-imiz / -iniz / -leri

Plural Possessive Endings

Level 2

Turkish uses suffixes to show ownership. For plural owners, we use -imiz (our), -iniz (your), and -leri (their). These suffixes change based on four-way vowel harmony and whether the word ends in a vowel or consonant.

How It Works

To show plural possession, attach the following suffixes to the noun:

1. First Person Plural (Our): -imiz / -miz

  • If the noun ends in a consonant, use -imiz, -ımız, -umuz, -ümüz (e.g., evimiz - our house).
  • If the noun ends in a vowel, drop the first vowel of the suffix: -miz, -mız, -muz, -müz (e.g., arabamız - our car).
  • Irregularity: The words su (water) and ne (what) use the buffer consonant -y- before the suffix (e.g., suyumuz - our water, neyimiz - what of ours).

2. Second Person Plural/Formal (Your): -iniz / -niz

  • If the noun ends in a consonant, use -iniz, -ınız, -unuz, -ünüz (e.g., eviniz - your house).
  • If the noun ends in a vowel, drop the first vowel: -niz, -nız, -nuz, -nüz (e.g., arabanız - your car).
  • Irregularity: Similar to the first person, su and ne take a buffer (e.g., suyunuz - your water, neyiniz - what of yours).

Consonant Softening: When adding -imiz or -iniz to nouns ending in p, ç, t, k, the final consonant changes to b, c, d, ğ due to consonant softening (e.g., kitap + -ımız = kitabımız). Note that if k follows the letter n, it changes to g instead of ğ (e.g., renk + -imiz = rengimiz). Single-syllable words often do not soften (e.g., sütümüz).

Vowel Drop: Some common two-syllable nouns drop their last vowel when these suffixes are added (e.g., şehir becomes şehrimiz, oğul becomes oğlunuz).

3. Third Person Plural (Their): -leri / -ları

  • This suffix only has two forms based on two-way vowel harmony.
  • It does not change if the word ends in a vowel (e.g., evleri - their house; arabaları - their car).
  • Buffer -n-: If you add a case ending after -leri/-ları, you must use the buffer consonant -n- (e.g., evlerinde - in their house).

Note on Ambiguity: The suffix -leri can be ambiguous. Evleri can mean 'their house' (onların evi), 'their houses' (onların evleri), or 'his/her houses' (onun evleri). To clarify that multiple people own a single object, it is preferred to use possessive pronouns with the singular suffix: onların evi (their house). Using onların evleri usually implies they own multiple houses.

Examples (5)

  1. Bizim evimiz çok büyük.

    Our house is very big.

    Word by Word: Our house-our very big.

    Here, '-imiz' is added to 'ev' (house) to mean 'our house'. The pronoun 'bizim' is optional.

  2. Sizin anahtarınız nerede?

    Where is your (plural/formal) key?

    Word by Word: Your key-your where?

    '-ınız' is used because 'anahtar' ends in a consonant and has back vowels.

  3. Onların kedileri çok tatlı.

    Their cat is very sweet (or: Their cats are very sweet).

    Word by Word: Their cat-their very sweet.

    '-leri' indicates the cat belongs to 'them'. Note that it could also mean 'their cats'.

  4. Arabamız kapının önünde.

    Our car is in front of the door.

    Word by Word: Car-our door-of front-its-at.

    Since 'araba' ends in a vowel, we use '-mız' instead of '-ımız'.

  5. Burası sizin ofisiniz mi?

    Is this place your office?

    Word by Word: Here-place your office-your [question]?

    '-iniz' is attached to 'ofis' to show formal or plural ownership.

Common Mistakes

  • Using the wrong vowel harmony for the suffix.

    arabamiz
    arabamız

    Turkish suffixes must match the vowels of the root word. 'Araba' has back vowels (a), so the suffix must be '-mız', not '-miz'.

  • Keeping the extra vowel when the noun ends in a vowel.

    arabaımız
    arabamız

    When a noun ends in a vowel, the initial vowel of the 1st and 2nd person plural suffixes is dropped to avoid two vowels meeting.

  • Using the -s- buffer for plural possessives.

    arabasımız
    arabamız

    The -s- buffer is only used for the 3rd person singular suffix -(s)i. Plural possessives never use it.

How It Connects

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-imiz / -iniz / -leriLevel 2Plural Possessive Endings

Learn This First

To learn plural possessive endings, you need to understand four-way vowel harmony, as the vowels in -imiz and -iniz change based on the noun. You also need to be familiar with plural personal pronouns and the basic concept of possessive suffixes used for singular subjects.

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-imiz