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Lesson 4. Bu nədir? O kimdir?: the words for “this” and “that”, and the plural
I can ask “what's this?” and “who's this?” and answer “this is a notebook”, “that's a window”, “these are pupils”, choosing bu or o and adding -lar or -lər by vowel harmony.
Bu nədir? Bunlar nədir?: this, that, and the plural
Bu nədir? Bunlar nədir?: this, that, and the plural
To name the things and people around you, use bu “this” (near) and o “that” (farther away); for more than one, bunlar, onlar. O also means “he, she”. When o or bu is the subject and a noun follows, write a comma after it: O, müəllimdir “He's a teacher”, but O müəllim “that teacher”; a question (Bu nədir?, O kimdir?) has no comma. English “is” and “a” are not translated: Bu, kitabdır “This is a book”.
bura is “this place, here”, ora “that place, there”: Bura Bakıdır “This is Baku”. Questions: Bu nədir? for things, O kimdir? for people. Unlike English, the question word doesn't come first: it stands where the answer goes.
The plural is the ending -lar or -lər, by the last vowel of the word (see the table). After bunlar and onlar the noun is usually plural too: Bunlar dostlardır (in the third person the plural ending can be left out). Names of people and cities take no -lar. “And” between words is və.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Bunlar kitablər.” → kitablar: the last vowel, a, is a back vowel.
• NOT “Onlar dəftərlardır.” → dəftərlərdir.
• NOT “Nə bu?” → Bu nədir?
Near and far
O is also “he, she”; after the subject, o and bu take a comma: O, müəllimdir.
| What | Near | Far |
|---|---|---|
| one thing, one person | bu | o |
| more than one | bunlar | onlar |
| place | bura | ora |
| such | belə | elə |
More than one: -lar or -lər
The last vowel of the word decides.
| The last vowel | Ending | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| back: a, ı, o, u | -lar | dostlar, qadınlar, oğlanlar |
| front: e, ə, i, ö, ü | -lər | kişilər, pəncərələr |
| name of a person or a city | no ending | Anna, Bakı |
Lesson notes
Bu nədir? Bunlar nədir?: this, that, and the plural
To name the things and people around you, use bu “this” (near) and o “that” (farther away); for more than one, bunlar, onlar. O also means “he, she”. When o or bu is the subject and a noun follows, write a comma after it: O, müəllimdir “He's a teacher”, but O müəllim “that teacher”; a question (Bu nədir?, O kimdir?) has no comma. English “is” and “a” are not translated: Bu, kitabdır “This is a book”.
bura is “this place, here”, ora “that place, there”: Bura Bakıdır “This is Baku”. Questions: Bu nədir? for things, O kimdir? for people. Unlike English, the question word doesn't come first: it stands where the answer goes.
The plural is the ending -lar or -lər, by the last vowel of the word (see the table). After bunlar and onlar the noun is usually plural too: Bunlar dostlardır (in the third person the plural ending can be left out). Names of people and cities take no -lar. “And” between words is və.
Common mistakes:
• NOT “Bunlar kitablər.” → kitablar: the last vowel, a, is a back vowel.
• NOT “Onlar dəftərlardır.” → dəftərlərdir.
• NOT “Nə bu?” → Bu nədir?