Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

(iii) The 2nd/3rd person ambiguity identified in (i) is sometimes compounded with the
3rd person singular/plural ambiguity identified in (ii):
(46)
(a) Arkadaş-lar-ın-a soralım.
friend-PL-2SG.POSS-DAT
‘Let’s ask your friends.’
(b) Arkadaş-lar-ın-a soralım.
friend-PL-3SG.POSS-DAT
‘Let’s ask his/her friends.’
(c) Arkadaş-ların-a soralım.
friend-3PL.POSS-DAT
‘Let’s ask their friend.’
(d) Arkadaş-ların-a soralim.
friend-PL.3PL.POSS-DAT
‘Let’s ask their friends.’
In (d) the element -lAr is again expressing plurality both of the possessor and of what
is possessed (here ‘friends’). Such potential ambiguities are resolved by using modifiers
and forming genitive-possessive constructions, as explained in 14.4 below.
14.3.2.1 Marking possession in -(s)I compounds
Because only one possessive suffix can be attached to a noun at any one time, if a suffix
indicating possession is added to a -(s)I compound (10.2) the compound marker -(s)I(n)
has to be dropped. As a result, the non-possessed forms and the 3rd person possessed
forms of any particular -(s)I compound are indistinguishable:
yatak oda-sı
(i) bed room-NC ‘bedroom’
(ii) bed room-3SG.POSS ‘his/her bedroom’
yatak oda-m
bed room-1SG.POSS ‘my bedroom’
In the case of noun compounds that end in a consonant, where case marking is present the
2nd/3rd person ambiguity discussed in 14.3.2 (i) also arises:
(47) Ders kitab-ın-ı beğenmedim.
The noun phrase 153
(a) lesson book-NC-ACC
‘I didn’t like the textbook.’
(b) lesson book-2SG.POSS-ACC
‘I didn’t like your textbook.’
(c) lesson book-3SG.POSS-ACC
‘I didn’t like his/her textbook.’