Possessive Suffixes (İyelik Ekleri) in Turkish

Possessive Suffixes (İyelik Ekleri) attach to nouns to indicate the possessor. Governed by Minor Vowel Harmony (4-way -I), the standard endings are: - 1st sing. (my): -(I)m (evim, arabam) - 2nd sing. (your): -(I)n (evin, araban) - 3rd sing. (his/her/its): -(s)I (evi, arabası) - 1st plur. (our): -(I)mIz (evimiz, arabamız) - 2nd plur. (your): -(I)nIz (eviniz, arabanız) - 3rd plur. (their): -lArI (evleri, arabaları).

When the noun ends in a vowel, the 1st and 2nd person forms lose their initial vowel (araba-m, araba-n), while the 3rd person singular inserts the buffer consonant s (araba-s-ı, baba-s-ı). Stems ending in p, ç, t, k undergo consonant softening (kitabım, ağacımız), and certain two-syllable stems undergo vowel drop (burnum, şehrimiz).

Crucially, when case suffixes are added after the 3rd person possessive (-i / -si / -leri), the pronominal buffer n must be inserted: evinde (in his house), arabasına (to his car), okulundan (from his school). Omitting this n is one of the most common errors made by foreign learners.