Başrol oyuncusunun sahne korkusu var.

to have

Breakdown of Başrol oyuncusunun sahne korkusu var.

• oyuncu: the actor
• sahne korkusu: stage fright
• başrol: the leading role

Questions & Answers about Başrol oyuncusunun sahne korkusu var.

Why does Turkish use var here instead of a verb meaning have?

Turkish usually does not use a separate verb like English have for basic possession.

Instead, it uses a structure like:

X-in Y-si var = literally Y of X exists = X has Y

So:

Başrol oyuncusunun sahne korkusu var.

literally works like:

The lead actor's stage fright exists
which English naturally expresses as
The lead actor has stage fright.

The negative version uses yok:

Başrol oyuncusunun sahne korkusu yok.
= The lead actor does not have stage fright.

How do I break down başrol oyuncusunun?

It breaks down like this:

• başrol = lead role / main role
• oyuncu = actor, performer
• oyuncusu = lead-role actor / actor of the lead role
• oyuncusunun = of the lead actor

That last -nun is the genitive ending, meaning something like of.

So başrol oyuncusunun is the possessor part of the sentence: of the lead actor / the lead actor's.

Why is there a -su on oyuncu in başrol oyuncusu?