Compound Suffixes
Learn to stack multiple suffixes in correct order
Suffix Order
Turkish is agglutinative - you can add multiple suffixes to one word. The order matters!
Basic order:
1. Root word
2. Plural (-ler/-lar)
3. Possessive (-im, -in, -i, etc.)
4. Case (-de, -den, -e, -i)
5. Personal copula (am/is/are)
Example: evlerimizde = ev + ler + imiz + de
ev-ler-im-dehouse + plural + my + in
kitap-lar-ın-danbook + plural + your + from
araba-lar-ımızcar + plural + our
Possessive + Case
A very common pattern is possessive + case ending. When adding case to possessed nouns, buffer 'n' or 'y' may be needed:
After possessive -i/-ı/-u/-ü (3rd person): add buffer 'n'
After possessive -im/-in/-imiz/-iniz: no buffer
Example: evi + de → evinde (in his house)
ev-im-demy house + in (no buffer)
ev-i-n-dehis house + buffer n + in
araba-sı-n-danhis car + buffer n + from
Plural + Possessive + Case
The full pattern with all three:
Root + plural + possessive + case
Remember vowel harmony applies to each suffix!
çocuk-lar-ımız-ıchild + plural + our + accusative
kitap-lar-ın-dabook + plural + your + in
göz-ler-i-n-deeye + plural + his + buffer n + in
Exercises
Build: 'in our houses' from 'ev'
Answer: evlerimizde
ev + ler + imiz + de = evlerimizde
Translate: from your books
Answer: kitaplarından
kitap + lar + ın + dan = kitaplarından
Complete: Çocuk__ oku__ (in their school)
Answer: ları okullarında
çocukları + okul + lar + ı + n + da