Turkish grammar: sahiplik zamirleri

What this grammar point covers

Possessive pronouns in Turkish show who owns or has something. They are used to say 'my', 'your', 'his', 'her', 'our', or 'their' before nouns.

When to use it

Use Turkish possessive pronouns when you want to show who something belongs to. You add a special ending to the noun and sometimes use the pronoun before it for emphasis.

Key forms

• benim + noun (benim kitabım)
• senin + noun (senin araban)
• onun + noun (onun evi)
• bizim + noun (bizim okulumuz)
• sizin + noun (sizin köpeğiniz)
• onların + noun (onların çantası)

Examples

Tips

• In Turkish, possessive endings are added to the noun: -im, -in, -i, -imiz, -iniz, -i (for plural).
• You can use the pronoun (benim, senin, etc.) for emphasis, but it's not always necessary.
• Be careful with vowel harmony when adding possessive endings.

Exceptions and edge cases

• The third person singular and plural ('onun', 'onların') use the same ending (-i), so sometimes you need context to know if it's 'his/her/its' or 'their'.