what is it?
Turkish has no prepositions. Instead, spatial relationships such as «on top of», «behind», or «next to» are expressed with a small set of relational nouns — ön (front), arka (back), üst (top), alt (bottom/under), iç (inside), yan (side), ara (between), and karşı (opposite). These nouns sit in a genitive–possessive frame: the landmark noun takes the genitive suffix and the relational noun takes a third-person possessive suffix, after which a case suffix is added to express location, motion toward, or motion away from.
when to use it
Location (static position) — add the locative -DA to the relational noun. Use this to answer «where is it?». Example: masanın üstünde — on top of the table.
Motion toward — add the dative -(y)A to the relational noun. Use this with verbs of movement or placement. Example: kitabın üstüne koy — put it on top of the book.
Motion away from — add the ablative -DAn to the relational noun. Use this with verbs of departure or emergence. Example: altından çıktı — came out from under it.
Pronoun landmarks — personal pronouns also take the genitive before the relational noun: benim yanımda (next to me), yanıma (toward me / to my side).
formation
The structure has three obligatory slots:
[landmark-GEN] + [relational noun-POSS3SG] + [case]
The third-person singular possessive suffix follows vowel harmony: -(s)ı / -(s)i / -(s)u / -(s)ü. When a case suffix follows, a buffer consonant -n- is inserted between the possessive vowel and the case suffix (e.g. önü → önü-n-de). This -n- is not optional — omitting it produces an ungrammatical form.
| relational noun | 3sg possessive | locative (-DA) | dative (-(y)A) | ablative (-DAn) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ön (front) | önü | önünde | önüne | önünden |
| arka (back) | arkası | arkasında | arkasına | arkasından |
| üst (top) | üstü | üstünde | üstüne | üstünden |
| alt (bottom) | altı | altında | altına | altından |
| iç (inside) | içi | içinde | içine | içinden |
| yan (side) | yanı | yanında | yanına | yanından |
The landmark noun always takes the genitive suffix -(n)ın / -(n)in / -(n)un / -(n)ün: evin önünde (in front of the house), masanın üstünde (on top of the table).
examples in context
common pitfalls
Omitting the genitive on the landmark. The landmark noun must carry the genitive suffix. *Ev önünde is incorrect; the required form is evin önünde. Without the genitive, the possessive relationship between landmark and relational noun is not established.
Dropping the possessive suffix or the -n- buffer. The relational noun must carry the third-person possessive, and the -n- buffer must appear before any case suffix. *masanın üstde skips both; the correct form is masanın üstünde (üst + ü + n + de).
Using the locative where motion requires the dative or ablative. The locative marks static position only. With verbs of placement or movement, use the dative: *üstünde koy → üstüne koy. Similarly, verbs of departure require the ablative: *altında çıktı → altından çıktı.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Havlu ___ düştü. (duş)
Fill in the blank with the correct form of the word in parentheses.