Adjectives Come First
katta uy is a big house. In katta uylar (big houses), -lar goes on the noun only.
How It Works
Adjective first
yangi kitob (a new book), qizil olma (a red apple), issiq choy (hot tea). Two adjectives can stand in a row: katta oq uy (a big white house).
Endings go on the noun
The noun closes the phrase, so it carries the plural, possessive and case endings:
• katta uy + -lar → katta uylar (big houses)
• yangi kitob + -ni → yangi kitobni (the new book, as an object)
• katta shahar + -da → katta shaharda (in a big city)
The adjective never changes.
Before or after changes the meaning
• katta uy: a big house (a phrase)
• Uy katta.: The house is big. (a whole sentence, because the third person needs no ending)
With a person ending, the whole phrase can be the predicate: Men yosh talabaman (I am a young student).
With juda
juda goes before the adjective: juda katta uy (a very big house).
Examples (6)
- Bu katta uy.
This is a big house.
Word by Word: this big house
katta comes before uy.
- Bu yerda katta uylar bor.
There are big houses here.
Word by Word: this place-at big house-s there-is
Only the noun takes -lar.
- Men yangi kitobni oʻqiyapman.
I am reading the new book.
Word by Word: I new book-the reading-I
The object ending -ni goes on kitob, not on yangi.
- Uy katta.
The house is big.
Word by Word: house big
With the adjective after the noun, this is a full sentence.
- Issiq choy ichasizmi?
Would you like some hot tea?
Word by Word: hot tea drink-you-?
An adjective + noun phrase as a general object, with no -ni.
- Toshkent katta shahar.
Tashkent is a big city.
Word by Word: Tashkent big city
katta shahar is the predicate; no word for "is" is needed.
Common Mistakes
Making the adjective plural as well.
kattalar uylarkatta uylarOnly the noun takes -lar. The adjective before it stays the same.
Putting the case ending on the adjective too.
Men yangini kitobni oʻqiyman.Men yangi kitobni oʻqiyman.-ni goes once, at the end of the whole phrase, on the noun.
Putting the adjective after the noun when you mean "a big house".
Bu yerda uy katta bor.Bu yerda katta uy bor.An adjective that describes a noun inside a phrase comes before it. After the noun, katta would make its own sentence.
How It Connects
Learn This First
Builds on The Plural Suffix -lar.
Related Patterns
- judaVery
Strengthens an adjective: juda katta.
Level 1 - -niThe Definite Object Ending -ni
The object ending also goes only on the noun.
Level 1 - Third Person Takes No Ending
Why Uy katta is a complete sentence.
Level 1 - qandayHow and What Kind
qanday asks what kind, and an adjective answers it.
Level 1 - Basic Word Order
The same order runs through the sentence: the word that adds detail comes first, just as the object comes before the verb.
Level 1
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
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