In The Harem - a painting by Weiz

Saying "There is.." - the plural, the negative and the question forms. How Turkish says "I have got.." - Var and Yok..

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All About var - there is... there are...

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And yok - there isn't... there aren't...

Note that both - var and yok - are used for either the Singular - "there is.., there isn't...." or the Plural - "there are.., there aren't.."

The Present Tense Form

Basically - var - means - Is existent... It exists... There is... There are....
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta var. - There is a cafe on the hill.
Bu ağaçta çok meyve var. - There is a lot of fruit on this tree.

yok - means - Is non existent... It does not exist... There isn't... There aren't...
Examples:
Garajda hiç araba yok. - There is/are not any car(s) in the garage.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yok. - There is/are no matche(s) in the green box.

Note: Do not forget that "People are.." and "Things is.." in Turkish. This is why the last two examples can be singular or plural in meaning.

A sign in Kuşadası - May 2006

Is there a room empty or not... we wonder..?

The Present Tense Question Form

This is formed by adding the Question Particle - mi? - according to Vowel Harmony Rules
The Question Particle is written separately:
var mı? - means - Does it exist...? Is there...? Are there...?
yok mu? - means - Doesn't it exist...? Isn't there?... Aren't there...?

var mı? - means - Does it exist...? Is there...? Are there...?
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta var mı? - Is there is a cafe on the hill?
Ağaçta meyve var mı? - Is there is any fruit on the tree?
The Question Particle is written separately.

yok mu? - means - Doesn't it exist...? Isn't there?... Aren't there...?
Examples:
Garajda hiç araba yok mu? - Isn't there a/any car(s) in the garage?
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yok mu? - Are there not any matches in the green box?
The Question Particle is written separately.

The Past Tense Form

This form is also used for the Past by using the Past tense suffix -di according to Vowel Harmony and Consonant Mutation Rules

Thus - var - There is.., There are.. - becomes - vardı - There was.., There were..
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta vardı. - There was a cafe on the hill.
Bu ağaçta çok meyve vardı. - There was a lot of fruit on this tree.

Similarly - yok - There is not.., There are not.. - becomes - yoktu - There was not.., There were not
Examples:
Garajda hiç araba yoktu. - There wasn't a (single) car in the garage.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoktu. - There were no matches in the green box.

The Past Tense Question Form

This is formed by adding the Past Tense Question Particle - miydi? - according to Vowel Harmony Rules
The Past Tense Question Particle is written separately:
var mıydı? - means - Did it exist...? Was there...? Were there...?
yok muydu? - means - Didn't it exist...? Wasn't there?... Weren't there...?

var mıydı? - means - Did it exist...? Was there...? Were there...?
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta var mıydı? - Was there is a cafe on the hill?
Ağaçta meyve var mıydı? - Was there is any fruit on the tree?
The Past Tense Question Particle is written separately.

yok muydu? - means - Didn't it exist...? Wasn't there?... Weren't there...?
Examples:
Garajda hiç araba yok muydu?. - Wasn't there a car(s) in the garage?
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yok muydu? - Weren't there (any) matches in the green box?
The Past Tense Question Particle is written separately.

An Actual Example

Here is a sign along the old Lycian Road near Kaş in the South Aegean Region of Turkey. Many thanks to Jim Gronsand of Portland, Oregon, USA - JG - Mar 4 2007.

It clearly shows that Var (and Yok) always come at the end of the sentence in Turkish.
You can see that the writer of the sign has literally tranlsated into English - Care! Dog there is..! - thus conserving the natural Turkish word order.

More forms of - there is.. etc. - which are in daily use

Other than the basic forms of - there is.., there are.. - as shown above the following more extended forms are in constant use in daily Turkish conversation:

The Formal Form - a statement of fact..

vardır - definitely.. surely..

As already mentioned above - vardır - means - Is (definitely) existent... It (definitely) exists... There (definitely) is... There (definitely) are.... This form is used in Public Notices and Advices.

An Actual Example

Unutma! Her trafik kuralının bir nedeni vardır. Don't forget, every traffic law has a reason..!

Here is an actual example from a Traffic Propaganda Advertisement seen in Manisa, Turkey, May 2006

Unutma! Her trafik kuralının bir nedeni vardır.

Don't forget! Every traffic law has a reason..! - Thus showing - vardır as definitely.., surely..

The Formal Public Form

vardır - definitely.., surely..
vardır - means - Is (definitely) existent... It (definitely) exists... There (definitely) is... There (definitely) are...
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta vardır. - There is (definitely) a cafe on the hill
Bir kiloda yüz gram vardır. - There are 100 grams ina Kilogram. - Statement of Fact

yoktur - definitely not.., surely not..
yoktur - means - Is (definitely) non existent... It (definitely) does not exist... There (definitely) isn't... There (definitely) aren't...
Examples:
Garajda hiç araba yoktur. - There is (surely) not a (single) car in the garage.
- Statement of Fact
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoktur. - There is not a (single) match in the green box.
- Definite Statement

The Conditional Form - If there is.., If there are...

The Conditional is simply formed by adding the Conditional Suffix -sa as the following examples show:
varsa - If there is.. If there are..
yoksa - If there is not.. If there are not..

Present Tense Conditional

varsa - If there is.. If there are ..
yoksa - If there is .. If there was ..
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta varsa, oraya yiyelim - If there is a cafe on the hill, let us eat there.
Ağaçta meyve varsa, onu koparım. - If there is any fruit on the tree, I will pick it.
Garajda hiç araba yoksa, o zaman bir taksi alın. - If there isn't a car in the garage, then catch a taxi.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoksa, çakmağını kullanın. - If there are no matches in the green box, use your lighter.

The Past Tense - Conditional

varsaydı - If there was.. If there were..
yoksaydı - If there was not.. If there were not..
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta varsaydı, oraya yerdim - If there had been a cafe on the hill, we would have eaten there.
Ağaçta meyve varsaydı, onu kopardım. - If there had been any fruit on the tree, I would have picked it.
Garajda hiç araba yoksaydı, bir taksi alacaktım. - If there had not been a car in the garage, I would have taken a taxi.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoksaydı, çakmağımı kullanırdım.. - If there weren't any matches in the green box, I would have used my lighter.

The Inferential Form - It seems that there is.., It seems that there are...

The Inferential is used when the subject has no eyewitness knowledge, it is used for reporting and inference.
The Inferential is simply formed by adding the Inferential Suffix -miş as the following examples show.
The Inferential Suffix -miş is used for both the Present Tense and the Past tense:
varmış - It seems that there is/was.. It seems that there are/were..
yokmuş - It seems that there is/was not.. It seems that there are/were not..

The Inferential Tense

varmış - It seems that there is/was.. It seems that there are/were..
yokmuş - It seems that there is/was.. It seems that there are/were..
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta varmış,oysa oraya yiyelim - It is said there is a cafe on the hill, if so let us eat there.
Ağaçta çok meyve varmış.. - It seems there is a lot fruit on the tree.
Garajda araba yokmuş. - (I believe that) there is not a car in the garage.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yokmuş, mavi rengini bakin. - (I think that) there are no matches in the green box. have a look in the blue one.

The form with - iken - while..

While there is.., As there is..

This formation is var + iken (while..) producing varken and similarly yok + iken producing yokken
varken - While/As there is.., While/As there are....
yokken - While/As there is not.., While/As there are not....
Examples:
Tepe de bir lokanta varken, baskasını açmıyorlar - While there is a cafe on the hill, they will not open another one..
Ağaçta çok meyve varken, onu kopalım - While there is a lot fruit on the tree , let us pick it.
Garajda araba yokken, onun içinde bisikltimizi bırakalım. - As there is not a car in the garage, let us put our bicycles in it.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yokken, ateşi yakamam. - While there are no matches in the green box. I cannot light the fire.

A Little note about using Var & Yok..

Note (1): When enumerating lists of things you must say var or yok after each item.
In English the greengrocer may tell us that he has - apples, tomatoes, onions, cherries.. etc.
In Turkish he will say - elma var, dolmates var, soğan var, kiraz var..vs.

Note (2) :If a question is asked that contains a var mı? or a yok mu? - the the answer must always be var.. or yok.., wheras in English we tend to use - Yes.. or No.. as an answer, but the Turk will never use the words hayir or evet in answer to a question that contains a var or a yok.

Dolapta bir bardak yok mu? - Isn't there a tumbler in the cupboard?
Kilitte anahtar var mı? - Is the key in the lock?.
The English anwers can be - Yes [it is]. or No [it isn't].
However the Turkish answers must simply be - Var [there is..] or Yok [there isn't]

Ownership - "I have got.., I haven't got.."

Explanation of Usage

There is no verb have.. or have got.. in Turkish for - to have - as in - I have a new car. - or - Have you got a new car? - or - Do you have any anything cheaper?
All these kinds of sentences use - var - or - vardır - for - to have (got)... and in the negative sense - yok - or - yoktur - for - not to have (got)...

The addition of -dır or its vowel harmonic equivalents does not alter the meaning, its use is optional, but it does show that the statement is a fact and it is often used as - vardır - there (definitely) is.. or - yoktur - there (definitely) is not.. in Public Notices and Advices.
We will use the simple form as this is more widespread.

To say - I have a cat - or - I have got a cat - we attach the Possessive Adjective Suffix - my, your, his, our etc. - to the item which is possessed with - var - to have.. or yok - not to have..

Explanation of Difference in Turkish - English for - to have.., to have got...

kedim var - I have a cat, I have got a cat - Lit: There is a my cat
In the sentence above the first person singular Possessive Adjective suffix -im tells us - "whose cat it is.." - and in this case it tells us that - I have a cat.. - by using - var

kedin yok - You haven't got a cat - Lit: There isn't a your cat
Similarly in the second sentence the Second Person Possessive Adjective suffix -in tells us that - You haven't got a cat.. - by using yok

It is the Possessive Suffix which tells us "who owns" the object.

Asking Questions - Is there..? Aren't there...?

Positive Questions - using - .. var mı?

(1) Evin var mı? - Have you got a house? - Lit: Is there a your house?
In the first example above the literal translation is - Is there a your house? - but in English we must say - Have you got a house?.

(2) Kedisi var mı? - Has he/she got a cat? - Lit: Is there a his cat? Is there a her cat?
Here the Third Person Singular Possessive Adjective Suffix -(s)i tells us - "whose cat it is" - and in this case it asks us if - "Has he/she got a cat?"

(3) Evleri var mı? - [Ev-leri - their house] - Have they got a house? - Lit: Is there a their house?

Negative Questions - using - ..yok mu?

(1) Evimiz yok mu? - Haven't we got a house? - Lit: Isn't there an our house?
In the sentence above the First Person Plural Possessive Adjective suffix -imiz asks us - "whose house it is" - and in this case it asks - "Haven't we got a house?"

(2) Eviniz yok mu? - Haven't you got a house? - Lit: Isn't there a your house?
Similarly in the last sentence the Second Person Possessive Adjective suffix -iniz asks us - "Haven't you got a house?"

(3) Evleri yok mu? - [Ev-leri - their house] - Haven't they got a house? - Lit: Isn't there a their house?

Finally you can see that we have turned all the above sentences into question form - simply by adding the question tag -mi? - according to Vowel Harmony Rules.

Some Examples of Possession

Of course all the differing senses of var: varsa, varmış etc. and of yok: yoksa, yokmuş, etc. - can be used with the Possessive Forms.

Yeni bir arabanız var mı? - Have you got a new car?
Yeni bir arabamız varsaydi, beraber kasabaya gidecektik? - If we had a new car, we could have gone to town together?
Orhan'ın yeni arabası varmış. - (It seems that)Orhan has/had a new car.

Şekeriniz var mı, lütfen? - Do you have any sugar, please?
Şekeriniz yoksa, sade içeyim. - If you do not have sugar, I'll drink it without.

Boş vaktimiz var mı? - Have we got time to spare?
Boş vakitleri varsaydı, bize gelirdilar. - If they had had tme, they would have come to us.
Note: vakit - "a point in time" - loses final vowel when suffixed with another vowel.

See list of nouns See Noun List which lose a vowel.

Cevabı yok - He/She hasn't got the answer
Cevabı yoksa.. - If He/She hasn't got the answer..

Elmaları yok - They haven't got any apples.
Elmaları yokmüş - (It seems that) they haven't got any apples.
Elmaları yok mu? - Haven't they got any apples?

Mehmet'in kedisi var - Mehmet has got a cat.
Mehmet'in kedisi varken, köpeğimi onunla bırakamam. - While Mehmet has got a cat, I cannot leave my dog with him.

Sadece az param var - I've only a little money.
Ali 'nin parası var mı? - Has Ali got any money?
Yeterli param varsa, yeni araba alayım. Fakat benim o kadar yokmuş.. - If I have enough money, I'll buy a new car. But it seems that I have not got that much (money)

Finally - a "personal" note on Var & Yok..

Var and yok can also take the personal endings endings of the verb - to be - [I am, you are..etc]
varım, varsın, var, varımız, varsınız, varlar - and - yokum, yoksun, yok, yokumuz, yoksunuz, yoklar

This form actually means something like - I am there.., I'll be there.. - some examples will show the use of these forms which are in constant use:

Yarın ofiste yokum - I will not be at the office tomorrow.
Evde var mısın? - Are you at home?
Kimse var mı? - Is anybody there?
Kimse yok. - There is nobody (here).
Yalnız mıyız? - Are we alone?, Hayır. Onlar da var. - No, there's them as well..
Gelecek toplantıda ben de varım. - I'll be at the next meeting as well.

And Finally..

Picture thanks to komikaze.net

What's in name..? - This shop really does belie its name - the shop with no stock..

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