A1 · Postpositions · about 7 minutes
On, under, next to: the place words
on, under, next to …
First the thing, then the place with an ending: “the table’s top-on”.
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“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 need8
They appear in this topic’s examples and exercises and are new at this point on the learning path.
- yatakbed
- çıkmakto go out; to go up
- yanside; next to
- bankabank
- durakstop (bus, tram)
- fırınbakery; oven
- kafecafé
- rafshelf
Understand
RememberFirst the thing in the genitive, then the place with an ending: masanın üstünde “on the table”.
- Signal words
- nerede
- nereye
- nereden
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.
| on the table | masanın üstünde |
| under the table | masanın altında |
| in front of the house | evin önünde |
| behind the house | evin arkasında |
| next to the bank | bankanın yanında |
| in the bag | çantanın içinde |
| between the bank and the post office | bankayla postanenin arasında |
| opposite the school | okulun karşısında |
| under the table (where to?) | masanın altına |
| next to me | benim yanımda |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
The reference word is in the genitive, the place word follows with a possessive ending.
Kedi masanın altında.The cat is under the table.
The locative at the end says “where”.
Araba evin önünde.The car is in front of the house.
The dative at the end says “where to”.
Anahtarı çantanın içine koyuyorum.I am putting the key into the bag.
The ablative at the end says “where from”.
Kedi yatağın altından çıkıyor.The cat is coming out from under the bed.
With a pronoun the place word carries the matching possessive ending.
Ayşe benim yanımda oturuyor.Ayşe is sitting next to me.
Example sentences
Eczane bankanın yanında.The chemist’s is next to the bank.
Otobüs durağı okulun karşısında.The bus stop is opposite the school.
Ayakkabılar kapının arkasında.The shoes are behind the door.
6 more example sentences
Telefonum çantamın içinde.My phone is in my bag.
Marketle fırının arasında bir kafe var.There is a café between the supermarket and the bakery.
Kitaplar rafın üstünde.The books are on the shelf.
Çocuklar evin önünde oynuyor.The children are playing in front of the house.
Lütfen benim yanıma otur.Please sit next to me.
Bahçe evin arkasında.The garden is behind the house.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English puts “under” before the noun, so altında masa seems natural. In Turkish the thing comes first, in the genitive, then the place: masanın altında, “the table’s underside-at”.
Quick check
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
“On the table” is masanın üstünde, literally “on the top of the table”. The reference word is in the genitive (masanın), and the place word after it carries the possessive ending and the case: üst “top” becomes üstü “its top” and with the locative üstünde “on its top”. English has the same idea in “on top of”, “in front of”.
The most important place words, with the possessive ending: üstü (on, above), altı (under), önü (in front of), arkası (behind), yanı (next to), içi (in, inside), dışı (outside), arası (between) and karşısı (opposite). With the locative: altında, önünde, arkasında, yanında, içinde, arasında, karşısında.
The case at the end answers the same questions as in English “under” and “out from under”: the locative for “where?” (masanın altında “under the table”), the dative for “where to?” (masanın altına “(go) under the table”), the ablative for “where from?” (masanın altından “from under the table”).
With a pronoun the possessive ending matches the person: benim yanımda“next to me”senin yanında“next to you”bizim önümüzde“in front of us”
A closer look
Place words are nouns
üstmeans “top”iç“inside”ön“front” That is why they take possessive and case like any noun, and why you can even use them as a subject: Evin içi çok sıcak. “It is very warm in the house”, literally “the inside of the house is very warm”.
With no reference word: up and down
Without a reference word you say yukarıda “upstairs, up there”, aşağıda “downstairs, down there”, içeride “inside” and dışarıda “outside”: Çocuklar dışarıda. “The children are outside.” Instead of üstünde you also often hear üzerinde; it means the same.
Worth knowing2
Worth knowing
Compared with English
English separates “where” and “where to” with “on” and “onto”, “in” and “into”. Turkish makes exactly the same distinction, with the ending on the place word: üstündefor “where?”üstünefor “where to?”
Kitap masanın üstünde. Kitabı masanın üstüne koyuyorum.The book is on the table. I am putting the book onto the table.
Worth knowing
Next to me, next to you
The person is in there twice: in the genitive of the pronoun and in the possessive ending. The pronoun can go; the ending cannot: yanımda is enough.
Senin yanında oturuyorum.I am sitting next to you.
The verbs on this page, in every form: oturmak · koymak