Turkish Conjunction and Postposition: ile

In this lesson, we'll study how to use ile in Turkish — both as a conjunction and as a postposition.

We usually use it in its suffix form as -le / -la. If the receiving word ends in a vowel, the buffer letter y is inserted in between: -(y)le / -(y)la.

Using İle as a Conjunction

We use -(y)le / -(y)la to join two nouns or noun phrases, just like ve (and). We can replace it with ve without any change in meaning.

Examples:

• Bir hamburgerle kola alabilir miyim?

= Bir hamburger ve kola… → Can I have a hamburger and a cola?

• Miray’la Esra alışverişe gittiler.

= Miray ve Esra… → Miray and Esra have gone shopping.

• Ben İngilizceyle Fransızca biliyorum.

= Ben İngilizce ve Fransızca… → I know English and French.

Key Points to Remember

1. In lists, we don't use -(y)le / -(y)la before the last noun. We use ve instead:

• Ece, Su ve Yasemin bana geliyorlar (NOT Ece, Su ile Yasemin...).

→ Ece, Su and Yasemin are coming to my place.

2. We don't use -(y)le / -(y)la to connect adjectives or sentences. We use ve instead:

• Çok yakışıklı ve kibar (NOT ...yakışıklı ile kibar).

→ He is very handsome and kind.

• Ben her sabah duş alırım ve tıraş olurum (NOT ...duş alırım ile tıraş olurum).

→ I have a shower and a shave every morning.

• Bu formu doldurun ve şurayı imzalayın (NOT ...doldurun ile şurayı imzalayın).

→ Fill in this form and sign here.

Using İle as a Postposition

Postpositions, which usually stand as separate words, function like prepositions in English. We use -(y)le / -(y)la as a postposition to say:

(a) Two or more people or things are in the same place together or are doing something together. It usually translates as with.

Examples:

• Ben işten sonra Asu’yla buluşacağım. → After work I will meet up with Asu.

• Yumurta sarılarını yoğurtla karıştırın, sonra... → Mix the yolks with yogurt, then...

(b) What means or method we use to do something. It usually translates as by or with.

Examples:

• Biz Ankara’ya hızlı trenle gideceğiz. → We will go to Ankara by fast train.

• Kredi kartıyla ödeyebilir miyim? → Can I pay by credit card?

• Eti bu bıçakla doğra. Daha keskin. → Chop the meat with this knife. It’s sharper.

Using -le / -la with Personal Pronouns

When adding -le / -la to personal pronouns, we use the genitive case for all except the third person plural: benimle, seninle, onunla, bizimle, sizinle, and onlarla.

Examples:

• Onunla ben iyi anlaşıyoruz. → S/he and I get along well.

• Sizinle biz çok farklıyız. → You and we are very different.

• Seninle gelebilir miyim? → Can I come with you?

• Ben onlarla takılmayı sevmiyorum. → I don’t like hanging out with them.

• Benimle evlenir misin? → Will you marry me?

In spoken Turkish, we usually omit the genitive case suffix and say benle, senle, onla etc.

To sum up, ile can mean and, with, or by depending on its role in the sentence. Whether you use it as a conjunction or postposition, remember the personal pronoun forms.

This post is only a part of the lesson on Conjunctions in my book easy Turkish Grammar with answers 1 (A1-A2). You can find more conjunctions like ya ya da, ne ne de, and hem hem de.👉 Check out the book here.