In English, we use combinations like "in which," "about whom," or "on which" to link a preposition to a relative clause. In Turkish, you build this structure using a postposition (acting as "in it," "about him," etc.) followed by a -dIk relative clause.
| Postposition | Action (Verb + -dIk + Possessive) | Target Noun | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| hakkında (about him/her) | konuştuğumuz (that we talked) | editör (editor) | the editor about whom we talked |
| içinde (in it) | hata bulduğu (that he/she found a mistake) | satır (line) | the line in which he/she found a mistake |
Notice that the postposition takes a 3rd person possessive suffix (e.g., iç-i-n-de, hak-kı-n-da), referring back to the target noun. The verb takes the -dIk suffix plus a possessive suffix to indicate who performs the action.
| The editor about whom we talked liked this cover. | Hakkında konuştuğumuz editör bu kapağı beğendi. |
| The editor deleted the lines in which he found a mistake. | Editör, içinde hata bulduğu satırları sildi. |
This works identically with other relational words, such as sayesinde (thanks to him/her/it).
| I lost the footnote thanks to which we found the source. | Sayesinde kaynağı bulduğumuz dipnotu kaybettim. |
Explicit Subjects in the Relative Clause
Just like in standard -dIk relative clauses, if you explicitly state the subject of the action (who did it), that subject takes the genitive case (e.g., çevirmenin).
| The draft on which the translator worked is very long. | Çevirmenin üstünde çalıştığı taslak çok uzun. |
Dropping the Target Noun
If the context is obvious, you can drop the target noun. Any plural or case suffixes that would have belonged to the noun then attach directly to the relative clause verb.
For example, "the things on which we worked" (üzerinde çalıştığımız şeyler) becomes "what we worked on" (üzerinde çalıştıklarımız).
| Shall I send what we worked on to the printer? | Üzerinde çalıştıklarımızı matbaacıya göndereyim mi? |