Grammar
- Verb Stems & Infinitives
- Person Suffixes
- Present Simple / Aorist (-r)
- Present Continuous (-iyor)
- Past Simple / Definite Past (-di)
- Past Continuous / Imperfect (-iyordu)
- Future Tense (-ecek/-acak)
- Narrative/Reported Past (-miş)
- Imperative Mood
- Optative Mood (-e)
- Necessitative Mood (-meli/-malı)
- Conditional Mood (-se/-sa)
- Ability (-ebilmek/-abilmek)
- Negation (-me/-ma)
- Questions (-mi?)
- Passive Voice (-il/-in)
- Causative Voice (-dir, -t, etc.)
- Verbal Nouns (-me, -mek, -iş)
- Participles (Sıfat-Fiiller)
- Gerunds / Adverbial Clauses
Grammar
Demonstrative pronouns (işaret zamirleri) point to people or things. Turkish has three of them, so it distinguishes three degrees of "pointing" where English has only "this" and "that".
Basic Forms:
| Pronoun | Plural | Use |
|---|---|---|
| bu (this) | bunlar (these) | Near the speaker; also refers back to something just said. |
| şu (that) | şunlar (those) | Something you are pointing at or showing, usually a little further away; also introduces something about to be said. |
| o (that) | onlar (those / they) | Far away, out of sight, or already known; o also means "he/she/it". |
- Bu ne? (What is this?)
- Şunlar kim? (Who are those (people over there)?)
- Şunu unutma: yarın sınav var. (Don't forget this: there is an exam tomorrow.)
- Bunu sen mi yaptın? (Did you do this?)
Declension:
Demonstrative pronouns take case endings like nouns. An n appears before the plural and case endings: bunlar, bunu, buna.
Bu (This)
| Case | Singular (Bu) | Plural (Bunlar) |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative | bu | bunlar |
| Genitive | bunun | bunların |
| Accusative | bunu | bunları |
| Dative | buna | bunlara |
| Locative | bunda | bunlarda |
| Ablative | bundan | bunlardan |
| With (-le) | bununla | bunlarla |
Şu and o decline the same way.
Şu: şunun, şunu, şuna, şunda, şundan (plural: şunların, şunları, şunlara, şunlarda, şunlardan)
O: onun, onu, ona, onda, ondan (plural: onların, onları, onlara, onlarda, onlardan)
Usage Notes:
- Before a noun, demonstratives are adjectives and never take plural or case endings: bu kitaplar (these books), o evi (that house (object)). See the Demonstrative Adjectives lesson.
- A pronoun can be the subject of a "this is…" sentence: Bunlar kitap. (These are books.)
Common Mistakes:
- ✗ bular → ✓ bunlar
- ✗ Buyu istiyorum. → ✓ Bunu istiyorum.
- ✗ Bunlar kitaplar okudum. → ✓ Bu kitapları okudum. (I read these books.)
Practice Zone
1. How do you say 'these' (plural of 'this - bu')?
2. How do you say 'those' (plural of 'that - o', far)?