I can add the ending -lar or -lər and -dır, -dir, -dur, or -dür to any word by looking at its last vowel — and not slip up on words like otaq, where the first vowel misleads.
Vowel harmony: the ending matches the word
Vowel harmony: the ending matches the word
What English says with separate words — in, from, my — Azerbaijani adds as an ending; the plural, too, is an ending. And the ending changes its vowel to match the word: after back vowels it has a back vowel, after front vowels a front one. This is vowel harmony.
The ending -lar / -lər makes the plural: otaqlar — rooms, gözlər — eyes. After a back vowel (a, ı, o, u) it is -lar, after a front one (e, ə, i, ö, ü) -lər. It has two forms, written -lar² for short.
The ending -dır means “is”: qızdır — “(this) is a girl”. It is the third-person ending; more in module 1. It has four forms, -dır⁴: -dır, -dir, -dur, -dür. Choose by the last vowel: back or front, rounded or not — see the table.
Sometimes a linking consonant goes between the vowel of the word and the vowel of the ending: you'll see it in module 1. -lar and -dır never take one.
Which ending to choose
-lar² has two forms, -dır⁴ four: the small number is the number of forms.
| The last vowel of the word | More than one: -lar² | Is: -dır⁴ | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| a or ı | -lar | -dır | qızdır — (this) is a girl |
| o or u | -lar | -dur | sudur — (this) is water |
| e, ə, or i | -lər | -dir | evdir — (this) is a house |
| ö or ü | -lər | -dür | gözdür — (this) is an eye |
Lesson notes
Vowel harmony: the ending matches the word
What English says with separate words — in, from, my — Azerbaijani adds as an ending; the plural, too, is an ending. And the ending changes its vowel to match the word: after back vowels it has a back vowel, after front vowels a front one. This is vowel harmony.
The ending -lar / -lər makes the plural: otaqlar — rooms, gözlər — eyes. After a back vowel (a, ı, o, u) it is -lar, after a front one (e, ə, i, ö, ü) -lər. It has two forms, written -lar² for short.
The ending -dır means “is”: qızdır — “(this) is a girl”. It is the third-person ending; more in module 1. It has four forms, -dır⁴: -dır, -dir, -dur, -dür. Choose by the last vowel: back or front, rounded or not — see the table.
Sometimes a linking consonant goes between the vowel of the word and the vowel of the ending: you'll see it in module 1. -lar and -dır never take one.
Look at the LAST vowel — and what the checker sees
The last vowel of the word decides, not the first. In otaq the first vowel is o and the last is a, so it's otaqdır, not ×otaqdur. Words from other languages can mix back and front vowels, but the rule is the same.
The checker tells -lar from -lər and -dır from -dur, so a wrong choice there counts as a mistake. But it doesn't tell -dır from -dir or -dur from -dür (ı and i, u and ü are the same to it), so those pairs are checked by choice.
Common mistakes:
• × otaqdur — the last vowel is a, so otaqdır.
• × kitablər — the last vowel is a, so kitablar.