Turkish A0 Survival Pack

Plurals + In / From / To

Plurals + In / From / To

A0

Turkish -lar/-ler, -da/-de, -dan/-den, -a/-e

Goal: Make familiar words plural, then say where something is, where it comes from, and where it is going.
1

Plurals: -lar / -ler

Turkish uses two plural endings: -lar and -ler. Look at the last vowel of the word.

a, ı, o, u
-lar
e, i, ö, ü
-ler
Examples with words you already know
çanta → çantalar
bags
bavul → bavullar
suitcases
masa → masalar
tables
sandalye → sandalyeler
chairs
telefon → telefonlar
phones
pasaport → pasaportlar
passports
bilet → biletler
tickets
anahtar → anahtarlar
keys
defter → defterler
notebooks
kalem → kalemler
pens / pencils
gözlük → gözlükler
glasses
ayakkabı → ayakkabılar
shoes
ceket → ceketler
jackets
elma → elmalar
apples
otel → oteller
hotels
otobüs → otobüsler
buses
Important Note: Numbers & Plurals

After a number, Turkish normally keeps the noun singular.

iki bilet
iki biletler
two tickets
üç çanta
üç çantalar
three bags
beş kahve
beş kahveler
five coffees

Practice & New Endings

2

Practice - Plurals

A. Make these words plural.

1. çanta →
2. bilet →
3. telefon →
4. sandalye →
5. bavul →
6. defter →
7. ayakkabı →
8. otobüs →

B. Choose -lar or -ler.

masa___
otel___
kalem___
elma___
gözlük___
ceket___
anahtar___
telefon___

C. Correct the sentence.

1. İki biletler istiyorum. _________________
2. Üç çantalar burada. _________________
3. Dört kahveler, lütfen. _________________
4. Beş otobüsler var. _________________
3

Three useful place endings

Now learn three very useful endings. They show location and direction.

-da / -de
IN / AT
otelde
at the hotel
-dan / -den
FROM
otelden
from the hotel
-a / -e
TO
otele
to the hotel

Location & Direction Endings

4

-da / -de = in / at

Use -da / -de to say where someone or something is.

a, ı, o, u → -da
e, i, ö, ü → -de
Word
Turkish (Where?)
English
otel
otel ▶ otelde
at the hotel
ev
ev ▶ evde
at home
masa
masa ▶ masada
on / at the table
çanta
çanta ▶ çantada
in the bag
taksi
taksi ▶ takside
in the taxi
otobüs
otobüs ▶ otobüste
on the bus
Sound note: After some hard consonants, d becomes t.
Example: otobüs + de → otobüste
5

-dan / -den = from

Use -dan / -den to say where someone or something comes from.

a, ı, o, u → -dan
e, i, ö, ü → -den
Word
Turkish (From Where?)
English
otel
otel ▶ otelden
from the hotel
ev
ev ▶ evden
from home
masa
masa ▶ masadan
from the table
çanta
çanta ▶ çantadan
from the bag
okul
okul ▶ okuldan
from school
otobüs
otobüs ▶ otobüsten
from the bus

Location & Direction Endings

6

-a / -e = to

Use -a / -e to say where someone or something is going.

a, ı, o, u → -a
e, i, ö, ü → -e
Word
Turkish (To Where?)
English
otel
otel ▶ otele
to the hotel
ev
ev ▶ eve
home / to the house
okul
okul ▶ okula
to school
otobüs
otobüs ▶ otobüse
to the bus

When does y appear?

Turkish generally avoids two vowels coming directly together in these suffix combinations. If a word ends in a vowel and the next suffix also begins with a vowel, we often add y between them to make the word easier to say.

masa + a → masaya
masa + y + a
çanta + a → çantaya
çanta + y + a
Think of y as a small bridge between two vowels.
7

Compare the three forms

IN Ben oteldeyim.
I am at the hotel.
FR Ben otelden geliyorum.
I am coming from the hotel.
TO Ben otele gidiyorum.
I am going to the hotel.
IN Telefon çantada.
The phone is in the bag.
FR Telefon çantadan geliyor.
The phone is coming from the bag.
TO Telefonu çantaya koyuyorum.
I am putting the phone into the bag.
IN Anahtar masada.
The key is on the table.
TO Anahtarı masaya koyuyorum.
I am putting the key on the table.

Practice

8

Practice - In / From / To

A. Choose the correct form.

1. Ben otel___yim. (at the hotel)
2. Ben otel___ geliyorum. (from the hotel)
3. Ben otel___ gidiyorum. (to the hotel)
4. Telefon çanta___. (in the bag)
5. Ben ev___ geliyorum. (from home)
6. Ben okul___ gidiyorum. (to school)
7. Anahtar masa___. (on the table)
8. Anahtarı masa___ koyuyorum. (to the table)

B. Match.

1. otelde ____
a. to the hotel
2. otelden ____
b. at the hotel
3. otele ____
c. from the hotel
4. evde ____
d. from home
5. evden ____
e. at home
6. eve ____
f. home / to the house

C. Translate into Turkish.

1. I am at the hotel.
4. The phone is in the bag.
2. I am going to the hotel.
5. The key is on the table.
3. I am coming from the hotel.
6. I am going home.

D. Plural + place ending

1. The bags are at the hotel.
3. The buses are here.
2. The tickets are in the bag.
4. The notebooks are on the table.

Assessment

9

Mini Review

1. Make 'çanta' plural.
5. Write: to the hotel.
2. Make 'bilet' plural.
6. Write: in the bag.
3. Write: at the hotel.
7. Write: from home.
4. Write: from the hotel.
8. Write: to the table.

Answer Key

Plural A: çantalar, biletler, telefonlar, sandalyeler, bavullar, defterler, ayakkabılar, otobüsler.
Plural B: masalar, kalemler, gözlükler, anahtarlar, oteller, elmalar, ceketler, telefonlar.
Plural C: İki bilet istiyorum. / Üç çanta burada. / Dört kahve, lütfen. / Beş otobüs var.
Practice A: 1. oteldeyim 2. otelden 3. otele 4. çantada 5. evden 6. okula 7. masada 8. masaya.
Match: 1-b, 2-c, 3-a, 4-e, 5-d, 6-f.
Translate: Ben oteldeyim. / Ben otele gidiyorum. / Ben otelden geliyorum. / Telefon çantada. / Anahtar masada. / Ben eve gidiyorum.
Plural + place: Çantalar otelde. / Biletler çantada. / Otobüsler burada. / Defterler masada.
Mini Review: çantalar / biletler / otelde / otelden / otele / çantada / evden / masaya.