4.0 Relative Clauses

Relative clauses are formed in Turkmen simply by using verb suffixes based on the tense and vowel harmony of the verb. Who and which, used in English to form relative clauses, are not used as such in Turkmen.

Relative clauses in the present tense are formed by adding the suffixes -ÿan and -ÿän to the stems of MAK and MEK verbs, respectively:

gelÿän adamlar = people who are coming

ÿazÿan dostum = my friend who is writing

Sentence structure is as follows:

A∫gabatdan gelÿän adamlar ÿolda durdular.

from-Ashgabat-coming-people-road-at-stopped

The people who are coming from Ashgabat stopped on the road.

Kitap ÿazÿan dostum Çärjewde ÿa∫aÿar.

book-writing-my friend-Charjew-in-lives

My friend who is writing a book is from Charjew.

Relative clauses in the past are formed by adding -an and -en to the stems of MAK and MEK verbs, respectively:

gelen adamlar = those who came

ÿazan dostum = my friend who has written

Sentence structure is as follows:

Tejenden gelen adamlar köp iÿdiler.

Tejen-from-came-people-much-they ate

The people who came from Tejen ate a lot.

Bu kitaby okanlar ony gowy diÿip tapdylar.

This-book-read (plural)-it-good-that-they found

Those who read this book found it (to be) good.

In the future tense, the definite future forms of the verb (-jak and -jek) form the relative clauses. There are no unique suffixes:

Biziñ klasymyzy okatjak mugallym Eÿrandan geldi.

to-our-class-will teach-teacher-from Iran-came

The teacher who will teach our class came from Iran.

Gökdepä gitjek okuwçylar duralgasynda gara∫yp durlar.

to Geok Depe-will go-students-stop-at-are waiting

The students who will go to Geok Depe are waiting at the stop.

5.0 Cases and their suffixes

	Vowel Endings	Consonant Endings
Nomnative	--- (no change) pagta - cotton Gök Depe - Goek Depe (a town)	--- (no change) gazan - pot kä∫ir - carrot(s)
Possessive	nyñ, niñ (nuñ, nüñ) pagtanyñ - ≈ cotton's Gök Depeniñ- ≈ Goek Depe's	yñ, iñ (uñ, üñ) gazanyñ- ≈ pot's kä∫iriñ- ≈ carrots's
Dative	-a,-ä or -na, -ne pagta - ≈ to cotton Gök Depä- ≈ to Goek Depe	-a, -e gazana- ≈ to the pot kä∫ire- ≈ to the carrots
Accusative	ny, ni pagtany - ≈ the cotton (direct ob.) Gök Depeni- ≈ Goek Depe (d.o.)	y, i gazany- ≈ the pot (d.o.) kä∫iri- ≈ the carrot(s) (d.o.)
Time/Place	da, de or nda, nde pagtada- ≈ in cotton Gök Depede- ≈ in Goek Depe	da, de gazanda- ≈ in the pot kä∫irde- ≈ in carrots
Instrumental	dan, den or ndan, nden pagtadan - ≈ from cotton Gök Depeden- ≈ from Goek Depe	dan, den gazandan- ≈ from the pot kä∫irden- ≈ from carrots

The Nominative Case answers Kim? Who?, Näme? What? , Nire? Where? It is used for the subject of the sentence and sometimes for non-specific direct objects. Gök Depe gowy. = Goek Depe is nice.

The Possessive Case answers Kimiñ? Whose?, Nämäniñ? Of what? , Niräniñ? Of where? Itis usually used to show simple possessive relationships. Gök Depeniñ häkimligi = Goek Depe's mayor's office. However, it is sometimes used in ways unfamiliar to English speakers, most notably in prepositional contexts: Gök Depeniñ ÿanynda = by Goek Depe, near Goek Depe.

The Dative Case answers Kime? To whom?, Nämä? Towards what? To what end? , Nirä? To where? It describes a motion directed toward something. Bu awtobus Gök Depä gitÿär = This bus is going to Goek Depe. It also describes abstract direction. Maña çaÿ gerek = Tea is necessary to me. (I need tea.) Please note how the final vowels change in the following examples: (Türkmenba∫y) Bu awtobus Türkmenba∫a gidÿär. (Mary) Bu awtobus Mara gidÿär. (Çüli) Bu awtobus Çülä gidÿär.

The Accusative Case answers Kimi? Who?, Nämäni? What? , Niräni? Where? It is used for direct objects – things that are acted upon by the verb of the sentence. Men kä∫iri kesÿärin. = I'm cutting the carrots. It carries the specificity of an English "the" and is only used when the object is definite.

The Time/Place Case answers Kimde? Upon whom?, Nämede? At what? , Nirede? Where? At what place? It translate to English in various ways depending on the context. Gök Depede ÿa∫aÿaryn = I live in Goek Depe. Mende çaÿ ÿok = I don't have any tea. (on me)

The Instrumental Case answers Kimden? From who?, Nämeden? From what? , Nireden? From where? Like the English "from" it can be used to describe both physical origin, and more abstract concepts of origin. Bu köÿnek Gök Depeden/pagtadan. = This dress is from Goek Depe/ made from cotton.