Turkish var there is/are and yok there isn’t/aren’t

Turkish var there is/are and yok there isn’t/aren’t

A hotel in Kuşadası at the far end of Ladies’ Beach	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?

Here is a sign along the old Lycian Road near Kaş in the South Aegean.	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.

Traffic Propaganda in Manisa, Turkey	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.

Turkish Present Conditional Personalised – varsa, yoksa

Varsa and Yoksa		If I’m there, If I’m not there
varsam	If I am there, I’ll be there	yoksam	I am not there, If I’ll not be there
varsan	If you are there, If you’ll be there	yoksan	If you are not there, If you will not be there
varsa	If he is there am there, If he’ll be be there	yoksa	If he is not there, If he will not be there
varsak	If we are there, If we’ll be there	yoksak	If we are not there, If we will not be there
varsanız	If you are there, If you’ll be there	yoksanız	If you are not there, If you will not be there
varsalar	If they are there, If they will be there	yoksalar	If they are not there, If they will not be there

Turkish Past Conditional Personalised: olsaydı, olmasaydı

Turkish past conditions with var and yok are replaced by the verb olmakto be/become

olsaydım	If I’d been there	olmasaydım	If I’d not been there
olsaydın	If you had been there	olmasaydın	If you not been there
olsaydı	If he had been there	olmasaydı	If he had not been there
olsaydık	If we had been there	olmasaydık	If we had not been there
olsaydınız	If you had been there	olmasaydınız	If you had not been there
olsaydılar	If they had been there	olmasaydılar	If they had not been there

Turkish Inferential (indefinite) Personalised miş forms – varmış, yokmuş

Varmış and Yokmuş		the Indefinite miş form.
varmışım	possibly I am/was there I’ll be there	yokmuşum	possibly I am / was not there, I’ll not be there
varmışsın	possibly you are / were there, you’ll be there	yokmuşsun	possibly you are were not there, you’ll not be there
varmış	possibly he is / was there, he’ll be there	yokmuş	possibly he is was not there, he’ll not be there
varmışız	possibly we are / were there, we’ll be there	yokmuşuz	possibly we are / were not there. we’ll not be there
varmışsınız	possibly you are / were not there, you’ll not be there	yokmuşsunuz	possibly you are / were not there, you’ll not be there
varmışlar	possibly they are / were there, they’ll be there	yokmuşlar	possibly they are / were not there,they’ll not be there

This form is in constant use:

I am there, I was there, I’ll be there, I’ll not be there, etc.

Var and Yok examples Personalised

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.

Turkish Idiomtic Use of var & yok

When talking about interference into an issue:

varım varsın var varız varlar →
“I’m in” “We’re up for it!” etc.

yokum, yoksın, yok, yokuz yokları →

“I’m out (of it)!” “They are not up yo it!”

Question:
Bugün balık avı var mısın?
Are you in for (going) fishıng today?

Answers:
Evet, ben varım.
Yes, I am!

Hayır, ben yokum.No, I am not!

The Turkish TV show where the contestant has to decide between a cash offer or to "Open the Box"It is called “Var mısın? Yok musun?”Are you In or Out!

Turkish Idomatic Var Yok examples.

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.

[yoğ-umuz-u softens -k to -ğ when suffixed]

Vaktin varsa, sonra görüşelim.
If you have time, let’s meet later on

Saat onda ofiste yokmuşsun.
It seems you were not at the office at 10 o’clock.

Finally, the Yok Yok Shop

What’s in a name?	Does this shop really belie its name? The shop with no stock? You would be wrong in that assumption!

The yok yok “nothing doesn’t exist!”
Consequently “everything exists!”

Bugün pazara gittim, pazarda yok yoktu.
I went to market today, there wasn’t anything NOT available.

Turkish var there is/are and yok there isn’t/aren’t