Language/Turkmen/Grammar/Adjectives

Turkmen Grammar - Adjectives

Hi Turkmen learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will focus on Turkmen adjectives. Adjectives are an essential part of speech as they add detail and description to a sentence. In Turkmen, adjectives are used to modify or describe nouns, pronouns, or other adjectives. They also agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they are modifying. We will cover all of these concepts and more, so let's get started!

Don't hesitate to look into these other pages after completing this lesson: The Case system, Future Tense, Conditional Mood & Question particle–my mi.

Forming Adjectives

In Turkmen, adjectives are generally formed by adding the suffix "-ly" to a noun. For example:

Turkmen	Pronunciation	English
kitap	[kitaːp]	book
kitaply	[kitaːplɯ]	bookish/book-like
ýigit	[jiːɡit]	boy
ýigitli	[jiːɡitli]	boyish

As you can see in the examples above, the suffix "-ly" is added to the end of the noun to form the adjective. It's important to note that sometimes additional letters might be added to the suffix "-ly," such as "s" or "t," depending on the ending of the original noun.

Agreement of Adjectives

Turkmen adjectives agree in gender, number, and case with the nouns they modify. This means that the ending of the adjective changes to match the ending of the noun.

Gender Agreement

In Turkmen, nouns are either masculine or feminine. Adjectives will have an -a ending if they are modifying a feminine noun and an -y ending if they are modifying a masculine noun. For example:

Turkmen	Pronunciation	English
göz	[ɡœz]	eye
gözüň	[ɡœzyŋ]	his/her eye
gözeli	[ɡœzeli]	pretty (feminine)
köpek	[køpɛk]	dog
köpüň	[køpyŋ]	his/her dog
köpüni	[køpyni]	dog (accusative)
köpüňli	[køpyŋli]	dog-like (masculine)

As shown in the examples above, the adjective "gözeli" has an -a ending because it's modifying the feminine noun "göz" (eye), while the adjective "köpüňli" has a -y ending because it's modifying the masculine noun "köpek" (dog).

Number Agreement

Adjectives in Turkmen also agree in number with the nouns they modify. If the noun is singular, the adjective also needs to be in the singular form, and if the noun is plural, the adjective needs to be in the plural form. For example:

Turkmen	Pronunciation	English
gül	[ɡyl]	flower
gülüň	[ɡylʊŋ]	his/her flower
gülüňli	[ɡylʊŋli]	flowery
güller	[ɡyllɛr]	flowers
gülleriň	[ɡyllɛriŋ]	his/her flowers
gülleriňli	[ɡyllɛriŋli]	flowery (plural)

In the examples above, you can see that the adjective "gülüňli" means "flowery," but when modifying the plural noun "güller" (flowers), it becomes "gülleriňli."

Case Agreement

Finally, adjectives also agree in case with the nouns they modify. This means that the ending of the adjective changes to match the case of the noun. For example:

Turkmen	Pronunciation	English
ýol	[jol]	road
ýolyň	[jolʊŋ]	of the road
ýolaky	[jolɑkɯ]	road-like (nominative)
ýolakyň	[jolɑkɯŋ]	of road-like (genitive)

In the example above, "ýolaky" is the nominative form of the adjective (meaning it's the subject of the sentence), while "ýolakyň" is the genitive form (meaning it's showing possession or relation).

Comparison of Adjectives

Adjectives in Turkmen can be compared using the suffixes "-da" (for comparative) and "-dan" (for superlative). For example:

Turkmen	Pronunciation	English
iyi	[iji]	good
iýe-da	[ijiːe.dɑ]	better
iýe-dan	[ijiːe.dɑn]	best

In the example above, "iýe-da" means "better," while "iýe-dan" means "best."

Dialogue

To help you better understand how adjectives are used in context, here's a dialogue between two friends:

• Friend 1: Salam, bugün hawa iýi. (Hello, the weather is nice today.)
• Friend 2: Hawa gowy däl ýaly dünýämiň en gyzykly hawa däl. (The weather isn't as good as the world's sweetest weather.)
• Friend 1: Özüň hawa barada hemmesi bilýär. (Everyone knows about the weather.)
• Friend 2: Ol ýokary howply. (It's extremely beautiful.)

Conclusion

That's it for this lesson on Turkmen adjectives! Remember, adjectives are a crucial component of Turkmen grammar and are used to add detail and description to sentences. By following the rules of gender, number, and case agreement, you can use adjectives like a native speaker. If you want to practice your skills, you can find native speakers and ask them any questions you might have. You can also check out other Turkmen Grammar lessons on Polyglot Club.

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➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

Great work on completing this lesson! Take a moment to investigate these connected pages: Word order, Pronouns and Verbs, Nouns & 0 to A1 Course.

Other Lessons

• Conditional Mood
• Pronouns
• Nouns
• Ordinal Numbers
• Future Tense
• Gender
• Personal pronouns
• How to Use Be
• The Subjunctive Mood

Sources

• Turkmen grammar - Wikipedia
• Turkmen Style Guide