Lesson 11: Indefinite Izafe (a friend of mine)
- Indefinite Izafe (Head Noun Only)
- Head Noun + Indefinite Noun Modifier
- Head Noun + Indefinite Noun Modifier + Modifier
- Dersa Kurdî Video
- Vocabulary
- Exercises
In Lesson 6 we learned how to make nouns indefinite. Now that we’ve also learned the izafe concept, we’re ready to learn how to use indefinite nouns in izafe chains. But BE CAREFUL, the izafe endings after indefinite nouns are slightly different than the other izafe endings we’ve learned.
Masculine Singular (Head Noun Only)
Form: noun + (y)ek + î + possessive pronoun/adjective/second noun
Example: kur + ek + î + min = a son of mine (or = one of my sons)
Note that the masculine singular indefinite izafe ending is î while the masculine singular definite izafe ending is ê.
Masculine Singular Indefinite Examples (Head Noun Only)
| a tall mountain | çiyayekî bilind |
| a friend (m) of mine (one of my friends) | hevalekî min |
| a good person | mirovekî baş |
| a little boy | lawekî biçûk |
| a teacher (m) of theirs | mamosteyekî wan |
| a nice voice | dengekî xweş |
| a difficult language | zimanekî zehmet |
| a house of his (one of his houses) | xaniyekî wî |
| an old picture | wêneyekî kevn |
| a large village | gundekî mezin |
| a brother of ours (one of our brothers) | birayekî me |
| a closed door | deriyekî girtî |
Feminine Singular (Head Noun Only)
Form: noun + (y)ek + e + possessive pronoun/adjective/second noun
Example: keç + ek + e + min = a daughter of mine (or = one of my daughters)
Note that the feminine singular indefinite izafe ending is e while the feminine singular definite izafe ending is a.
Feminine Singular Indefinite Examples (Head Noun Only)
| a question of mine | pirseke min |
| a good friend (f) | hevaleke baş |
| a long book | pirtûkeke dirêj |
| a sister of hers | xwişkeke wê |
| a cold winter | zivistaneke sar |
| a neighbor (f) of ours | cîraneke me |
| a big airplane | balafireke mezin |
| one of your (s) letters | nameyeke te |
| a sad child (f) | zarokeke xemgîn |
| one of your (pl) lessons | waneyeke we |
| a black shoe | soleke reş |
| an inexpensive notebook | lênûskeke erzan |
Plural Indefinite (Head Noun Only)
As we noted in Lesson 6, there are two ways to make plural nouns indefinite. The first, and probably more common, is to use the word hin (some) before the noun. The second option is to add the suffix “ine” to the end of the noun. These two options exist for the indefinite plural izafe as well, but note that the izafe endings are different for each option.
Option 1: hin
Form: hin + noun + ên + possessive pronoun/adjective/second noun
Example: hin + heval + ên + min = some friends of mine (some of my friends)
Plural Indefinite Examples (Head Noun Only) – Option 1 (hin)
| some of my friends | hin hevalên min |
| some of her books | hin pirtûkên wê |
| some lazy students | hin xwendekarên teral |
| some small villages | hin gundên biçûk |
| some large cities | hin bajarên mezin |
| some black cars | hin erebeyên reş |
| some important questions | hin pirsên girîng |
| some easy answers | hin bersivên hêsan |
| some good schools | hin dibistanên baş |
| some interesting newspapers | hin rojnameyên balkêş |
Option 2: (y)-ine
Form: noun + (y)in + e + possessive pronoun/adjective/second noun
Example: heval + ine + min = some friends of mine (some of my friends)
Plural Indefinite Examples (Head Noun Only) – Option 2 (-ine)
| some of my friends | hevaline min |
| some of her books | pirtûkine wê |
| some lazy students | xwendekarine teral |
| some small villages | gundine biçûk |
| some large cities | bajarine mezin |
| some black cars | erebeyine reş |
| some important questions | pirsine girîng |
| some easy answers | bersivine hêsan |
| some good schools | dibistanine baş |
| some interesting newspapers | rojnameyine balkêş |
When an indefinite noun is used to modify another noun, the izafe endings become a little more complicated. We’ll introduce them step by step here. If you take it slow and learn them one at a time it will be much easier to minimize confusion. The head noun takes the appropriate ending depending on its gender, number and whether it is definite or indefinite.
Masculine Indefinite Noun Modifier
The indefinite masculine noun modifier is simply –ek. (Remember, as we saw in Lesson 10, masculine nouns do not take the î ending unless it is modified by an adjective, pronouns, or another noun). In the example here, the masculine noun is not being modified, but is modifying another noun.
Examples
| the book of a (male) friend | pirtûka hevalek |
| the streets of a city | kuçeyên bajarek |
| the name of a mountain | navê çiyayek |
| a boy’s ball | goga lawek |
| a man’s voice | dengê zilamek |
Of course, the head noun can also be indefinite:
| a book of a (male) friend | pirtûkeke hevalek |
| a street of a city | kuçeyeke bajarek |
| a name of a mountain | navekî çiyayek |
| a ball of a boy | gogeke lawek |
| a voice of a man | dengekî zilamek |
Feminine Indefinite Noun Modifier
The feminine indefinite noun modifier ending is –ekê. Notice that this is simply the standard indefinite ending (ek) plus the standard feminine noun modifier ending (ê).
Examples
| the book of a (female) friend | pirtûka hevalekê |
| a family’s children | zarokên malbatekê |
| the name of a street | navê kuçeyekê |
| a girl’s ball | goga keçekê |
| a woman’s voice | dengê jinekê |
And if we make the head noun indefinite also, we have to be particularly careful when both nouns are feminine. In those cases (where both nouns are feminine and indefinite), the final letter in the head noun is e, but the final letter in the noun modifier is ê.
| a book of a (female) friend | pirtûkeke hevalekê |
| a (female) child of a family | zarokeke malbatekê |
| a name of a street | navekî kuçeyekê |
| a ball of a girl | gogeke keçekê |
| a voice of a woman | dengêkî jinekê |
Plural Indefinite Noun Modifier
Again, it seems that the most commonly used way of making plural nouns indefinite is to use hin. We will use this method here. Remember that –an must be added to the end of the noun to make it plural.
Examples
| the book of some friends | pirtûka hin hevalan |
| the children of some families | zarokên hin malbatan |
| the names of some streets | navên hin kuçeyan |
| the color of some books | rengê hin pirtûkan |
| some women’s voices | dengên hin jinan |
If the izafe construction does not end with the second noun but has another word (for example, another noun, adjective, or pronoun) modifying the second noun, the ending for the second indefinite noun changes.
Head Noun + Masculine Indefinite Noun Modifier + Modifier
If the noun modifier (in this case, the second noun) is masculine indefinite, it takes the î ending in addition to the –ek. For example,
| the book of a (male) friend of mine | pirtûka hevalekî min |
| the streets of a large city | kuçeyên bajarekî mezin |
| the name of a tall mountain | navê çiyayekî bilind |
| a ball of a young boy | gogeke lawekî ciwan |
| a voice of an old man | dengêkî zilamekî kal |
As we saw in Lesson 9, the placement of the adjective can change things significantly in izafe constructions. Examine these carefully:
| the streets of a large city | kuçeyên bajarekî mezin |
| the large streets of a city | kuçeyên mezin ên bajarek |
| the book of an old friend (masc) | pirtûka hevalekî kevn |
| the old book of a friend (masc) | pirtûka kevn a hevalek |
Head Noun + Feminine Indefinite Noun Modifier + Modifier
| the book of a (female) friend of mine | pirtûka hevaleke min |
| a rich family’s children | zarokên malbateke dewlemend |
| the name of a long street | navê kuçeyeke dirêj |
| a young girl’s hair | porê keçeke ciwan |
| an old woman’s voice | dengê jineke pîr |
Head Noun + Plural Indefinite Noun Modifier + Modifier
| the books of some of my friends | pirtûkên hin hevalên min |
| the children of some rich families | zarokên hin malbatên dewlemend |
| the names of some long streets | navên hin kuçeyên dirêj |
| the color of some old books | rengê hin pirtûkên kevn |
| some old women’s voices | dengên hin jinên pîr |
Izafe Chains with Indefinite Nouns
We have now covered all the izafe forms. You have probably figured out by now that izafe chains can theoretically become quite long, with lots of options (gender, number, definite, indefinite, and adjectives). In practice, however, izafe chains don’t tend to become excessively long, especially in speech. Below are some further examples with possible combinations of forms we’ve learned. Study the examples closely.
| a good friend (masc) of mine | hevalekî min ê baş |
| a good friend (fem) of mine | hevaleke min a baş |
| a good friend (masc) of that poor family | hevalekî baş ê wê malbata xizan |
| one of my old books | pirtûkeke min a kevn |
| a lazy student (masc) of hers | xwendekarekî wê yê teral |
| her intelligent students | xwendekarên wê yên jîr |
| a book of her old friend (fem) | pirtûkeke hevala wê ya kevn |
| an old book of her friend (fem) | pirtûkeke kevn a hevala wê |
| a rich family of a small village | malbateke dewlemend a gundekî biçûk |
| some intelligent students of that school | hin xwendekarên jîr ên wê dibistanê |
| a long street of a large city | kuçeyeke dirêj a bajarekî mezin |
| a nice car of a rich man | erebeyeke xweş a zilamekî dewlemend |
| some streets of some cities | hin kuçeyên hin bajaran |
| some streets of that city | hin kuçeyên wî bajarî |
| a door of an old school | deriyekî dibistaneke kevn |
| an old door of a school | deriyekî kevn ê dibistanekê |
Video 1
Video 2
Remember that these Quizlet sets allow for lots of study and test options. For an explanation of these options, see this page.
Remember that these Quizlet sets allow for lots of study and test options. For an explanation of these options, see this page.
Exercise 1
Exercise 2
Exercise 3