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Türkmen Language

E-Dictionary by
Balicity Studio

5.0 Cases and their suffixes

	Vowel Endings	Consonant Endings
Nomnative	--- (no change) pagta - cotton Gök Depe - Goek Depe (a town)	--- (no change) gazan - pot käşir - carrot(s)
Possessive	nyň, niň (nuň, nüň) pagtanyň - ˜ cotton's Gök Depeniň- ˜ Goek Depe's	yň, iň (uň, üň) gazanyň- ˜ pot's käşiriň- ˜ carrots's
Dative	-a,-ä or -na, -ne pagta - ˜ to cotton Gök Depä- ˜ to Goek Depe	-a, -e gazana- ˜ to the pot käşire- ˜ to the carrots
Accusative	ny, ni pagtany - ˜ the cotton (direct ob.) Gök Depeni- ˜ Goek Depe (d.o.)	y, i gazany- ˜ the pot (d.o.) käşiri- ˜ the carrot(s) (d.o.)
Time/Place	da, de or nda, nde pagtada- ˜ in cotton Gök Depede- ˜ in Goek Depe	da, de gazanda- ˜ in the pot käşirde- ˜ in carrots
Instrumental	dan, den or ndan, nden pagtadan - ˜ from cotton Gök Depeden- ˜ from Goek Depe	dan, den gazandan- ˜ from the pot käşirden- ˜ from carrots

The Nominative Case answers Kim? Who?, Näme? What? , Nire? Where? It is used for the subject of the sentence and sometimes for non-specific direct objects. Gök Depe gowy. = Goek Depe is nice.

The Possessive Case answers Kimiň? Whose?, Nämäniň? Of what? , Niräniň? Of where? It is usually used to show simple possessive relationships. Gök Depäniň häkimligi = Goek Depe's mayor's office. However, it is sometimes used in ways unfamiliar to English speakers, most notably in prepositional contexts: Gök Depäniň ýanynda = by Goek Depe,near Goek Depe.

The Dative Case answers Kime? To whom?, Nämä? Towards what? To what end? , Nirä? To where? It describes a motion directed toward something. Bu awtobus Gök Depä gidýär = This bus is going to Goek Depe. It also describes abstract direction. Maňa çaý gerek = Tea is necessary to me. (I need tea.) Please note how the final vowels change in the following examples: (Türkmenbaşy) Bu awtobus Türkmenbaşa gidýär. (Mary) Bu awtobus Mara gidýär. (Çüli) Bu awtobus Çülä gidýär.

The Accusative Case answers Kimi? Who? Whom?, Nämäni? What? , Niräni? Where? It is used for direct objects - things that are acted upon by the verb of the sentence. Men käşiri kesýärin. = I'm cutting the carrots. It carries the specificity of an English "the" and is only used when the object is definite.

The Time/Place Case answers Kimde? Upon whom?, Nämede? At what? , Nirede? Where? At what place? It translate to English in various ways depending on the context. Gök Depede ýaşaýaryn = I live in Goek Depe. Mende çaý ýok = I don't have any tea. (on me)

The Instrumental Case answers Kimden? From who?, Nämeden? From what? , Nireden? From where? Like the English "from" it can be used to describe both physical origin, and more abstract concepts of origin. Bu köýnek Gök Depeden/pagtadan. = This dress is from Goek Depe/ made from cotton.

5.1 Possessive Suffixes

Unlike English, the Turkmen language also adds a suffix to the object of possession. This may at times be redundant (Meniň kakam geldi. = My father-(my) came.) but often the possessive participle is omitted (Kakam geldi. = Father-(my) came.) so the suffix alone shows possession.

Vowel ending	Consonant Ending	Vowel ending	Consonant Ending
My -m kakam, my father ejem, my mother	My -ym, -im (-um, üm) balygym, my fish itim, my dog	Our -myz, -miz kakamyz, our father ejemiz, our mother	Our -ymyz, -imiz(-umyz, ümiz) balygymyz, our fish itimiz, our dog
Your (sing, informal) -ň kakaň, your father ejeň, your mother	Your (sing, informal) -yň, -iň (-uň, üň) balygyň, your fish itiň, your dog	Your (plural, formal) -ňyz, ňiz kakaňyz, your father ejeňiz, your mother	Your (plural, formal) -yňyz, -iňiz(-uňyz, üňiz) balygyňyz, your fish itiňiz, your dog
His, her, its -sy, -si kakasy, her father ejesi, her mother	His, her, its -y, -i balygy, his fish iti, his dog	Their -sy, -si kakasy, their father ejesi, their mother	Their y, -i balygy, their fish iti, their dog

6.0 The Absolute Posessive

meniňki	mine	biziňki	ours
seniňki	yours	siziňki	yours
onuňky	his/hers/its	olaryňky	theirs
kimiňki	whose?	Jereniňki	Jeren's

Bu meniň kitabym = this is my book
Bu kitap meniňki = this book is mine

7.0 Nouns in Direct Relation

Turkmen contains certain pairs of nouns that are in "direct relation," or which together illustrate a concept, exist without use of the posessive suffixes. For example, the general concept of "bus stop" is rendered as awtobus duralgasy, whereas the posessive awtobusyň duralgasy would indicate "one bus's stop." In these direct relation pairs, the first noun, in its nominative form, acts more as an adjective than a noun, specifying the genreal meaning of the two-word concept. Other examples are as such:

maşyn ýagy=motor oil (maşynyň ýagy=one car's oil)
miwe sogy=fruit juice (miweniň sogy=one fruit's juice)
ýylan deresi=snakeskin (ýylanyň deresi=that snake's skin)
mekdep howlysy=schoolyard (mekdebiň howlysy=a school's yard)

Note that the second noun is in its "posessed" form with the appropriate -i, -y, -si, or -sy ending.

8.0 Coparatives & Superlatives

To form the comparative, the -dan/den suffix (than) is added to the noun being compared, and the suffix -rak or -räk is then added to the adjective. As in the following examples, the -rak/räk ending is not mandatory:

Bu üzümler şol üzümlerden süýji
Bu üzümler şol üzümlerden süýjiräk = These grapes are sweeter than those grapes

The -rak/räk ending can be used to indicate a comparitive idea without the actual comparative structure:

Olaryň köýnekleri kelteräk = Their dresses are (generally) shorter.

To form the superlative, the words iň or has (most) are added before the adjective:

Maral meniň iň gowy okuwçym = Maral is my best pupil.

Bu maşynlardan seniňki has owadan = Of all these cars yours is the most beautiful.

Sekizinji klaslaryň iň ökde okuwçylaryny saýla = Choose the most talented pupils of the eighth grade.

9.0 Some Unusual Structures in Turkmen Grammar

A. Comparisons "As... as"

Your hat is as expensive as hers .=
Seniň şlýapaň hem onuňky ýaly gymmat.
Your hat and hers as expensive.

Your dog is as big as his. =
Seniň itiň hem onuňky ýaly uly.
Your dog and his as big.

Their students are as good as ours. =
Onuň owkuwçylar hem biziňki ýaly gowy.
Their students and ours as good.

B. I (verb) (noun) to (verb)

I want him to come. =
Onuň gelmegini isleýärin.
His to come I want.

She wants you to listen. =
Ol seniň eşitmegiňi isleýär.
She your to listen wants

I was asking her to do so. =
Onuň şeýle etmegini haýyş edýärdim.
Her so to do I was asking.

I want him to come. =
Onuň gelmegini isleýärin.
His coming I want.

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