The Dative case (Yönelme Hali) primarily indicates motion or direction to a place, person, or thing. It can also mark the indirect object of a verb (to whom/for whom an action is done).

Suffixes:

The dative suffix follows A-Type vowel harmony:

• If the last vowel of the noun is a back vowel (a, ı, o, u), add -a.
• If the last vowel of the noun is a front vowel (e, i, ö, ü), add -e.

If the noun ends in a vowel, the buffer consonant 'y' is inserted before the suffix. Consonant softening (p→b, ç→c, t→d, k→ğ/g) can occur if the noun ends in one of these consonants and the suffix starts with a vowel.

Examples:

• Eve gidiyorum. (I am going to the house.) (ev + -e)
• Okula gidiyor. (He/She is going to school.) (okul + -a)
• Arkadaşıma bir hediye aldım. (I bought a gift for my friend.) (arkadaşım + -a)
• Kediye süt verdim. (I gave milk to the cat.) (kedi + -ye)
• Kitaba baktım. (I looked at the book.) (kitap + -a)
• Ağaca tırmandı. (He climbed to the tree / up the tree.) (ağaç + -a, ç softens to c before -a in ağaca)
• Yurda döndü. (He returned to the homeland.) (yurt + -a, t → d softening)

Common Verbs Taking Dative:

Bakmak (to look at), gitmek (to go to), gelmek (to come to), vermek (to give to), söylemek (to say to), inanmak (to believe in/to).