Numbers and time

Formation

The numbers from one to ten are bir, iki, üç, dört, beş, altı, yedi, sekiz, dokuz, on; the tens are yirmi, otuz, kırk, elli, altmış, yetmiş, seksen, doksan; yüz is a hundred, bin a thousand. A larger number is written as separate words, the larger first, with no word for “and”: on bir (11), yirmi beş (25), yüz elli (150), iki bin yirmi altı (2026). Yüz and bin take no bir before them: yüz (100), bin (1000), but iki yüz, üç bin.

Use

After a number, the noun stays singular: iki elma, beş öğrenci, on lira; the verb and the copula with a plural subject of this kind are usually singular as well. Tane (“piece, item”) may follow a number and come before the noun: üç tane elma; in an answer it may stand alone: Kaç elma var? – Üç tane. A price is asked with kaç lira or ne kadar: Bu kaç lira? (“How much is this?”).

Formation

An ordinal number is formed with -(I)ncI: -inci, -ıncı, -uncu, -üncü after a consonant, by four-way harmony, and -nci, -ncı, -ncu, -ncü after a vowel. In dört the t becomes d before the vowel: dördüncü. In a number of two words, the suffix is added to the last word: on birinci, yirmi beşinci. The question word is kaçıncı (which, in order).

Use

The ordinal stands before the noun, like an adjective: ikinci gün (“the second day”), üçüncü sayfa (“the third page”). İlk is also used for “first”: ilk ders (“the first lesson”). In figures, an ordinal is written with a full stop or with an apostrophe and the suffix: 3. sınıf or 3'üncü sınıf.

Formation

Saat kaç? (“What time is it?”) is answered with saat and the number: Saat üç (“It’s three o’clock”). Half past is the hour followed by buçuk: saat üç buçuk; half past twelve is saat yarım. Saat kaçta? (“At what time?”) is answered with the locative on the last word: üçte, üç buçukta, on ikide.

Use

Buçuk follows a number (bir buçuk saat, “an hour and a half”), yarım comes before a noun (yarım saat, “half an hour”). The parts of the day may be added to the hour: sabah yedide (“at seven in the morning”), akşam sekizde (“at eight in the evening”).

Formation

The days are pazartesi, salı, çarşamba, perşembe, cuma, cumartesi, pazar; the months ocak, şubat, mart, nisan, mayıs, haziran, temmuz, ağustos, eylül, ekim, kasım, aralık. A day is stated with günü after it (cuma günü, “on Friday”) or alone (cuma). A month and a year take the locative: mayısta, ekimde, 2025'te. Two seasons have forms of their own, kışın (in winter) and yazın (in summer); ilkbahar and sonbahar take the locative.

Use

Sabah, öğleden sonra, akşam and gece stand alone for “in the morning”, “in the afternoon”, “in the evening”, “at night”: Sabah çay içiyorum. Sabahleyin and akşamleyin mean the same, “in the morning” and “in the evening”. Hafta sonu is “at the weekend”, bu hafta, geçen hafta, gelecek hafta “this week, last week, next week”, all with no ending. In a sentence, day and month names are written with a small letter.

Formation

“From … to” is expressed with the ablative on the starting point, the dative on the end and kadar (until, as far as) after the dative: dokuzdan beşe kadar (“from nine to five”). The two cases are set out in Coming from a place: the ablative evden, sokaktan and Going to a place: the dative eve, okula, Ankara'ya. Kadar after the dative may also stand without a starting point: beşe kadar (“until five”).

Use

The construction is used for time (sabahtan akşama kadar, “from morning till evening”) and for place (evden okula kadar, “from home to school”). The time words take the same endings: ocaktan hazirana kadar (“from January to June”).