About - var - there is.. there are.. and yok - there isn't.. there aren't..

A sign in Kuşadası

A sign in Kuşadası - May 2006
This sign says it all..
Is there a room empty or not... we wonder..?

Present Tense Form

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.."
- Basically - var - means - Is existent... It exists... There is... There are....
Tepede 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...
Bahçede kızlar yok. - There are no girls in the garden.
Garajda hiç araba yok. - There is/are not any car(s) in the garage at all.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yok. - There is/are no match(es) 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.

Present 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...?
Tepede bir lokanta var mı? - Is there a cafe on the hill?
Ağaçta meyve var mı? - Is there any fruit on the tree?
yok mu? - means - Doesn't it exist...? Isn't there?... Aren't there...?
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?
- In all cases the Question Particle is written separately.

Definite Past 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..
Tepede 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
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.

Past Tense Question

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...?
Tepede 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...?
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 - 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 translated into English - Care! Dog there is..! - thus conserving the natural Turkish word order.

More forms of -"there is.. there are.." - 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

vardır - definitely.. surely..
The formal forrm acts a statement of fact and is suffixed with the verb -  to be" -dir
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.

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..

Formal Public Form

vardır - definitely.., surely..
vardır - means - Is (definitely) existent... It (definitely) exists... There (definitely) is... There (definitely) are...
Tepede bir lokanta vardır. - There is a cafe on the hill - [definitely]
Bir kiloda bin gram vardır. - There are 1000 grams in a 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...
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

The Conditional - "If there is.., If there are..." - 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
Tepede bir lokanta varsa, orada yiyelim - If there is a cafe on the hill, let us eat there.
Ağaçta meyve varsa, onu koparırım. - If there is any fruit on the tree, I will pick it.
Garajda hiç araba yoksa, o zaman bir taksi tutun. - [taxi tutmak -  to take/catch a taxi..]  - If there isn't a car in the garage, then catch/take a taxi.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoksa, çakmağını kullan. - [familiar method] - If there are no matches in the green box, use your lighter.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoksa, çakmağınızı kullanın. - [polite method] - If there are no matches in the green box, use your lighter.

Past Conditional
The Conditional Past - "If there was.., If there were..." - the forms with "var" and "yok" are not widely used. The forms with the verb - olmak - to be/to become - and - olmamak - not to be/not to become - may be used instead.
olsaydı - If there was.. If there were..
olmasaydı - If there was not.. If there were not..
Tepede bir lokanta olsaydı, orada yerdik - If there had been a cafe on the hill, we would have eaten there.
Tepede bir lokanta olmuş olsaydı, orada yerdik - If there had been a cafe on the hill, we would have eaten there. - [the addition of - olmuş - been - makes this statement a little more formal]
Ağaçta meyve olsaydı, onu koparırdım. - If there had been any fruit on the tree, I would have picked it.
Garajda hiç araba olmasaydı, taksi tutacaktım. - If there had not been a car in the garage, I would have taken a taxi.
Garajda hiç araba olmamış olmasaydı, taksi tutacaktım. - If there had not been a car in the garage, I would have taken a taxi. - [the addition of - olmamış - not been - makes this statement a little more formal]
Yeşil kutuda hiç kibrit olmasaydı, çakmağımı kullanırdım.. - If there weren't any matches in the green box, I would have used my lighter.
Yeşil kutuda hiç kibrit olmamış olmasaydı, çakmağımı kullanırdım.. - If there weren't any matches in the green box, I would have used my lighter. - [the addition of - olmamış - not been - makes this statement a little more formal]

The Inferential Form

The Inferential - "It seems that there is/was.." - 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..
Deniyor ki - ["Diyorlar ki.." - more formal] - tepede bir lokanta varmış, [eğer] öyleyse orada 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 think that) there is not a car in the garage.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yokmuş, mavi olanına [olan-ı-n-a] bakin. - (I think that) there are no matches in the green box. have a look in the blue one.

An explanation of - olan - the which one

olanı - One [the one that..] - [lit: that which is..] as an item
olanları - Ones [the ones that..] - [lit: those which are..] as items
Hangi tişörtü istiyorsunuz? - Which tee-shirt do you want?
Mavi olanı(nı) lütfen - The blue one, please
Hangi ayakkabıları istiyorsunuz? - Which shoes do you want?
Siyah olanları(nı) lütfen. - The black ones, please.
Note that (-ni) as an accusative direct object ending is grammatically correct in the answers as the the verb - istemek - to want - is understood. But as with all languages sometimes the easy way is used and the direct object suffix is discarded though constant daily conversational usage.

See - olan as subject participle

Forms with - "iken - while.."

varken - While there is.., As there is.., yokken - While there isn't .., As there isn't..
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....
Tepede bir lokanta varken, baskasını açmıyorlar - While there is a cafe on the hill, they will not open another one..
Ağaçta çok meyve varken, onu koparalım - While there is a lot fruit on the tree , let us pick it.
Hazir garajda araba yokken, (haydi) içine - or - [oraya] - bisikeltimizi bırakalım/koyalım. - 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 and Yok..
(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.
(2) If a question is asked that contains a var mı? or a yok mu? - the the answer must always be var.. or yok.., whereas in English we tend to use - Yes.. or No.. as an answer, but the Turk will never use the words hayır 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? Answer: var.. or yok accordingly.
Kilitte anahtar var mı? - Is the key in the lock?. Answer: var.. or yok accordingly.
The English answers 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/haven't got"

Explanation of Usage: There is no verb to have.. or to have got.. in Turkish for - "to have something" - 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..

Positive Questions

Using .. var mı? - "Is there..? Are there...?"
(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? - "Isn't there..? Aren't there..?"
(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 olsaydı, beraber/birlikte kasabaya gidebilecektik? - 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/zamanları olsaydı, bize gelirdiler/gelirlerdi. - If they had had time, they would have come to us.
Note: vakit - "a point in time" - loses final vowel when suffixed with another vowel.
See list of nouns 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 yokmuş - (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 alırım. Ama o kadar yokmuş gibi geliyor..- If I have enough money, I'll buy a new car. But it seems that (like) I have not got that much (money)

var and yok - Peronalised

Var and yok can also take the personal endings endings of the verb - to be - "I am, you are..etc"

Idiomatic Use

Neyimiz var neyimiz yok depremde kaybettik. - We lost everything what we had/have in the earthquake.
Could also be stated thus:
Varımızı yoğumuzu depremde kaybettik. - We lost everything what we had/have in the earthquake.
- Note that yok softens its final -k to -ğ when adding a suffix which begins with a vowel - [yoğ-umuz-u = our nothings (obj.)]

Vaktın varsa, sonra görüşelim - Let us meet later on, if you have time.
Saat onda ofiste yokmuşsun - It seems you were not at the office at 10 o'clock.

Finally.. The "Yok Yok" Shop

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