Postpositions (like English prepositions)

You really can't create anything beyond the most basic of sentences without making use of postpositions. They are called postpositions because they are placed after the word they modify. They do the same job as prepositions in English (which, naturally are placed before the word they modify.) It feels strange at first, but you soon get used to the reverse order. Practice makes perfect with this one.

This posting will cover: 
ilə, -lə -la, -nən -nan, qədər, sonra, üçün, görə, əvvəl, qabaq, haqqında, başqa, kimi.

Comparative forms

The first thing in a comparative sentence is what has "more" of the quality referred to.

Examples using adjectives:
O adam məndən hündürdür. / That man is taller than me.
O adam = That man
məndən = than me (from me)
hündürdür = is tall.

Genitive case (of)

The genitive case deal with inanimate things that have some attribute. I find it easier to think of this as expressions with the English of, what is known as periphrastic genitive. I'm sure that makes everything much clearer! If you think in terms of English of, then the the thing with the attribute is said first, with the attribute second.

The endings are the same as for 3rd person possessive pronouns:
- in, ın, ün, un / -nin, nın, nün, nun for the first word (after consonant, after vowel)
- i, ı, ü, u / -si, sı, sü, su for the second word (after consonant, after vowel)

Accusative case

The suffixes for words in the accusative case are -i4 (for words ending in a consonant) and -ni4 (for words ending in a vowel). See the post on vowel harmony for an explanation of these "to the power of 4" abbreviations.

Some examples of sentences with verbs that take the accusative:

Mən o kişini tanıyıram. I know (am acquainted with) that man.
Mən kişiləri görürəm. I see the men.
but - Mən çoxlu kişi gördüm. I saw some men. If the object is indefinite, use the nominative case.

Mən kitabı oxuyuram. I am reading the book.
but - Mən kitab oxuyuram. I am reading a book. I read books.

Possessive pronouns

OK - this is a little more difficult than other cases because both words take possessive suffixes. Confused? Let's look at a few examples.

Mənim yoldaşım, sənin yoldaşın, onun yoldaşı, bizim yoldaşlarımız, sizin yoldaşlarınız, onların yoldaşları. Whew! That is, in English, my husband, your husband, her husband, our husbands, your husbands, their husbands. Let's look at this again in a chart.

Var (to exist)

That ubiquitous "var" takes some getting used to for a native English speaker. You simply can't say that you have something in Azeri. OK - you can say that you possess something - but for most purposes you can't get by without var.

Let's look at a few examples first, and then we can go into more of the grammar.

Adjectives and adverbs with li/siz (with/without)

You can add -li (-lı, lü, lu) and -siz (-sız, süz, suz) to just about any adjectives or adverb and get a word that means with (li) or without (siz). Very useful and fun to try out new constructions in your everyday conversations.

Let's look at one that you are sure to encounter straight away - qazlı and qazsız su
qaz = gas
su = water
qazlı su = water with gas (that is, carbonated or sparkling)
qazsız su = water without gas (still water)

I am ... using TO BE suffixes

The simplest sentences tell people something about yourself - I am a doctor, a librarian; I am sick, tired, happy. Or something about someone else - You are late, beautifulç selfish.

Present tense "To Be" suffixes are: