Possessive Suffixes

Turkish expresses possession by adding suffixes to nouns. These follow i-type vowel harmony.

Suffixes:

-(i)m - my

-(i)n - your (informal)

-(s)i - his/her/its

-(i)miz - our

-(i)niz - your (formal/plural)

-leri/-ları - their

ev-im

my house

ev + im

kitab-ın

your book

kitap + ın (p→b)

araba-sı

his/her car

araba + sı (buffer 's')

Buffer Letters

After vowels, add buffer 'm', 'n', or 's':

My/our → add 'm'

Your → add 'n'

His/her/its → add 's'

anne-m

my mother

anne ends in 'e', no buffer needed

baba-m

my father

baba ends in 'a', just add -m

araba-sı

his/her car

araba ends in 'a', buffer 's' + ı

With Personal Pronouns

Often used with possessive pronouns for emphasis:

benim evim - my house (emphatic)

senin kitabın - your book (emphatic)

onun arabası - his/her car

Benim adım Ali

My name is Ali

benim = my (pronoun), adım = my name

Senin evin çok güzel

Your house is very beautiful

senin = your (pronoun), evin = your house

Exercises

possessive

Add 'my' to: göz (eye)

Answer: gözüm

göz has 'ö' → gözüm (my eye)

translation

Translate: your school (informal)

Answer: okulun

okul + un = okulun (your school)

fill in-blank

Complete: araba__ (our car)

Answer: mız

araba + mız = arabamız (our car)