Turkish Grammar › Sentence Structure
Var / Yok Cümleleri
Existential Sentences
Level A1Sentence Structure
We use «var» and «yok» to say whether something is present in a place or not.
In Turkish the word «var» is used to say that something is present and «yok» to say that it is not. These sentences do not report an action; they report whether something exists. The predicate is the word «var» or «yok» itself, and it stands at the end of the sentence: Masada kitap var. (There is a book on the table.) Bahçede çocuk yok. (There are no children in the garden.)
To say where something is, the word naming the place takes the locative ending «-DA» and usually stands at the beginning of the sentence. The order is: place + thing + var/yok. For example: Sınıfta öğretmen var. Çantamda para yok. Evde kimse yok. The locative ending changes with sound harmony; after a word ending in a voiceless consonant it becomes «-ta / -te»: dolapta, sepette.
Naming a place is not obligatory. When we only say whether something exists, no place is used: Zamanım yok. (I have no time.) Bir sorum var. (I have a question.) Bugün ders yok. (There is no lesson today.)
In questions, the particle «mı» comes after «var» or «yok» and is written separately: Masada kitap var mı? Sınıfta öğrenci yok mu? In short answers, «Var.» or «Yok.» on its own is enough: — Kaleminiz var mı? — Var.
To express possession, this structure is used together with the possessive ending. The possessor takes the genitive ending and the thing possessed takes the possessive ending: Benim bir kardeşim var. Onun arabası yok. Ali’nin iki çocuğu var. Instead of a separate verb meaning «to have», Turkish mostly uses this structure.
The negative of «var» and «yok» is not «değil». «Değil» is used in nominal sentences (Bu kitap yeni değil. — This book is not new.), whereas to say that something is not present, «yok» is used (Masada kitap yok.). It is a commonly confused distinction.
When speaking about the past, the forms «vardı» and «yoktu» are used: Dün derste çok öğrenci vardı. Geçen hafta hiç zamanım yoktu.
Examples
- Masada iki kitap var.There are two books on the table.
- Buzdolabında hiç süt yok.There is no milk in the fridge.
- Sınıfta kaç öğrenci var?How many students are there in the classroom?
- Benim bir ablam var.I have an elder sister.
- Bugün hiç zamanım yok.I have no time at all today.