Turkish Language - Basic Spatials - The

suffix of place, position

The suffix of place (-re or -ra)The suffix -deki, -daki - which is on,
in, atThe pseudo suffix -deki explained.Extended Forms showing
movementExtended Plural FormsParticular LocationsMore about
Exact LocationsSome ExamplesExample of a Particular Location

The suffix of place (-re or -ra)

The suffix of place is -re or -ra meaning - place/place of
Earlier we learned of bu - this - and u or o - that. Putting these
words together by suffixing -ra- place of plus the static (locative)
suffix -da - in, on, at - then we form the words meaning - here
and there etc. These words are used for a general sense of
location.
burada - here - [lit: bu-ra-da - this-place-at]
urada - there - [lit: u-ra-da - that-place nearer-at or in
between-at]
orada - over there - [lit: o-ra-da - that-place yonder-at]
nerede? - where? - [lit: ne-re-de? - what-place-at?]
In conversation you will hear the above words shortened
(abraded) to - burda, urda, orda, nerde?

The suffix -deki, -daki - which is on, in, at

A little note: There is really no such suffix -deki in Turkish. -deki is
actually two suffixes together, -de plus an added -ki. -de means on, in, at - while -ki is - that which is
But you will find most grammar books gloss over this construction
although it is in constant daily use to make an Adjective of
Location. It is for this reason that I began teaching it as a suffix in
its own right - and it was far easier for my students to grasp the
intention of meaning. Therefore I will treat it as a suffix for Manisa
Turkish website. Let us call it a "pseudo" suffix. Sokaktaki araba
- The car which is in the street - [Lit: Sokak-ta-ki street-inwhich-is car.] - here we can see that -daki makes an Adjective of
Location - that which is in.

The pseudo suffix -deki explained.

This pseudo suffix is very important as it is used a lot in daily

conversation and reading.
The -deki or -daki - is added to words to produce an adjective to
describe the location of an object. This is best shown by example.
For instance if we say: The telephone [which is] in my
bedroom is broken, then Turkish trying to turn everything into
an adjective will say thus: [lit: Bedroom-of-me-which-is-in
telephone broken-is.] - Yatak odamdaki telefon bozuktur. [Yatak oda-m-daki telefon bozuk-tur]. Here odam-daki
telefon is used as an adjective to describe just where the
telephone is! - ie. Room-my-in-which-is telephone.
This point is a particular difficulty when beginning to learn Turkish
as we do not use an adjectival construction. Instead in English we
use a Relative Construction - The telephone which is in my
bedroom is broken.. It is important to understand this adjectival
construction of location, as it is in constant daily use in Turkish. It
can also be used as a location in time scale as some of the
examples below will show. Note also that the vowel in -ki is
invariable - it does not follow Vowel harmony Rules, so the full
Suffix of Adjectival Location is either -deki or -daki.
Masadaki kitap - The book (which is) on the table.
Masadaki kitab bana verin. - Give me the book (which is)
on the table.
Kilitteki anahtar. - The key (which is) in the lock.
Kilitteki anahtar karnz - (Would you) take the key out of
the lock. - [Lit: Lock-in-which-is key-the take out!] - [We have
used the polite imperative in this example]
Kutudaki kibritler nemlidir. - The matches (which are) in
the box are damp.
It can be seen from the above example that the Turkish aspect is
different from English and this can only be appreciated by usage
and practice, as it is an alien construction for English speakers

An Example in Time Scale

nmzdeki hafta. - (n-mz-deki hafta.) - The week in
front of us - [Lit: Front-of-us-which-is week.]
nmzdeki haftann havas ok gneli olacak. - The week
ahead's weather will be very sunny.
As already stated this is at first sight a difficult construction and
can be assimilated by reading, listening and using whenever
possible

Extended Forms showing movement

If we need to show movement from or movement to a place or
places then we must use a different suffix such as -dan - from or
-a - to, towards.. in order to modify the meaning:
buradan [bu -ra -dan] - (burdan as spoken) - from here
We also use the same construction in English. If a child strays too
near to the fire, then the mother will say: "Get away from
there!".
uradan [u -ra -dan] - (urdan as spoken) - from there
oradan [o -ra -dan] - (ordan as spoken) - from over there
nereden? [ne -re -den?] - (nerden? as spoken) - where from?
Word Adding -a - to, towards:
buraya - [bu -ra -ya] - to here
uraya [u-ra-ya] - to there
oraya [o-ra-ya] - to over there
nereye? [ne-re-ye?] - where to?
We in English do not say - come to here - or - come to there.,
although in Older English we did use these forms - Come hither or - Go hence. However Turkish must use the -a suffix to show
movement towards the place. Basically Turkish is using - hence
and hither - and even - thence and thither - which we in English
no longer use in daily speech. To re-iterate, we used to say hither and thither - in the old days - this is what Turkish is
basically doing.

Extended Plural Forms

The plural forms buralarda, uralarda, oralarda, nerelerde
cause the meaning to be:
1. More vague: - buralarda - hereabouts, around here
2. More spatial: - uralarda - thereabouts, around
there,over there
3. More generalized: - oralarda - thereabouts, over there,
around about
3. Any mixture of the three: - nerelerde? - whereabouts?
Here we can see then the meanings have become more
generalized in both space and location.
We should also remember that the meanings based on uralarda
are in the near vicinity whilst the meanings based on oralarda
are more distant (let's say in another country).

The Plural Forms are also extended with -dan - from.. and -a towards..
buralardan (bu-ra-lar-dan) - from hereabouts
uralardan (u-ra-lar-dan) - from around there
oralardan (o-ra-lar-dan) - over around there
nerelerden? (ne-re-ler-den?) - whereabouts from?
buralara (bu-ra-lar-a) - to around here
uralara (u-ra-lar-a) - to around there
oralara (o-ra-lar-a) - to those parts
nerelere? (ne-re-ler-e?) - whereabouts to?
As we can see the plural forms are vaguer and wider, but they are
used just as we in English make these distinctions in place and
space.
Buralarda bir gzel restoran var m? - Is there a good
restaurant around here?
Buraya gel! - Come (to) here!
Orada yeil araba var. - There is a green car over there.
urada byk otel var. - There is a big hotel there.
Kredi Bankas nerede? - Where is the Kredi Bank?.
ar nerelerde? - Whereabouts are the shops?.
Buradan saat sekizde kalm - Let's leave (from) here at 8
o' clock.

Particular Locations
Particular Locations - right here, right there and just where?
If we need to communicate a more particular place and sense of
location then as in English we have to be more precise. This
precision in Turkish is achieved by using the suffix -i or -si
meaning - its. By adding this suffix Turkish makes the place
particular:
buras (bu-ra-s) - right here [Lit: its place (exactly) here.]
uras (u-ra-s) - right there.
oras (o-ra-s) - right over there.
neresi? (ne-re-si?) - just where? [Lit: where exactly?]
Note that the -si suffix is the Possessed part of the Possessive
Relationship and that sometimes the Possessor is "understood",
we should really be using this expression as a complete
relationship as in: "bankann buras" or "evin uras" or
"ngilterenin oras", but this is a bit pedantic. (See note below)

More about Exact Locations

As Stated above for exact locations the Possessive Adjective suffix
-(s) is added to make the meaning become more exact. For
instance if someone asks you on the telephone:
Neredesin? (ne-re-de-sin?) - Where are you?
Then you might answer: Ankara' daym - (Ankara'-da-y-m) - I 'm
in Ankara
However, if they ask you:
Orann neresinde? (ne-re-si-n-de?) - Where (of there)
exactly?
Then you might answer: banyodaym (banyo-da-y-m) - I am in
the bath
Here is a little conversation between Ali and his friend Mehmet to
explain the above about general and precise location.
Ali: Neredesin? - (or Nerdesin? abraded in conversation) - Where
are you?
Mehmet: skdar' daym - I am in skdar
Ali: skdar' n neresinde? - Whereabouts (of Uskudar)?
Mehmet: Ahmet emesi' nin yanndaym. - I'm by the
Ahmet Fountain.
The call sign of Ankara Official Radio Station is buras Ankara This place (exactly) is Ankara. It is something like British
Official Radio whose call sign is "London Calling"

Some Examples
Some Examples: right here, just there. All these mean exactly right here or right there or just where?
Buras souk. - It is cold right here
Burasna gel! - Come (right to) here
Binann burasndan kaalm! - Let's get away from (of) this
building.
In the last two examples it can be said as a descriptive way when
you have a map or something in your hand and show the person
some district on the map and tell him to come to the exact place
of the district.

In normal conversation we can say:

Buradan kaalim! - Let's get out of here..!
zmir? - Oras gzel. - Izmir? - That very place is beautiful
antam, odamn neresine koydum, acaba? - Where exactly
did I put my bag in my room I wonder?
Or more General: antam nereye koydum acaba? - Where
did I put my bag, I wonder?
Kitab dolabn urasna koyun. - Put the book just over
there in(to) the cupboard.
Or more General: Kitab uraya koyun - Put the book just
over there.
Tam saat sekizde burada grelim. - Let's meet right here
at dead on 8 o' clock
As you see Buras, uras, Oras - can be only used alone in
nominative case;
Buras neresi? - where is this (exactly)?
uras gzelmi. - Just there is beautiful.
Oras gzel. - It is nice over there.
In other cases we need an possessor which possesses these buras suras, oras.
Binann burasna gel! - Come right here to the building!
Balkonun urasnda bir ku vard. - There was a bird right
on the balcony.
Ormann orasndan ilgin sesler geliyordu. - There are
interesting sounds coming out of forest ('s place.)

Example of a Particular Location

Here is a snippet of conversation between Mehmet and Ali to show
the difference between the nereye? - where to? [Lit: to where?]
as a general location and the neresine? - just where to? [Lit: to
THE where?] as an exact location type of usage.
Mehmet: - Bu akam nereye gidiyorsun? - Where are you
going (to) this evening?
Ali: - Merkeze gidiyorum. - I'm going to the town center.
Mehmet: - Merkezin neresine? - Where to (exactly) of the
town center?
Ali: - Byk Efes Oteline gidiyorum - I'm going to the Grand
Efes Hotel.