Turkish Grammar › Noun Case Suffixes
Bulunma Durumu (-DA)
Locative Case
Level A1Noun Case Suffixes
The locative ending (-da / -de / -ta / -te), which tells where or when something is.
To show where, with whom or when something is, Turkish adds the locative ending to the end of the noun. Following vowel harmony and consonant hardening, this ending has four forms: «-da», «-de», «-ta», «-te».
If the vowel in the last syllable is a back vowel (a, ı, o, u) the ending is «-da / -ta»; if it is a front vowel (e, i, ö, ü) the ending is «-de / -te».
If the word ends in one of the voiceless consonants (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p — remembered as «Fıstıkçı Şahap»), the «d» hardens to «t» and the ending becomes «-ta / -te». With proper nouns the ending is separated by an apostrophe (for example: Ahmet'te, İstanbul'da).
The question «Nerede?» (Where?) is always answered with this ending.
Examples
- Ben evdeyim.I am at home.
- Kitap masada.The book is on the table.
- Öğrenciler sınıfta.The students are in the classroom.
- Annem mutfakta çalışıyor.My mother is working in the kitchen.
- Kalemim Cansu’daCansu has my pen.