Turkish Case Suffixes

In this post, we won’t go through each case suffix individually. Instead, the goal is to understand the underlying logic: how verbs determine the case suffixes.

Case refers to a change in the form of a noun or pronoun that shows its role in a sentence. That is, how it relates syntactically to other words, especially the verb. Put simply, it is the verb that determines which case a noun or pronoun should take.

For example, see below how the noun fotoğraf (photograph) takes the case suffix required by the verb and functions differently in each sentence.

If you are studying Turkish cases for the first time, focus on the case suffixes and their functions rather than on deeper sentence structure, and use the translation to help you understand them.

These examples are taken from my book easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1-A2). To practice and master each case, explore the book for full explanations and exercises.

Focus on the underlying logic: the verb determines the case. Once you understand this, learning individual case usages will become much easier.

Let’s also see how this works in the following examples:

• Annem alışverişe gitti. → My mother has gone shopping. (git requires the dative)

• Annem alışverişten henüz dönmedi. → My mother hasn’t returned from shopping yet. (dön requires the ablative)

Now, let's try to figure out the verb by looking at the accusative case suffix in the object seni. More than one verb may be possible:

• Ben seni ………

  
  

… seviyorum, anlıyorum, dinliyorum, tanıyorum. All these verbs require the accusative case, and other verbs can be used as well.

They translate as:

• I love you.

• I understand you.

• I’m listening to you.

• I know you.

Next, try these exercises on your own to practice recognizing which case suffix the verb requires. Again, more than one verb may be possible for each one:

• Sen bugün Altan'ı ........

• Ali Melis'e ........

• Ben Ankara'da ........

• Ben o adamdan ........