A1 · The cases · about 7 minutes
The locative: where something is
the locative in -de
With -de or -da you say where something is — and also when.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Words you will need1
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- bitmekto end, to run out
Understand
RememberWhere: -de or -da, after f s t k ç ş h p -te or -ta — never with y.
- Signal words
- nerede
- -de
- -da
- -te
- -ta
The form
The patterns at a glance
Each row first says when or what the pattern is used for, then gives an example in Turkish.
| after a front vowel | evde · şehirde · gölde |
| after a back vowel | okulda · arabada · odada |
| after f s t k ç ş h p | kitapta · sokakta · işte |
| names | İzmir'de · Ankara'da |
| clock time | saat üçte · 3'te |
| with “to be” | evdeyim · okuldasın |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Where? The place is in the locative.
Anahtarlar çantada.The keys are in the bag.
After f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h and p, d becomes t.
Çocuklar sokakta oynuyor.The children are playing in the street.
After a vowel there is no buffer consonant.
Arkadaşım arabada bekliyor.My friend is waiting in the car.
Clock times and years take the locative as well.
Tren saat yedide kalkıyor.The train leaves at seven.
With the person ending it means “I am in …”.
Şu an işteyim.I am at work at the moment.
Example sentences
Nerede oturuyorsun? — İstanbul'da.Where do you live? — In İstanbul.
Annem mutfakta.My mother is in the kitchen.
Elif bankada çalışıyor.Elif works at a bank.
5 more example sentences
Ders saat ikide bitiyor.The lesson ends at two.
Mehmet parkta koşuyor.Mehmet is running in the park.
Bu akşam evdeyiz.This evening we are at home.
Otobüste çok insan var.There are a lot of people on the bus.
Toplantı ofiste.The meeting is in the office.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
Learners put a y in after a vowel because the accusative and dative do: arabayı, arabaya — so also arabayda. But the locative starts with a consonant and needs no buffer. Just as important: after a voiceless consonant it is -te or -ta, not -de.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
10 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself10 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
Well done
How well do you know this topic?
This is filled in automatically after you practise. You can change it here at any time.
Next on the path: 31 · Question wordsBack to the learning path
The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
“In the kitchen”, “on the table”, “at work”, “in Ankara” — Turkish has one ending for all of these: mutfakta, masada, işte, Ankara'da. The locative only says “something is there”. Whether “in”, “on” or “at” is meant is clear from the thing itself.
Two rules decide the form. Two-way vowel harmony picks e or a: evde, okulda. And after a voiceless consonant — f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p — the d becomes t: kitapta, sokakta, işte. There is no buffer consonant here: arabada.
The locative is used for times too: saat üçte“at three o’clock”2020'de“in 2020” And with the person ending it becomes a whole sentence: Evdeyim. “I am at home.”
A closer look
fıstıkçı şahap
In Turkey the voiceless consonants after which d becomes t are remembered with two words: fıstıkçı şahap, “Şahap the pistachio seller”. They contain exactly the eight letters f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h and p.
The same rule applies to every ending that begins with d: the ablative (kitaptan), the past (yaptım) and many more. What you learn here, you need everywhere.
Mehmet şimdi işte, Ayşe mutfakta.Mehmet is at work now, Ayşe is in the kitchen.
Exceptions and special cases1
Exception
When a third-person possessive comes before it
then an n goes in before the ending: evinde “in his house”, çantasında “in her bag”.
Anahtar çantasında.The key is in her bag.
Why? The n protects the possessive ending; it comes before every case after the third person.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
One ending for in, on and at
English distinguishes “in the bag”, “on the table”, “at work”, “at the station”. The locative only says “there”: çantada, masada, işte, istasyonda. If you want to be more precise, use a postposition: masanın üstünde “on top of the table”.
Telefonun masada.Your phone is on the table.
Worth knowing
A “where” without a verb
Turkish needs no word for “is”: Ali evde. “Ali is at home.” With a person ending it becomes a sentence with a person: “I am at home” is Evdeyim.
Evdeyim, gel!I’m at home, come over!
The verbs on this page, in every form: çalışmak · oturmak · beklemek · kalkmak · oynamak · bitmek · koşmak