İnek Declension: Turkish Cases of 'cow'
inek means “cow”. Its last vowel is e, so 2-way suffixes use e (inekler) and 4-way suffixes use i (ineğin). Its final k softens to ğ before a vowel (ineği, ineğe) but stays hard before a consonant (inekte).
Quick facts
- Plural
- inekler
- cows
- Harmony
- Front unrounded
- suffix vowels e / i
- Ends in
- a consonant
- suffixes attach directly
- Object form
- ineği
- accusative, “the cow”
Rules this noun follows
- Consonant softening — A final p, ç, t, k softens to b, c, d, ğ before a vowel.ineği, ineğe, ineğim
- Consonant hardening — After f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p a suffix-initial d becomes t (and c becomes ç).inekte, inekten
- Linking vowel — A harmonised vowel is inserted after a consonant (kitab-ı-m).ineğim, ineğin
- Pronominal n — After a 3rd-person possessive, case suffixes take n (arabası-n-ı, evi-n-de).ineğini, ineğinde
İnek in all seven cases
The added suffix is highlighted. Plural forms put -ler before the case ending.
| Case | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| NominativeYalın hâl · no ending | inekcow | ineklercows |
| AccusativeBelirtme hâli · -(y)I | ineğithe cow (object) | ineklerithe cows (object) |
| DativeYönelme hâli · -(y)A | ineğeto the cow | ineklereto the cows |
| LocativeBulunma hâli · -DA | inektein / at the cow | ineklerdein / at the cows |
| AblativeAyrılma hâli · -DAn | inektenfrom the cow | ineklerdenfrom the cows |
| Genitiveİlgi hâli · -(n)In | ineğinthe cow's / of the cow | ineklerinthe cows's / of the cows |
| InstrumentalVasıta hâli · -(y)lA | ineklewith the cow | ineklerlewith the cows |
Possessive forms: “my cow”, “your cow”…
The possessive suffix comes first, then the case. After the 3rd-person forms a case ending takes an extra n (ineğinde). See possessive suffixes.
| Owner | Nominative | Accusative | Dative | Locative | Ablative |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| benimmy | ineğimmy cow | ineğimimy cow (object) | ineğimeto my cow | ineğimdein / at my cow | ineğimdenfrom my cow |
| seninyour | ineğinyour cow | ineğiniyour cow (object) | ineğineto your cow | ineğindein / at your cow | ineğindenfrom your cow |
| onunhis/her/its | ineğihis/her cow | ineğinihis/her cow (object) | ineğineto his/her cow | ineğindein / at his/her cow | ineğindenfrom his/her cow |
| bizimour | ineğimizour cow | ineğimiziour cow (object) | ineğimizeto our cow | ineğimizdein / at our cow | ineğimizdenfrom our cow |
| sizinyour (pl.) | ineğinizyour (pl.) cow | ineğiniziyour (pl.) cow (object) | ineğinizeto your (pl.) cow | ineğinizdein / at your (pl.) cow | ineğinizdenfrom your (pl.) cow |
| onlarıntheir | inekleritheir cows | ineklerinitheir cows (object) | ineklerineto their cows | ineklerindein / at their cows | ineklerindenfrom their cows |
Plural + possessive: ineklerim (my cows) · ineklerin (your cows) · inekleri (his/her cows) · ineklerimiz (our cows) · inekleriniz (your (pl.) cows) · inekleri (their cows)
İnek in example sentences
Watch out with inek
- Softening before vowels. Final k softens before a vowel: ineği, ineğe, ineğim (not
*ineki). Before a consonant it stays hard: inekte, inekler. Rule → - Locative with t, not d. After a voiceless consonant the locative and ablative start with t: inekte, inekten (not
*inekde). Rule → - Two meanings of ineğin. ineğin is both "of the cow" (genitive) and "your cow" (possessive). ineği is likewise both the object form and "his/her cow". Rule →
Related nouns and resources
Related nouns: animals
Other nouns that soften
Questions about inek
What is the plural of inek?
The plural of inek ("cow") is inekler. The plural suffix follows 2-way vowel harmony: the last vowel of inek is e, a front vowel, so it takes -ler. The plural then takes case endings: inekleri, ineklerde, ineklerden.
How do you say "to the cow" in Turkish?
"To the cow" is ineğe, the dative case (-e). Similarly, "in / at the cow" is inekte (locative) and "from the cow" is inekten (ablative).
Why does inek become ineği?
Final p, ç, t and k soften to b, c, d and ğ (g after n) when a vowel follows. İnek follows this rule, so the accusative is ineği and "my cow" is ineğim. Before a consonant the hard letter stays: inekte, inekler.
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