Rules and usage
Turkish uses a system of case suffixes attached to nouns to show their grammatical function in a sentence. These suffixes tell you whether a noun is the subject, object, possessor, recipient, location, or source. Turkish has six main cases. Understanding cases is essential because Turkish word order is more flexible than English, and cases do much of the work that prepositions do in English.
What Are the Six Cases?
- Turkish has six cases: nominative (base form, no suffix), accusative (direct object), genitive (possession), dative (recipient or destination), locative (location), and ablative (source or origin). Each case has specific suffixes that attach to the noun according to vowel harmony rules. Cases remain the same whether a sentence is positive, negative, or a question—the grammatical function of the noun does not change.
- Nominative: Ev. (A house.)
- Accusative: Evi seviyorum. (I love the house.)
- Genitive: Evin kapısı. (The house's door.)
- Dative: Eve gittim. (I went to the house.)
- Locative: Evde oturuyorum. (I am at the house.)
- Ablative: Evden çıktım. (I came from the house.)
✅ Positive sentence examples
| Turkish | English |
|---|
| Kedi masanın üstünde oturuyor. | The cat is sitting on top of the table. |
| Ahmet elmayı yedi. | Ahmet ate the apple. |
⛔ Negative sentence examples
| Turkish | English |
|---|
| Kedi masanın üstünde oturmuyor. | The cat is not sitting on top of the table. |
| Ahmet elmayı yemedi. | Ahmet didn't eat the apple. |
❓ Question sentence examples
| Turkish | English |
|---|
| Kedi masanın üstünde mi oturuyor? | Is the cat sitting on top of the table? |
| Ahmet elmayı yedi mi? | Did Ahmet eat the apple? |