Salonun zemininde mozaik desenler var.

There are mosaic patterns on the floor of the living room.

Breakdown of Salonun zemininde mozaik desenler var.

• olmak: to be
• -de: in
• -un: of
• salon: the living room

Questions & Answers about Salonun zemininde mozaik desenler var.

Why is salon marked with -un as salonun? Can’t I just say salon or salonda?

-un is the genitive suffix, marking salonun = “of the living room.” In Turkish, when you want “the floor of the living room,” the possessor (salon) must be in the genitive.

• salon alone is just the noun “living room.”
• salonda means “in the living room,” but doesn’t convey “the living room’s floor.”

Why does zemininde have both -in and -de suffixes? What’s the little n doing there?

zemininde breaks down into:
zemin (floor)

• -in (3rd person possessive, because salonun is in the genitive)
• n (buffer consonant to avoid a vowel–vowel clash)
• -de (locative case).
  This pattern—possessor in genitive + possessed noun takes 3 sg possessive + case suffix—is standard whenever you mark a case on a possessed noun.

What exactly does the locative suffix -de add in zemininde?

The locative suffix -de corresponds to English in, on, or at. So zemininde literally means “in/on the floor.”