Case
Nominative
The nominative case is the basic uninflected form of the noun. The nominative case can be marked by the particle ber but this is generally only used to avoid ambiguity and is therefore not as widely used as the nominative particles of other languages.
Accusative
The accusative case marks the direct object of a verb. It has two written forms whose use depends on the final letter of the word it qualifies.
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i | Added to words ending in a consonant. |
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yi | Added to words ending in vowels and diphthongs. |
Genitive
The genitive case is used to show possession and is placed immediately after the first member of a genitive construction. It has three written forms whose use depends on the final letter of the word it qualifies and its pronunciation follows the rules of vowel harmony.
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u/ü | Added to words ending in the letter n. |
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un/ün | Added to words ending in consonants other than n. |
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yin | Added to words ending in a vowel or diphthong. |
Dative-Locative
The Dative-Locative case indicates the place or time at which something happens. Its meaning can be translated by the English prepositions 'to', 'at', 'on', 'in' etc. Note that -tur/-tür is written with the initial form of d and -dur/-dür is written with the medial form of 'd'. It also has the form -a/-e. Both these forms are used interchangeably, although -a/-e is found more frequently in older texts.
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tur/tür | Added to words ending in γ, b, s, d, g and r. |
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dur/dür | Added to words ending in vowels, n, ng, l, m. |
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a | Added to words ending in vowels or consonants. |
Ablative
The ablative case carries the meaning 'from' and shows separation away from an object. It is also used in comparisons and in this case translates as 'than'. It only has one written and its pronunciation varies according to vowel harmony.
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ača/eče | Added to words ending in vowels or consonants. |
Comitative
The comitative case denotes accompaniment. It is translated as 'with' or 'together with' and is used with animate beings.
In the classical language it only has the form luγa/lüge.
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luγa/lüge | Added to words ending in vowels or consonants. |
In informal writing influenced by colloquial speech the suffix la/le is sometimes used. This suffix is joined directly to the word it qualifies.
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la/le | Added to words ending in vowels or consonants. |
In twentieth century books the colloquial suffix tai/tei is frequently used.
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tai/tei | Added to words ending in vowels or consonants. |
Instrumental
The instrumental case denotes means. It is translated as 'by', 'with' or 'through'.
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iyar/iyer | Added to words ending in vowels or consonants. |
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bar/ber | Added to words ending in vowels. |