What is the Turkish locative case?
The simplest English translation for the Turkish dative case is “in,” “on,” or “at,” but it is a little more complicated than just that. If we generalized, we could say it is about location. Wow, who could have guessed the locative case is about location?
How do form the dative case? You will add one syllable to the end of your Turkish noun that will vary according to vowel harmony. You will use -t- or -d-, and you will use -a or -e. More specifically, all the possible endings for the locative case are: -da, -ta, -de, -te. Which you will use will depend on the final syllable of the noun.
Technically, there is buffer -n- included with the locative. It will appear only when the noun is possessed by him, her, or them. A 3rd person possessive gets a -ı or -sı, which means it ends with a vowel. However, you cannot add -da; you must add -nda.
kedi > kedisi > kedisinde cat > his cat > on his cat
ev > evi > evinde house > his house > at his house
para > parası > parasında money > his money > on his money
Please notice the ambiguity of evinde. It can be “at his house” or “at your house.” Be careful.
Here are the 5 rules to know when to use the Turkish dative case:
Rule 1: adverbial of place – you did it where?
In a sentence with a verb, you usually need to describe where it is happening. You will use the Turkish locative case.
Arkadaşımın evinde uydum. = I slept at my friend’s house.
Kedi mutfakta yedi. = The cat ate in the kitchen.
Rule 2: adverbial of time – you did it when?
Time is critical, and you will usually use the Turkish locative case to mark it.
Son zamanlarda daha fazla Türkçe öğrendim. = Recently (literally, at the last times) I studied more Turkish.
Arkadaşım sabahlarda kahvaltı yapmaz. = My friend does not eat breakfast in the mornings.
The only times you won’t use this case despite being a time is the incredibly common adverbials of time like bugün or yarın.
Rule 3: the complement of a subject – you are where?
For English speakers, you might think this is the same as rule 1, but it’s distinct and deserves its own rule. If you are at a location, you will use the Turkish locative case.
Dükkandasın. = You are at the store.
Ayasofya İstanbul’da. = The Hagia Sophia is in Istanbul.
Rule 4: a descriptive construction about age, size, shape, etc.
This use is one of the first expressions you learn in Turkish. When you talk about your age, you learn yaşında. This has an adjectival meaning – it’s obviously not a verb – and therefore can be put in the place where adjectives go. This rule also applies for things like “in the size of X” or “in the shape of.”
Bahçede bir üzümün büyüklüğünde bir sivrisinek gördüm. = I saw a mosquito the size of a grape in the garden.
Ördeğin şeklinde bulut çocuğu güldürdü. = The cloud in the shape of a duck / the duck-shaped cloud made the child laugh.
Rule 5: the object of particular verbs or adjectives
This is the most illogical rule. There is not reason here – you just have to memorize. A very small number of verbs take this case as an object. In your English head, it should be an object and therefore accusative, but it must be locative.
İskender kebapta karar kıldık. = We decided on the Iskender Kebab.
Sana söylemekte sakınca görmüyorum. = I don’t mind telling you. (literally, I don’t see harm in…)
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