Language/Turkish/Grammar/Cases

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Turkish Grammar → Complex Grammar → Cases

As a Turkish language teacher with 20 years of experience, I know that learning cases is a challenging but essential aspect of mastering Turkish grammar. Turkish cases are used to indicate the relationships between different words in a sentence. In this lesson, you will learn about the different cases in Turkish and when to use each one.

Don't miss the chance to check out these pages as you wrap up this lesson: The Dative Case in Turkish & Possessive Case in Turkish.

Understanding the Concept of Cases

Turkish has six basic cases that are used to show the grammatical function of a noun or pronoun in a sentence. Each case has different endings that change the meaning of the word. The cases are:

Nominative (Subject) case
Accusative (Direct Object) case
Dative (Indirect Object) case
Locative (Location) case
Ablative (Departure) case
Instrumental (Means) case

The choice of which case to use depends on the sentence structure and context. It is important to keep in mind that Turkish uses postpositions rather than prepositions, which means that the word that precedes the postposition should be in the correct case.

Nominative (Subject) Case

The nominative case is used when the noun is the subject of the sentence. The nominative case doesn't have any special endings. Here is an example:

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
Ben	behn	I

In this example, "Ben" is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence.

Accusative (Direct Object) Case

The accusative case is used when the noun is the direct object of the verb. The accusative case takes the suffix "-i".

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
Domates	doh-mah-tes	Tomato

In this example, "Domates" is in the accusative case because it is the direct object of the verb.

Dative (Indirect Object) Case

The dative case is used when the noun is the indirect object of the verb. The dative case takes the suffix "-e" or "-a" depending on vowel harmony rules.

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
Babama	bah-bah-mah	To my father

In this example, "Baba" is in the dative case because it is the indirect object of the verb.

Locative (Location) Case

The locative case is used to indicate location or position. The locative case takes the suffix "-de" or "-da" depending on vowel harmony rules.

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
Evde	ehv-deh	At home

In this example, "Ev" is in the locative case because it indicates location.

Ablative (Departure) Case

The ablative case is used to indicate the starting point of an action or the point of departure. The ablative case takes the suffix "-den".

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
İstanbul'dan	ish-tahn-bool-dahn	From Istanbul

In this example, "İstanbul" is in the ablative case because it indicates the origin of a departure.

Instrumental (Means) Case

The instrumental case is used to indicate the means by which something is done. The instrumental case takes the suffix "-le".

Turkish	Pronunciation	English
Kalemle	kah-lehm-leh	With a pencil

In this example, "Kalem" is in the instrumental case because it indicates the means by which something is done.

When to use Each Case

The choice of which case to use depends on the sentence structure and context. Here are some common situations in which each case is used:

Nominative case: used for the subject of the sentence.
Accusative case: used for the direct object of the sentence.
Dative case: used for the indirect object of the sentence.
Locative case: used to indicate location or position.
Ablative case: used to indicate the starting point of an action or the point of departure.
Instrumental case: used to indicate the means by which something is done.

It is important to practice using each case in a sentence to fully understand their usage.

Conclusion

Cases are an integral part of Turkish grammar and essential for mastering the language. In this lesson, we have covered the six basic cases in Turkish and when to use them. To fully understand the concept of cases, it is important to practice using them in a sentence. In the next lesson, you will learn about Turkish participles.

Sources

Having concluded this lesson, consider checking out these related pages: Prepositions & Gender.

Table of Contents - Turkish Course - 0 to A1

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Turkish Alphabet

Basic Grammar

Complex Grammar

Everyday Phrases

Numbers and Time

Turkish Culture

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Noun Cases in Turkish Language (Grammar Lesson #12) - YouTube

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