, so -ları; a case ending after it needs -n-, so -ları + n + -a gives okullarına.

Use it today

Write three sentences about what a group of people owns (a family, a class, neighbours), each with a word ending in -leri or -ları. Check the last vowel, and that no consonant softened.