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### A Vowel Falls Out

Add **-um** to **oğul** (son) and you do not get *oğulum* — you get **oğlum** (my son). A family of two-syllable nouns drops the vowel of its second syllable whenever a suffix starting with a vowel attaches — most often the possessives you just learned:

| noun | + possessive |
|---|---|
| oğul (son) | **oğlum** — my son |
| isim (name) | **ismim** — my name |
| resim (picture) | **resmin** — your picture |
| şehir (city) | **şehrimiz** — our city |

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### Which Nouns Do This?

There is no visible mark on the noun — the group has to be learned word by word. Many are body parts or old, everyday words: **burun** (nose) → *burnum*, **karın** (belly) → *karnım*, **akıl** (mind) → *aklımda*, **ağız** (mouth) → *ağzı*. You will meet each of these later; when you do, this is why their vowel disappears:

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### Only Before Vowels

The vowel drops **only** when the suffix starts with a vowel. Consonant-initial suffixes leave the noun whole:

| vowel-initial suffix | consonant-initial suffix |
|---|---|
| **şehrim** (my city) | **şehirde** (in the city) |
| **oğlun** (your son) | **oğullar** (sons) |

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Nouns that drop a vowel (oğlum, ismim)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
My son is studying at the library.	Oğlum kütüphanede ders çalışıyor.
Where is your son?	Oğlun nerede?
My name is Deniz.	Benim ismim Deniz.
What is your name?	İsmin ne?
Your picture is very beautiful.	Senin resmin çok güzel.
My picture is not new.	Resmim yeni değil.
Our city is very big.	Şehrimiz çok büyük.
Is your city small?	Senin şehrin küçük mü?
Our son is at school today.	Oğlumuz bugün okulda.

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