Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

Definiteness, specificity and generic reference 323
Specificity is a category that overlaps the boundary between definite and indefinite. All
definites are specific, but, as explained in 22.2, indefinites may be either specific or nonspecific.
All categorial noun phrases are non-specific, as (in a somewhat different sense)
are all noun phrases used generically.
22.1 DEFINITE STATUS
A noun phrase marked as definite refers to a specific entity or entities that the speaker
assumes to be unambiguously identifiable by the hearer. In Turkish the minimal
requirements for a noun phrase to be interpreted as definite are:
(i) the absence of an indefinite determiner (15.6.1)
(ii) accusative case marking where the noun phrase is functioning as direct object.
In (5) all three of the noun phrases are definite:
(5) {Garson} {temiz tabak-lar}-ı {masa}-ya koydu.
waiter clean plate-PL-ACC table-DAT
‘The waiter put the clean plates down on the table.’
The following classes of noun phrase are inherently definite:
(i) The proper names of people, places and institutions:
(6) Osman’ı dün gördük.
‘We saw Osman yesterday.’
(7) Ankara’yı severim.
‘I like Ankara.’
(8) Anıtlar Yüksek Kurulu’nu bundan sorumlu tutuyorum.
‘I hold the High Commission on Monuments responsible for this.’
(ii) Most pronouns, specifically:
(a) The simple personal pronouns (18.1.1):
(9) Murat seni seviyor.
‘Murat loves you.’
(b) The demonstrative pronouns (18.2):
(10) Şunları da yıkamamız lâzım.
‘We’ve got to wash these, too.’
(c) The pronominal quantifiers herkes ‘everyone’ and her şey ‘everything’ (18.6.1):
(11) Ömer herkesi sinirlendirdi.
‘Ömer got on everyone’s nerves.’
(d) The interrogative kim(ler) ‘who’ (19.2.1.1), and the expression kimse (ler) ‘no one’,
‘anyone’ (20.5.3):
(12) Kim-ler-i görüyorsunuz?