This sign says it all! Is there a room empty or not, we wonder?
Boş oda var.There are vacant rooms.
Boş oda yok.There are not vacant rooms.
Turkish Present Tense Form - var, yok
var and yok are used singular or plural: there is, there isn't or the plural there are, there aren't
var means "Is existent, It exists, There is, There are"
yok means Is non existent, It does not exist, There isn't, There aren't
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.
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.
"People are" and "Things is" in Turkish.
This is why the last two examples can be singular or plural in meaning.
Turkish Question- var mı? yok mu?
Formed by adding the Question Particle mi?/mu?
The Question Particle mi? mu? is written separately:
Var mı?Does it exist? Is there? Are there?
Yok mu?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?
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?
Turkish Definite Past Form - vardı, yoktu
The past tense suffix is -di - tu
var → vardı[var-dı] There was, There were
Similarly yok → yoktu[yok-tu] There was not, There were not
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.
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.
Turkish Past Definite Question - var mıydı? yok muydu?
The past question tag is miydi?/muydu?
The Past Question Tag is written separately.
Var mıydı? → Did it exist? Was there? Were there?
Yok muydu? → Didn't it exist? Wasn't there? Weren't 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?
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?
It clearly shows that var / yok always come at the end of sentences.
"Care! Dog there is!" mirrors the Turkish word order.
Turkish Formal Form of "Var" and "Yok"
vardırdefinitely, surely
yokturdefinitely not
The public form vardır / yoktur is a Statement of Fact
Suffixed with the verb to be-dir / -tur
it is used in Public Notices and Advices.
Unutma! Her trafik kuralının bir nedeni vardır. Don't forget, every traffic law has a reason! Showing vardır as definitely, surely.
Çirkin erkek yoktur sadece bakımsız erkek vardır. There are no ugly men, only there are neglected men. [definitely]
Bir kiloda bin gram vardır. There are 1000 grams in a Kilogram. [Statement of Fact]
Garajda hiç araba yoktur. There is (surely) not a (single) car in the garage. [Statement of Fact]
Yeşil kutuda hiç kibrit yoktur. There is not a (single) match in the green box. [Definite Statement]
Turkish Present Conditional Form varsa, yoksa
The Conditional Particle -sa is suffixed.
varsaIf there is, If there are.
yoksaIf there is not, If there are not.
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. If there isn't a car in the garage, then take a taxi
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoksa, çakmağını kullan. [familiar] If there are no matches in the green box, use your lighter.
Yeşil kutuda kibrit yoksa, çakmağınızı kullanın. [polite] If there are no matches in the green box, use your lighter.
Turkish Past Conditional Form varsaydı, yoksaydı
varsaydıIf there was
yoksaydıIf there was not
These forms are not widely used.
The verb olmakto be(come) olmamaknot to be(come) is used for the Past Conditional.
olsaydı. [ol-sa-ydı] If there was, If there were.
olmasaydı. [ol-ma-sa-ydı] 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. [olmuş = been]
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 olsaydı, taksi tutacaktım. If there had not been a car in the garage, I would have taken a taxi. [olmamış = not been]
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 olsaydı, çakmağımı kullanırdım. If there weren't any matches in the green box, I would have used my lighter
Kırmızıda geçmemiş olsaydım, kadın yaşayacaktı. Kırmızıda geçmiş olmasaydım, kadın yaşayacaktı. Kırmızıda geçmeseydim, kadın yaşayacaktı. Are all different ways of saying: If I hadn't passed on the red light, the lady would have still lived.
Turkish Inferential (Indefinite) Form varmış, yokmuş
The Inferential Suffix -miş -muş is used Present and the Past tenses:
varmışIt seems that there is / was
yokmuşIt seems that there isn't / wasn't
These are used when the speaker has no dırect eyewitness knowledge.
It is used for reporting and stories.
Turkish Inferential Questions with var and yok
var mıymiş?Is there? Are there? [do think that..?]
yok muymuş?Isn't there? aren't there? [at all...?]
The English words in (brackets) showing "doubt" are all understood by the -miş Inferentıal Suffıx
Deniyor ki tepede bir lokanta varmış, öyleyse orada yiyelim. It is said there is a cafe on the hill, if so let us eat there.
Mehmet dedi ki "Ağaçta çok meyve varmış." Mehmet said (that) "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 bakın. [mavi olan-ı-n-a = to the one which is blue] (I think that) there are no matches in the green box. Have a look in the blue one.
"bir varmış, bir yokmuş""Once upon a time"
Turkish varken, yokken suffixed with -kenwhile
var + ikenwhile ⇒ varkenwhile / as there is
yok + iken → yokkenwhile / as there isn't
Tepede bir lokanta varken, başkasını 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.
Hazır garajda araba yokken haydi oraya bisikletimizi bırakalım. As there is not a car in the garage then let us leaveour bicycles to there.
Bu kutuda kibrit yokken, ateşi yakamam. As there are no matches in this box, I cannot light the fire.
Turkish - Enumerating with var and yok
When enumerating lists of things var or yok must be used after each item.
The English greengrocer says We have apples, tomatoes, onions, cherries
The Türk manav wıll say elma var, domates var, soğan var, kiraz var
Turkish: Answering questions with Var and Yok.
For Questions containing var mı? or yok mu?
Answers must always contain var or yok
English uses Yes or No as an answer.
Turkish does use the single words hayırno or evetyes in answer to var mi? yok mu?
Question: Dolapta bir bardak yok mu?Isn't there a tumbler in the cupboard?
Answer: var / evet var or yok / hayır yok accordingly.
Question: Kilitte anahtar var mı?Is the key in the lock?
Answer: var or yok accordingly.
English answers can be: Yes [it is]. or No [it isn't].
Turkish answers must be: varthere is or yokthere isn't
Ownership in Turkish - "I have/haven't got"
There is no verb to have or to have got in Turkish.
To say: "to have something"
"I have a new car." "Have you got a new car?" "Do you have any anything cheaper?"
Turkish uses: var, vardır for "to have (got)"
yok, yoktur for "not to have (got)"
To say "I have (got) a cat."
The possessed item is suffixed with the Personal Pronoun adjectives:
-im -in-(s)i -imiz -iniz -lerimy, your, his, our their
kedim var [kedi + m var.] [Lit: There is a my cat] I have (got) a cat.
gözlüğünüz yok [gözlüğ + ünüz yok]
You haven't got any spectacles. [Lit: There isn't any your spectacles.] [Eng: "You don't wear glasses]
The Possessive Adjective suffixs -im -ünüz tells us "whose objects exist or not."
The Stand Personal Pronouns can be added for emphasis using the Ownership Condition:
Benim evim var. I have a house.
Senin ablan var. You have an elder sister.
Onun şapkası yokmuş. (It seems) He has not got a hat.
Bizim evimizin [ev-imiz-in] bahçesi yok. Our house has not got a garden.
Sizin büyük köpeğiniz vardı. You used to have a large dog.
AK Bankasiyla onların kredisi var. They have got credit the AK Bank.
Positive Ownership
var - "have (got)"
kedim var [kedi-m var]
I have (got) a cat.
köpeğin var [köpeğ-in var]
You have a dog.
arabası var [araba-s-ı var]
He / she has a car.
evimiz var [ev-imiz var]
We have a house.
bahçeniz var [bahçe-niz var]
You have a garden.
şişeleri var [şişe-leri var]
They have a bottle(s).
Negative Ownership
yok - "not have"
kedim yok [kedi-m yok]
I have not have a cat.
köpeğin yok [köpeğ-in yok]
You do not have a dog.
arabası yok [araba-s-ı yok]
He/she doesn't have a car.
evimiz yok [ev-imiz yok]
We do not have a house.
bahçeniz yok [bahçe-niz yok]
You have not got a garden.
şişeleri yok [şişe-leri var]
They do not have any bottle(s).
Turkish Ownership Questions: "Have you got a…?
The question tag -mi? -mu? is added.
var mı?"Is there? Are there?"
yok mu?"Isn't there?, Aren't there?"
Evin var mı? Have you got a house? [Lit: Is there a your house?]
Kedisi var mı? Has he/she got a cat?
Arabaları var mı? Have they got a car?
Kitabımız yok mu? Haven't we got a book?
Kız arkadaşın yok mu? Haven't you got a girlfriend?
Iyi bir sebebim yok mu? Haven't I got a good reason?
Examples of Possession in Turkish
The Conditional and Inferential senses of varsa, varmış, yoksa, yokmuş can be used with the Possessive Forms.
Yeni bir arabanız var mı? Have you got a new car?
Yeni bir arabamız olsaydı, beraber 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. If they had had time, they would have come to us.
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. If I have enough money, I'll buy a new car.
Ama o kadar yokmuş gibi geliyor. But it seems that (like) I have not got that much (money)
Var and Yok Personalised
The verb to be"I am, you are" are suffixed
varım
I am there , I'll be there
yokum
I am not there , I'll not be there
varsın
You are there , You will be there
yoksun
You are not there, You will not be there
o var
He / She / It is there, He will be there
o yok
He is not there, He will not be there
varız
We are there, We will be there
yokuz
We are not there, We will not be there
varsınız
You are there, You will be there
yoksunuz
You are not there, You will not be there
varlar
They are there, They will not be there
yoklar
They are not there, They will not be there
When stating the future olmakto become can also be used:
var olacağımI will be there.
The shorter way as in the table above is used in conversation.