The Turkish -dan daha structure is used to compare two nouns from any angle. A relationship is established in which one of them is superior or inferior to the other. There is the same meaning is in English with the “….. more than …..” construction. So you’ll learn to use more than in Turkish language. But the order in sentence construction is different. Let’s pay attention here. First, I will give an English sentence, then the Turkish translation of the same sentence.
Turkish is more difficult than English. ( noun + more … than + noun)
Türkçe İngilizceden daha zordur. (noun + noun + den daha … )
Rules
- There is 2 rules you have to follow. First is vowel harmony and second is consonant harmony. If you have questions about these rules check here for vowel harmony and check here for consonant harmony. If you already know these subjects now let’s see how the suffix will change according to these 2 rules.
- According to vowel harmony: If the last vowel of word before suffix is “a, ı, o or u” in this case suffix must contain “a” (-dan daha /-tan daha). If the last vowel of word before suffix is “e, i, ö or ü” in this case suffix must contain “e” (-den daha /-ten daha).
- According to consonant harmony: If word before suffix end with any of them: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p in this case suffix must start with “t” (tan daha / ten daha). If word before suffix doesn’t end with any of them: f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p in this case suffix must start with “d” (dan daha / den daha).
- Also i have to remind you “buffer letter (kaynaştırma harfi)” in Turkish. If you remember we use “n” between possesive suffix and case suffix.
For example:
bulaşık makinesi (dishwasher): the last “i” is possesive suffix. Now let’s put a case suffix: –den
bulaşık makinesi + n + den > you see if there is possesive and case suffix don’t forget the put “n” between them.
Example Sentences
- Bardak gözlükten daha ucuz. (Glass is cheaper than glasses.)
- Gözlük kalemden daha pahalı. (Glasses are more expensive than pencil.)
- Bulaşık makinesi, buzdolabından daha ucuz. (Dishwasher is cheaper than refrigerator.)
- Gece lambası, saatten daha pahalı. (The night light is more expensive than the watch.)
!KEEP IT MIND!
Since the “saat (clock)” is of foreign origin (that is, it is not of Turkish origin), it does not have to follow the rule of vowel harmony rules. It’s not saat + tan; it is saat + ten > saatten.
If you have any question about Turkish language just let me know in the comment below. Btw we also share all Turkish grammar lessons, some daily usefull tips, Turkish idioms and more about Turkish language and Turkish culture on YouTube channel! You can watch all lessons for free now! Just click here and subscribe to don’t lose our videos. See you in another lesson!