This, that, and plurals

What you will practice

• Use bu, şu, and o for near, nearer, and farther.
• Form the plural pronouns and the noun plural separately.
• Tell the sentence “these are books” from the phrase “these books.”

Explanation

This and that

bu means “this,” close to the speaker. şu means “that” for something nearer than o: it is the one you point to, a little farther from you but not far away. o means “that” when the thing is farther from both of you, or already known. Textbooks keep that order: bu, then şu, then o. şu kitap is the book you are indicating. o kitap is the book over there.

Two plurals

The plural pronouns insert n and then -lar: bunlar, şunlar, and onlar. bular is not a word. onlar is also the ordinary pronoun “they.” Nouns use -lar or -ler by the last vowel. Back vowels a ı o u take -lar: kitaplar and okullar. Front vowels e i ö ü take -ler: evler and gözler. The pronoun plural and the noun plural are two different patterns.

Sentence or phrase

Bunlar kitap is a full sentence: “These are books.” bunlar is the subject, and the predicate noun stays singular. Bu kitaplar is only a noun phrase: “these books.” It still needs a predicate, as in Bu kitaplar yeni, “These books are new.” Use Bunlar kitap when you mean “these are books.” Use Bu kitaplar when “books” is the thing you are going to describe.

Examples

1. Bu kitap.This is a book.
2. Şu kitap.That is a book, the nearer one.
3. O kitap.That is a book, the farther one.
4. Bunlar kitap.These are books.
5. Bu kitaplar yeni.These books are new.

Common mistakes

• The plurals are bunlar, şunlar, and onlar. bular, şular, and olar are not Turkish.
• In Bunlar kitap the predicate stays singular. The plural kitaplar belongs to the phrase bu kitaplar.