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Intermediate

The Case System Overview

Six cases by suffix

Turkish has six cases marked by suffixes

Added with vowel harmony.

📊 The six cases
Case Suffix Meaning
nominative -∅ subject
accusative -i / -ı / -u / -ü definite object
dative -e / -a to, toward
locative -de / -da at, in, on
ablative -den / -dan from
genitive -in / -ın / -un / -ün of (possessor)
💬 Examples
ev → evi → eve → evde → evden → evin
house through the cases
📝 Nom, Acc, Dat, Loc, Abl, Gen
Eve gidiyorum.
I'm going home.
📝 eve = dative (to the house)
Suffixes stack in a fixed order

plural + possessive + case.

💬 Examples
evlerimde
in my houses
📝 ev + -ler + -im + -de
kitaplarında
in your books
📝 kitap + -lar + -ın + -da
Cases let word order shift (verb stays last)

Case carries the role.

💬 Examples
Kedi köpeği gördü.
The cat saw the dog.
📝 köpeği = accusative object
Köpeği kedi gördü.
It was the cat that saw the dog.
📝 Reordered; cases keep the meaning