1. The source case : +din/tin :
We often say that it harmonizes in voicing : that is to say, the suffix -din is added to a stem ending in a voiced sound, and -tin is added to a stem in a voiceless sound. You should have a look at the examples and you will understand more about what we meant. It is actually similar to “from” in English, which can also describe a mouvement from or to a place, a source of something, or even the possessive form (“from someone to someone…). Plus, beware on the consonants and vowels :
- Kimdin ? = from whom ?
- Kilodin = from/out of a kilo
- Derstin = from the lesson
- Mekteptin = of the school
- Ayaghdin = from the foot
- Néme ? Némidin ? = what ? from what ?
- Alma ; almidin = apple ; from an/the apple
- Yawropa ; Yawropadin = Europe ; from Europe
- Ürümchidin Kashgargha nechche kilométr ? = how many kilometres (is it) from Ürümchi to Kashgar ?
U hazir yataqtin kélidu = she/he will come from the dormitory now (or soon).
- Men bazardin alma alimen = I will buy apples from/at the martket
- Men Xemittin almini alimen = I will buy the apples from Hamit / I usually buy them from him
- Siz göshni nechchidin satisiz ? = how much do you sell the meat for ?
Bu almilardin almamsiz ? = won’t you buy some of these apples ?
We also have to keep in mind that we can use and add adverbs and postpositions too to express the same thing :
Zöhredin bashqa menmu barimen = besides Zöhre, I will also go
- Xemittin bashqa hechkim kelmeydu = apart from Hamit, nobody will come
- Tamaqtin burun dora yémeng, tamaqtin kéyin dora yeng = don’t take medecine before your meal, but take medecine after the meal (or directly say “take them after” in the short form)
- U ishqa mendin burun kélidu we mendin kéyin kétidu = She comes to work before me and leaves after me
2. Direct object (transitive) case :
What we can advise you is that, you must learn these rules and words one by one and copy them on your notes. Here some other examples :
- Kim = kimni
- U = uni
- Ders = dersni
- Men = méni
- Sen = séni
You have to know that not all direct objets are marked. Some are specific and some not, which means that some words can be unknown to the speaker or hearer, while some can be not. We call it definite and indefinite words. Check the definite and indefinite ones here :
- Bazarda bir lughetni izdeymen = I will look for a (specific) dictionary at the market
- Men Uyghurchini bilimen = I know Uyghur
- Men qelemni izdeymen = I look for the pen
- Shu soalni soramsiler ? = will you ask that question ?
- Bazarda lughet izdeymen = I will look for a (any) dictionary at the market
- Biz Uyghurche oquymiz = we study Uyghurche
- Men alma alimen = I will buy apples (some)
- Biz alma satimiz emma neshpüt satmaymiz = we sell apples but we don’t sell pears
And then, we will look at the structure of the demonstrative and interrogative pronouns ; with the personal and proper pronouns :
- Siz buni alamsiz ? = will you buy this one ?
- Men ularni bilimen = I know about them/those
- Ular awu almilarni satidu = they sell those apples
- Men bu tamaqni yeyimen = I eat this food
- Siz qaysini yaxshi körisiz ? = which one do you like ?
- Siz qaysi tillarni bilisiz ? = what languages do you know ?
- Kashgarni bek yaxshi körimen = I really like Kashgar
- Adilni tonuymiz = we know Adil
- U sizni tonumaydu = She/he does not know you
- Men ularni bilimen = I know all of them
U qoghun almaydu, biraq bashqa méwilerni alidu = he won’t buy melons, but other fruits
- Men bu ademni anche tonumaymen, lékin bashqilarni tonuymen = I really don’t know this man but I know the others
Siz poluni yaxshi köremsiz ? = do you like pilaf ?
I would also like to add that you don’t need to add the suffix (-ni) all the time in a sentence. It means that you don’t need to repeat the -ni, like : “men Uyghurche, Inglizche we Türükchini bilimen”. And later we will also see that in some words we can not easily understand if it is a definite noun or indefinite one.
2.2. Words classified between definite and indefinite objects : the difference of the context
Some interrogative pronouns (ex : némé) can be marked as definite or indefinite, where nouns qualified by numerals and nouns qualified by adjectives work in the same way. See examples. It just depends on the context : when you buy, or sell something :
- U néme alidu ? = What will she/he buy ?
- U némini alidu ? = Which one (of these) will she/he buy ?
- Bazarda néme qilisiz ? = What (all) will you do at the market ?
- Qaysini yaxshi körisiz ? = Which one (of these) do you like ?
- Men ikki lughet alimen = I will buy 2 dictionaries
- Men ikki lughetni alimen = I will buy (the) two dictionaries
- U yaxshi méwe satidu = She/he sells good fruit
- U yaxshi méwini satidu = She/he sells (the) good fruit
3. Plural form
In order to plurilize a noun, you just have to add the suffix –lar or –ler at the end of the word. It is indeed attached after any possessive and before any case ending. The suffix –lar appears after : a, o, u vowels and the suffix –ler appears after e, ö, ü vowels. You should learn the rule by heart. If you there is the vowels i and é in a word, you just have to add the suffix –lar, and if there is an i and é with consonants like g or t you just have to add the suffix –ler. I would definately recommend you to do some exercises and read a lot in Uyghurche so that you can encounter those words and keep them in mind. Here a little list to help you :
- Qol = qollar = arms
- Kitab = kitablar = books
- Bala = balilar = children
- Bu = bular = these
- Gül = güller = roses
- Öy = öyler = houses
- Lughet = lughetler = dictionnaries
- Nerse = nersiler = things
- Bézi = béziler = some people, things
- Apélsin = apélsinlar = apples
- Uniwérsitét = uniwérsitétlar = universities
- Gézit = gézitler = newspapers
- Sinip = siniplar = classrooms
- Yéngi = yéngilar = new (things)
3.2 Usage of the Plural :
Actually, the plural suffixes –lar and –ler are used as the same in English : that is to say, in a similar way. But ! Beware that you should never ever add the plural 2 times in a sentence. Here we mean that, a noun qualified by a numeral never takes the plural suffix. It is indeed similar to Turkish grammar. So, if you have already added the plural (by numerals), do not add it again (no suffix –lar/ler). Plus, the interrogative quantifiers are not plurilied (how many/how much, do not take the plural suffix).
Moreover, quantifiying phrases can be (but not necessarily) plurilized (some/several, can take the plural suffix). And when you have nechche (more than…) no plural suffix is added to the noun. When you have the indefinite pronouns like bashqa (other) or bézi (some) the plural suffix is added to the noun that they qualify or attached to. By the way, when adjectives are plurilized, it turns out to be a noun phrase. We can conclude that the plural suffix always appears at the end of the word. See the examples :
- Töt oqughuchi = Four students (never say töt oqughuchilar* ! it is not necessary).
- Ikki lughet alimen = I will buy two dictionaries (not ikki lughetler !)
- Qanchini alisiz ? = How many (things) will you buy ?
- Nechche adem kélidu ? = How many people will come ?
- Birqanche adem(ler) kélidu = Several people will come
- Birnechche neshpüt(ler)ni yéyimen = I will eat several pears
- Ottuz nechche oquchuchi = Thirty-some students
- On nechche texse = More than ten plates
- Bashqa oquchuchilar bilidu = Other students know
- Bézi balilar baridu = Some children (will) go
- Bashqilargha bérimen = I will give (it) to (the) others
- Köklerni alimen = I will buy the blue ones
- Yashlar téléwisor köridu = Young people watch tv
- Meryemlerning öyi = Meryem’s family’s home
- Erkinlerning sinipi = The classroom belonging to Erkin’s class
4. Some useful notes about Language :
The verb tonu means literally “to be familiar with”, it refers to people and knowledge. And the verb bil means “to know about” and even sometimes it can be said as “to understand” (often used for concrete and abstrats things) :
- Men Ablizni tonuymen = I know Abliz
- Men bu artistni bilimen, biraq men uni tonumaymen = I know(or have heard of) this actor, but I have not get to know (or meet) him (personally)
Exercise & Tips
At the end of this lesson, I would definitely recommend you to do some exercises to practice your Uyghurche and make it perfect : you can take some words by chance for instance, and then you can change them into plural form as we have done right before. I will make sure that at the end of the whole lessons (all units) you will have all the exercises to practice your Uyghurche. Do not worry that we will make new units that you can print and practice at home. For now, You can also make sentences by yourself and put them into the right order/form, and fill in the gaps :
- Ürümchidin néme … alisen ?
- Üch depter … we ikki qelem …
- Sendin bashqa qanche oquchuchi … baridu ?
- Birqanche … baridu
- Mekteptin muellim … -mu baramdu ?
- On nechche muellim … baridu, bézi … barmaydu