You will say what is in a place and what is not, and ask about it, without any verb.

The idea

Var means "there is" and yok means "there is not". Here they are not verbs and take no ending: put the place in the locative, then the thing, then the word: Evde süt var, Evde süt yok. For a question add the separate word mı/mi/mu/mü: Evde süt var mı?

Patterns to compare
PositiveNegativeQuestionNegative question
Evde süt var.Evde süt yok.Evde süt var mı?Evde süt yok mu?
Parkta çocuk var.Parkta çocuk yok.Parkta çocuk var mı?Parkta çocuk yok mu?
Sınıfta öğrenci var.Sınıfta öğrenci yok.Sınıfta öğrenci var mı?Sınıfta öğrenci yok mu?

Examples

  • Evde süt var.There is milk at home.
  • Çantada kalem yok.There is no pen in the bag.Yok is the negative of var; the sentence is not built with değil.
  • Parkta çok çocuk var.There are many children in the park.After çok (many) the noun stays singular, and var is the same for one thing or many.
  • Burada su var mı?Is there water here?
  • Odada bir masa ve iki sandalye var.There is a table and two chairs in the room.One var closes the whole list, and the noun after iki (two) stays singular: iki sandalye.
  • Evde ekmek var, ama süt yok.There is bread at home, but there is no milk.
  • Burada kimse yok.Nobody is here.Yok already says "none", so kimse yok needs no second negative word.
  • Bahçede kaç ağaç var?How many trees are in the garden?

Read-aloud uses a synthetic Turkish voice available on your device. Voice quality and availability vary; it does not assess your pronunciation.

Watch out

Do not negate var with değil: Evde süt var değil is wrong. The negative of var is its own word, yok: Evde süt yok. Değil denies that something is a certain thing, not that it exists.

Try it yourself

  1. Add the locative to park: There are many children in the park.

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    parkta

    parkta: k is voiceless and the last vowel is a, so the ending is -ta; the place must carry the locative before var can say what is there.

  2. Write var or yok: There is a pen in the bag.

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    var

    var: the pen is in the bag, so the sentence is positive and needs var.

  3. Write the word for "there is no": There is no bread at home. Do not use değil.

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    yok

    yok: the bread is missing; değil denies what something is, so it does not fit here.

  4. Write both words of the question: Is there a table in the room?

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    var mı

    var mı: the question word is written apart and follows the last vowel, a gives ı.

Use it today

Look around your room and write four sentences: two with var, two with yok. Then turn one into a question with mı or mu.