Annem çocuğun alnına merhem sürdü.

my

Breakdown of Annem çocuğun alnına merhem sürdü.

• çocuk: the child
• -a: to
• anne: the mother

Questions & Answers about Annem çocuğun alnına merhem sürdü.

Why is annem used instead of anne? And why isn’t it benim annem?

Annem means my mother. The ending -m is the possessive suffix for my.

So:

• anne = mother
• annem = my mother

Turkish often does not use the separate pronoun benim when the possessive suffix already shows the meaning clearly. So:

• annem = my mother
• benim annem = also my mother, but with extra emphasis or contrast

In ordinary sentences, annem by itself is very natural.

Why does çocuk become çocuğun?

This happens for two reasons:

First, Turkish adds the genitive ending here, because the phrase means the child’s forehead.

• çocuk = child
• çocuğun = the child’s / of the child

Second, when a vowel-initial suffix is added to some words ending in k, the k often softens to ğ:

• çocuk
  • -un → çocuğun

The ending appears as -un because of vowel harmony. So çocuğun is the correct form for the child’s.