what is it?
Abstract Group-2 postpositions are words such as hakkında «about», yüzünden «because of», sayesinde «thanks to», yerine «instead of», boyunca «along / throughout», and konusunda «on the subject of». Unlike Group-1 postpositions (e.g. ile, için), these forms are historically frozen noun + locative/ablative constructions that carry a built-in possessive suffix. Their complement noun stays caseless (bare), but personal pronouns must take the genitive and the possessive inside the postposition shifts to match the pronoun's person.
when to use it
hakkında / konusunda — use when the topic of speech, thought, or opinion is introduced. Both mean «about / on the subject of»; konusunda is slightly more formal.
yüzünden — use for an unwelcome cause: the complement is blamed for a negative result. Equivalent to «because of» with a negative connotation.
sayesinde — use for a welcome cause: the complement is credited for a positive result. Equivalent to «thanks to».
yerine — use when one thing substitutes for another: «instead of / in place of».
boyunca — use for spatial extension along a line or temporal extension throughout a period: «along / throughout».
formation
The complement of a Group-2 postposition is always a bare noun — no case suffix is added. The postposition itself is a fixed form and does not change to agree with the complement noun.
When the complement is a personal pronoun, two things happen simultaneously: the pronoun takes the genitive case, and the possessive suffix inside the postposition shifts to match that person. The table below shows this for hakkında (base noun: hak).
| pronoun (genitive) | postposition form | meaning |
|---|---|---|
| benim | hakkımda | about me |
| senin | hakkında | about you (sg.) |
| onun | hakkında | about him / her / it |
| bizim | hakkımızda | about us |
| sizin | hakkınızda | about you (pl. / formal) |
| onların | hakkında / hakklarında | about them |
The same pronoun–possessive agreement applies to all Group-2 postpositions. For example: benim yüzümden «because of me», senin sayende «thanks to you», onun yerine «instead of him/her».
Pattern summary: bare noun + postposition (fixed form) — or — genitive pronoun + postposition (person-matched possessive).
examples in context
common pitfalls
Case-marking the complement. Group-2 postpositions take a bare noun. Writing filmden hakkında is wrong. The ablative -den must be dropped: film hakkında.
Swapping yüzünden and sayesinde. These two are not interchangeable. Yüzünden assigns blame for a bad outcome; sayesinde gives credit for a good outcome. Saying senin sayende geç kaldık («we were late thanks to you») sounds sarcastic or absurd in most contexts; the intended form is senin yüzünden geç kaldık.
Bare pronoun + postposition. Writing ben hakkında is incorrect. When the complement is a personal pronoun, it must take the genitive case and the possessive inside the postposition must shift to match: benim hakkımda, senin hakkında, onun hakkında, and so on.
Three sentences, graded here. Nothing is saved and no account is needed.
Komşular apartmanın temizliği ___ toplantıda uzun uzun konuştular.
Fill in the blank with the correct postposition.