Kimlik masada duruyor.

the table

Breakdown of Kimlik masada duruyor.

• -da: on
• durmak: to stand
• kimlik: the ID

Questions & Answers about Kimlik masada duruyor.

Do I need to say “the” or “a” before kimlik?

Turkish has no articles like “the” or “a.” Bare kimlik can mean either “the ID (card)” or “an ID,” depending on context. If you want to force “an,” use bir (e.g., Masada bir kimlik var.). To make it clearly “the/that ID,” use a demonstrative: o/şu/bu kimlik.

Does kimlik here mean “identity” or “ID card”?

In everyday Turkish, kimlik by itself almost always means an ID card. You can also hear kimlik kartı. The older term is nüfus cüzdanı. The abstract sense “identity” also exists, but context makes it clear.

Why is it masada and not masaya?

• -DA (locative) = “in/on/at”: masada = “on/at the table.”
• -A (dative) = “to/onto”: masaya = “to the table/onto the table.”
  So you’d say Masaya koydum (“I put it onto the table”) but Masada duruyor (“It is on the table”).

How do I know whether to use -da, -de, -ta, -te in masada?