Elon.io is an online learning platform
We have an entire course teaching Turkish grammar and vocabulary.
Questions & Answers about Bu kuşlar küçük.
Why is the plural suffix -lar instead of -ler on kuş?
This is because of 2-way vowel harmony. The word kuş (bird) has the vowel 'u', which is a back vowel. In Turkish, words with back vowels (a, ı, o, u) take the back-vowel plural suffix -lar. If the word had a front vowel (e, i, ö, ü), it would take -ler.
Why does the sentence use Bu instead of Bunlar for "These"?
In Turkish, when a pointing word like bu (this/these) is used directly in front of a noun as an adjective, it never takes a plural suffix. You just say bu kuşlar (literally "this birds"). You only use the plural bunlar when the word stands completely alone, for example if you just said Bunlar küçük (These are small).
Where is the word for "are" in this sentence?
Turkish doesn't have a separate word for "am", "is", or "are" in simple present tense sentences. You just put the subject (Bu kuşlar) and the descriptive word (küçük) side by side. The "are" is naturally understood from the context!
Do we need to add a plural suffix to küçük so it matches the birds?
No, in Turkish, the adjective stays exactly the same. Once you show that the subject is plural (by adding -lar to kuş), you don't need to make the adjective plural too. Saying Bu kuşlar küçükler would actually sound unnatural for animals or objects.