El Declension: Turkish Cases of 'hand'
el means “hand”. Its last vowel is e, so 2-way suffixes use e (eller) and 4-way suffixes use i (elin). It is a regular noun: suffixes attach directly to el, as in eli and elde.
Quick facts
- Plural
- eller
- hands
- Harmony
- Front unrounded
- suffix vowels e / i
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- eli
- accusative, “the hand”
Rules this noun follows
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).elim, elin
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).elini, elinde
El in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -ler before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | elhand | ellerhands |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | elithe hand (object) | ellerithe hands (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | eleto the hand | ellereto the hands |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | eldein / at the hand | ellerdein / at the hands |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | eldenfrom the hand | ellerdenfrom the hands |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | elinthe hand's / of the hand | ellerinthe hands's / of the hands |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | ellewith the hand | ellerlewith the hands |
Possessive forms: “my hand”, “your hand”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (elinde). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | elimmy hand | elimimy hand (object) | elimeto my hand | elimdein / at my hand | elimdenfrom my hand |
| seninyour | elinyour hand | eliniyour hand (object) | elineto your hand | elindein / at your hand | elindenfrom your hand |
| onunhis/her/its | elihis/her hand | elinihis/her hand (object) | elineto his/her hand | elindein / at his/her hand | elindenfrom his/her hand |
| bizimour | elimizour hand | elimiziour hand (object) | elimizeto our hand | elimizdein / at our hand | elimizdenfrom our hand |
| sizinyour (pl.) | elinizyour (pl.) hand | eliniziyour (pl.) hand (object) | elinizeto your (pl.) hand | elinizdein / at your (pl.) hand | elinizdenfrom your (pl.) hand |
| onlarıntheir | elleritheir hands | ellerinitheir hands (object) | ellerineto their hands | ellerindein / at their hands | ellerindenfrom their hands |
Plural + possessive: ellerim (my hands) · ellerin (your hands) · elleri (his/her hands) · ellerimiz (our hands) · elleriniz (your (pl.) hands) · elleri (their hands)
El in example sentences
Watch out with el
- Two meanings of elin. elin is both "of the hand" (genitive) and "your hand" (possessive). eli is likewise both the object form and "his/her hand". Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: body
Other front-vowel A1 nouns
Questions about el
What is the plural of el?
The plural of el ("hand") is eller. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of el is e, a front vowel, so it takes -ler. The plural then takes case endings: elleri, ellerde, ellerden.
How do you say "to the hand" in Turkish?
"To the hand" is ele, the dative case (-e). Similarly, "in / at the hand" is elde (locative) and "from the hand" is elden (ablative).
How do you say "my hand" in Turkish?
"My hand" is elim (often with the pronoun: benim elim). "Your hand" is elin, "his/her hand" is eli and "my hands" is ellerim.
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