English uses “with” and “by” for several different ideas: going with a friend, writing with a pen, travelling by bus. Turkish covers all of these with one form: the word ile, which is usually attached to the noun as the suffix -(y)la / -(y)le. It is often called the instrumental or comitative case (vasıta hâli). Historically it is a postposition, which is why it behaves a little differently from the endings in the noun cases overview.
Formation: two-way harmony
When ile is attached, it loses its i and follows two-way vowel harmony: -la after back vowels (a, ı, o, u) and -le after front vowels (e, i, ö, ü). After a vowel, the buffer letter y appears.
| Noun ends in | Last vowel back | Last vowel front |
|---|---|---|
| a consonant | -la: uçakla (by plane), kitapla (with a book) | -le: otobüsle (by bus), kalemle (with a pen) |
| a vowel | -yla: arabayla (by car), parayla (with money) | -yle: taksiyle (by taxi), Ayşe’yle (with Ayşe) |
Because the suffix starts with a consonant, the final consonant of the noun does not soften: kitapla, not kitabla. The suffix also does not take stress: kaLEMle, uÇAKla.
Separate or attached?
Both spellings are correct:
- Ali ile Ayşe = Ali*’yle** Ayşe* (Ali and Ayşe)
- otobüs ile = otobüsle (by bus)
The separate ile is more common in formal writing and is never affected by harmony. In everyday speech and texting, the suffix dominates. With proper nouns the suffix takes an apostrophe: Mehmet’le, Ankara’yla.
After possessive and plural suffixes
The suffix simply attaches to the end of the word:
- arkadaşlarla (with friends)
- arkadaşımla (with my friend)
- annesiyle (with his/her mother)
- çocuklarımızla (with our children)
Pronouns with -le
Singular personal pronouns and demonstratives take their genitive form before -le. Plurals do not.
| Pronoun | With -le | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| ben | benimle | with me |
| sen | seninle | with you |
| o | onunla | with him / her / it |
| biz | bizimle | with us |
| siz | sizinle | with you (plural / polite) |
| onlar | onlarla | with them |
| bu / şu | bununla / şununla | with this / with that |
| kim | kiminle | with whom |
| ne | neyle (ne ile) | with what, by what |
In relaxed speech you will hear benle and senle. They are fine with friends, but use benimle and seninle in writing and formal situations.
What -(y)la / -(y)le expresses
1. Company: “with someone”
- Annemle alışverişe gittim. (I went shopping with my mother.)
- Hafta sonu arkadaşlarla buluşacağım. (I’ll meet up with friends at the weekend.)
- Kiminle konuşuyorsun? (Who are you talking to?)
Add birlikte or beraber (“together”) for emphasis: Kardeşimle birlikte yaşıyorum. (I live together with my sibling.)
2. Tool or instrument: “with something”
- Çorbayı kaşıkla iç. (Eat the soup with a spoon.)
- Bu formu tükenmez kalemle doldurun. (Fill in this form with a ballpoint pen.)
- Kredi kartıyla ödeyebilir miyim? (Can I pay by credit card?)
3. Means of transport: “by bus, by train”
- İşe metroyla gidiyorum. (I go to work by metro.)
- İzmir’e uçakla mı, otobüsle mi gideceksin? (Will you go to İzmir by plane or by bus?)
- Neyle geldin? – Taksiyle. (How did you come? – By taxi.)
“On foot” does not use -le: Okula yürüyerek gidiyorum (I walk to school). For practical transport vocabulary, see the public transport guide.
4. Manner: “with care, with pleasure”
With abstract nouns, -le forms adverbs of manner:
- Mektubu dikkatle okudu. (She read the letter carefully.)
- Zevkle yardım ederim. (I’ll gladly help.)
- Memnuniyetle! (With pleasure!)
5. “And” between nouns
İle can join two nouns, much like ve:
- Ali ile Ayşe evlendi. (Ali and Ayşe got married.)
- Kahvaltıda peynirle zeytin yedik. (We had cheese and olives for breakfast.)
Ve is the general “and” and joins words, phrases and clauses. İle joins nouns only and often suggests the two belong together. The conjunctions guide compares them.
6. Time: “with, as”
- Baharla birlikte hava ısındı. (With the arrival of spring, the weather warmed up.)
- Güneşin doğuşuyla yola çıktık. (We set off at sunrise.)
Verbs that take -le
Some verbs use -le where English uses a different preposition or a direct object:
| Verb | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| evlenmek | to marry | Ayşe*’yle** evlendi.* (He married Ayşe.) |
| tanışmak | to meet (for the first time) | Seninle tanıştığıma memnun oldum. (Nice to meet you.) |
| konuşmak | to talk with | Müdürle konuştum. (I talked to the manager.) |
| görüşmek | to meet, to talk | Ev sahibiyle görüşeceğim. (I’ll talk with the landlord.) |
| ilgilenmek | to be interested in | Tarihle ilgileniyorum. (I’m interested in history.) |
| uğraşmak | to deal with, to be busy with | Evrak işleriyle uğraşıyorum. (I’m dealing with paperwork.) |
The opposite: -sız / -siz
“Without” is not formed with ile. Turkish uses the adjective suffix -sız/-siz/-suz/-süz: şekersiz çay (tea without sugar), parasız (without money). See adjective suffixes -lı, -sız, -cı, -lık, which also explains the difference between -le and -li.
-la/-le in a real conversation
Two friends are making weekend plans:
Tom: Hafta sonu ne yapıyorsun? (What are you doing at the weekend?)
Elif: Bursa’ya gidiyorum. (I’m going to Bursa.)
Tom: Neyle gidiyorsun? Arabayla mı? (How are you going? By car?)
Elif: Hayır, önce vapurla, sonra otobüsle. (No, first by ferry, then by bus.)
Tom: Kiminle gidiyorsun? (Who are you going with?)
Elif: Kız kardeşimle. Sen de bizimle gelmek ister misin? (With my sister. Would you like to come with us too?)
Tom: Çok isterim, ama cumartesi ev sahibiyle görüşmem lazım. (I’d love to, but I have to meet my landlord on Saturday.)
- neyle: “by what”, the question form for transport.
- arabayla, vapurla, otobüsle: means of transport; araba ends in a vowel, so -yla.
- kardeşimle: accompaniment after a possessive suffix.
- bizimle: pronoun in the genitive + -le.
- ev sahibiyle görüşmek: a verb that takes -le; sahibi ends in a vowel, so -yle.
Common mistakes
- Using four-way harmony. It is otobüsle, not otobüslü or otobüsla: the suffix has only the two vowels a and e.
- Softening the consonant. Kitapla and uçakla, not kitabla or uçağla.
- Using the nominative pronoun. Ben ile sounds odd in modern Turkish; say benimle. And onlarla, not onlarınla.
- Confusing -le and -li. Sütle = with milk (as a means); sütlü kahve = coffee with milk (a type of coffee).
- Using -le for “on foot” or “at the weekend”. Yürüyerek (on foot); hafta sonu (at the weekend).
Mini-exercise
Add -la, -le, -yla or -yle, or give the pronoun form.
- Ankara’ya tren___ gittik. (We went to Ankara by train.)
- Kahveyi süt___ içiyorum. (I drink my coffee with milk.)
- Dün akşam ___ (o) konuştum. (I talked to him last night.)
- Bu kapıyı anahtar___ aç. (Open this door with the key.)
- Taksi___ geldim. (I came by taxi.)
- ___ (ben) gelir misin? (Will you come with me?)
- Ayşe Mehmet’___ evlendi. (Ayşe married Mehmet.)
Answers: 1. trenle · 2. sütle · 3. onunla · 4. anahtarla · 5. Taksiyle · 6. Benimle gelir misin? · 7. Mehmet’le
Practice this
Review the other meanings of ile and the postpositions that sit beside it on the postpositions page. Use the harmony calculator to check -la or -le on any noun.
