I can say where and to whom I'm going and how I'm getting there — işə, Bakıya, sənə; avtobusla, metro ilə — and not mix up “where to” with “where”.
Hara? — -a / -ə: where to and by what
Hara? — -a / -ə: where to and by what
Why: to say where you're going and to whom. Questions: Hara? — “where to?” (a place), Kimə? — “to whom?” (a person), Nə ilə? — “by what?”.
The dative ending (“where to?”) is -a after a, ı, o, u and -ə after e, ə, i, ö, ü, by the last vowel: evə, bazara. After a vowel, a linking y: Moskvaya, kafeyə. Final q becomes ğ before it, as in module 2: uşağa. After the “his / her” ending -ı / -si, a linking n: iş yerinə; after “my” -m, just the ending: atama.
Pronouns take the same ending (see the table): mənə, sənə, ona, bizə, sizə, onlara.
getmək is “to go” (away from the speaker), gəlmək “to come” (toward the speaker or the listener). To the person you're talking to: Sənə gəlirəm — “I'm coming to you”. minmək also answers “where to?”: avtobusa minirəm — “I get on the bus”.
By what: ilə after the noun, or joined -la / -lə: avtobusla (= avtobus ilə), qatarla; after a vowel, metro ilə or metroyla. The ending is unstressed; after n it sounds [nan] in speech: maşınla — you write -la. On foot: piyada.
Common mistakes:
• ×Moskvada gedirəm → “where to?” is Moskvaya (Moskvada is “where?”).
• ×avtobusda gedirəm → avtobusla (avtobusda means you're inside the bus).
• ×Sənə gedirəm (to the person you're talking to) → Sənə gəlirəm.
• ×Mən gedirəm Moskvaya → the verb goes last.
• ×Harada gedirsən? → Hara gedirsən?: “where to” is hara.
Where to? — the ending
The form of the ending is chosen by the last vowel of the word.
| The last vowel | After a consonant | After a vowel |
|---|---|---|
| a, ı, o, u | banka | Bakıya |
| e, ə, i, ö, ü | evə | kafeyə |
To whom? Toward whom?
Pronouns take the same “where to?” ending.
| Who | To whom? Toward whom? |
|---|---|
| mən (I) | mənə |
| sən (you, informal) | sənə |
| o (he, she) | ona |
| biz (we) | bizə |
| siz (you, formal or plural) | sizə |
| onlar (they) | onlara |
By what?
The word ilə after the vehicle, or the ending -la / -lə joined to it: both are correct.
| Transportation | By what? |
|---|---|
| avtobus | avtobusla |
| metro | metro ilə / metroyla |
Lesson notes
Hara? — -a / -ə: where to and by what
Why: to say where you're going and to whom. Questions: Hara? — “where to?” (a place), Kimə? — “to whom?” (a person), Nə ilə? — “by what?”.
The dative ending (“where to?”) is -a after a, ı, o, u and -ə after e, ə, i, ö, ü, by the last vowel: evə, bazara. After a vowel, a linking y: Moskvaya, kafeyə. Final q becomes ğ before it, as in module 2: uşağa. After the “his / her” ending -ı / -si, a linking n: iş yerinə; after “my” -m, just the ending: atama.
Pronouns take the same ending (see the table): mənə, sənə, ona, bizə, sizə, onlara.
getmək is “to go” (away from the speaker), gəlmək “to come” (toward the speaker or the listener). To the person you're talking to: Sənə gəlirəm — “I'm coming to you”. minmək also answers “where to?”: avtobusa minirəm — “I get on the bus”.
By what: ilə after the noun, or joined -la / -lə: avtobusla (= avtobus ilə), qatarla; after a vowel, metro ilə or metroyla. The ending is unstressed; after n it sounds [nan] in speech: maşınla — you write -la. On foot: piyada.
Common mistakes:
• ×Moskvada gedirəm → “where to?” is Moskvaya (Moskvada is “where?”).
• ×avtobusda gedirəm → avtobusla (avtobusda means you're inside the bus).
• ×Sənə gedirəm (to the person you're talking to) → Sənə gəlirəm.
• ×Mən gedirəm Moskvaya → the verb goes last.
• ×Harada gedirsən? → Hara gedirsən?: “where to” is hara.