There is a special kind of pride that comes from rolling up your sleeves and working on a vehicle yourself. When you want to emphasize that something belongs exclusively to you—or someone else—Turkish uses the word kendi.
Emphasizing Ownership with "Kendi"
The word kendi means "own" or "self". To say "my own", "your own", or "their own", you place kendi directly before the possessed noun.
Unlike English, where the modifier changes (my, your, his), in Turkish, kendi never changes form when used as an adjective. Instead, the noun that follows it takes the regular possessive suffix to show who the owner is. Any grammatical case endings (such as the accusative) attach to the end of the noun as usual.
- kendi
- noun + possessive suffix (+ case suffix)
| I have my own garage and I will not leave my own car with a mechanic. | Kendi garajım var ve kendi arabamı tamirciye bırakmayacağım. |
| Modifying your own car gives one great pride. | Kendi arabanı modifiye etmek insana büyük bir gurur verir. |
| A good mechanic always loves his own garage. | İyi bir usta her zaman kendi garajını sever. |
Parts of Your Own Car (The Genitive Case)
When you want to talk about a specific part belonging to your own vehicle (for example, "my own car's spark plugs"), you combine this structure with the genitive case.
First, form "my own car" (kendi arabam). Then, add the genitive suffix to make it the owner (kendi arabamın). Finally, state the car part with its own possessive suffix to complete the chain.
| I change my own car's spark plugs without getting help from anyone. | Hiç kimseden yardım almadan kendi arabamın bujilerini değiştiriyorum. |
| He inspects his own car's gearbox in his own garage. | Kendi arabasının şanzımanını kendi garajında inceliyor. |
| Your own rims' bolts and nuts are very old, you must change them. | Kendi jantlarının civataları ve somunları çok eski, onları değiştirmelisin. |