Masada bir paket sigara var.

Masada comes from masa (table) + the locative suffix -da, which means in / on / at depending on context.

So:

• masa = table
• masa-da = on the table / at the table

With furniture and surfaces, Turkish often uses the locative where English uses on. So masada is the natural way to say on the table here.

Var is the Turkish word used to express there is / there are or exists.

So in this sentence:

• Masada = on the table
• bir paket sigara = a pack of cigarettes
• var = there is

Turkish often uses var for existence or presence, instead of a verb like English is in there is.

Compare:

• Evde kimse var. = There is someone at home.
• Sorun var. = There is a problem.

The opposite of var is yok:

• Masada bir paket sigara yok. = There is no pack of cigarettes on the table.

Because Turkish does not need one here. English uses a dummy subject in expressions like there is and there are, but Turkish simply uses:

• location + thing + var/yok

So instead of literally saying There is a pack of cigarettes on the table, Turkish says more like:

• On the table a pack of cigarettes exists.

That is completely normal Turkish structure.

This is a very common Turkish sentence pattern:

[Place] + [thing] + var/yok

So:

• Masada = place
• bir paket sigara = thing
• var = exists / there is

This order sounds very natural when introducing the existence of something somewhere.

Other orders are sometimes possible for emphasis, but Masada bir paket sigara var is the most neutral and natural version.

It can function as both.

Here, bir paket sigara most naturally means a pack of cigarettes, but literally bir is also one.

So:

• bir paket sigara = a pack of cigarettes / one pack of cigarettes

In many contexts, Turkish uses bir where English uses a/an.

These two expressions are related, but they are not exactly the same.

• bir paket sigara = a pack of cigarettes
• bir sigara paketi = a cigarette pack / cigarette packet

The first one focuses on the quantity/content: a pack containing cigarettes.
The second one is more like a noun phrase naming the object itself: a cigarette pack.

In everyday Turkish, bir paket sigara is the normal way to say a pack of cigarettes.

Because in Turkish, after measure or container words like paket, kilo, bardak, şişe, the following noun is often singular.

So Turkish says:

• bir paket sigara = a pack of cigarettes
• bir kilo elma = a kilo of apples
• bir bardak çay = a glass of tea

Even when English uses a plural noun, Turkish often keeps that noun in the singular after this kind of expression.

So bir paket sigara is correct and natural.

Usually, no—not in this sentence.

Bir paket sigara is the natural phrase for a pack of cigarettes. Without bir, it sounds incomplete or unnatural in ordinary speech.

So you should say:

• Masada bir paket sigara var.

not normally:

• Masada paket sigara var.

It can mean either, depending on context, because the Turkish locative -da/-de covers several English prepositions such as in, on, and at.

In this sentence, since the item is a physical object resting on a surface, masada is understood as:

• on the table

If you were talking about people sitting and eating, masada could be understood more like:

• at the table

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Because var already does the job needed in this kind of sentence.

English says:

• There is a pack of cigarettes on the table.

Turkish says:

• Masada bir paket sigara var.

Turkish does have ways to say is, but for existence or presence, var is the normal choice.

If you said a sentence with a regular noun or adjective predicate, Turkish might work differently:

• Masa büyük. = The table is big.

But for there is / there are, use var.

Replace var with yok:

• Masada bir paket sigara yok.

This means:

• There is no pack of cigarettes on the table.

This is the standard way to make existential sentences negative in Turkish.

You can add the question particle mı/mi/mu/mü, which changes according to vowel harmony.

Here it becomes:

• Masada bir paket sigara var mı?

This means:

• Is there a pack of cigarettes on the table?

So the pattern is:

• var = there is
• var mı? = is there?

Yes. It is short, grammatical, and completely natural.

It follows a very common Turkish pattern for stating that something exists somewhere:

[Location] + [indefinite noun phrase] + var

Examples:

• Çantada anahtar var. = There is a key in the bag.
• Bahçede bir kedi var. = There is a cat in the garden.
• Masada bir paket sigara var. = There is a pack of cigarettes on the table.

So this is exactly the kind of sentence a learner should get used to seeing and producing.