Learn Hardcore Turkish: Bodrum katında eski tuğlalar ve kırık kütükler var. - In the basement, there are old bricks and broken logs.

Bodrum here is a common noun meaning “basement,” and kat means “floor” or “level.” The suffix -ında is the locative case, so Bodrum katında literally means “in the basement floor” (i.e. “in the basement”).

Why is the suffix -ında attached to kat rather than to Bodrum?

In Turkish multi-word noun phrases, case endings go on the head noun (the main noun), which is kat in bodrum kat. You do not split the locative between both words; you simply write kat + ında.

How do we get katında (with -ında) instead of just katda?

Turkish avoids awkward consonant clusters like /t-d/. So when you add the locative -da to kat, you insert a buffer vowel -ı (and apply vowel harmony):
• kat + ı + da → katında

How is tuğlalar pronounced, and what role does ğ play?

The letter ğ (“yumuşak ge”) doesn’t sound like a distinct consonant. Instead it lengthens the preceding vowel.
• tuğla is pronounced roughly [too-lah], with the u held a bit longer.
• Plural tuğla-lar is [too-laa-lar].

Why is tuğla pluralized as tuğlalar?

To show there are multiple bricks. Turkish uses the plural suffix -lar or -ler according to vowel harmony. Since tuğla has back vowels, we add -lar → tuğlalar.

Why do the adjectives eski and kırık come before their nouns?

In Turkish syntax, adjectives precede the nouns they modify. So you say eski tuğlalar (“old bricks”) and kırık kütükler (“broken logs”), never the other way around.

What does kütük mean, and why is it pluralized to kütükler?

kütük means “a log” (of wood). To indicate more than one log, you add the plural suffix -ler (because kütük has front vowels), giving kütükler.

What is the form and function of kırık in this sentence?

kırık is a past‐participle adjective meaning “broken.” It directly modifies kütükler without any extra linking suffix: kırık kütükler = “broken logs.”

What role does ve play here?

ve is the simple conjunction “and”, linking the two items eski tuğlalar and kırık kütükler.

What does var mean, and why is it placed at the end of the sentence?

var is the existential verb “there is/are.” In Turkish, the structure is:
Location (Bodrum katında) + Items (eski tuğlalar ve kırık kütükler) + var.

How do you turn this into a question: “Are there old bricks and broken logs in the basement?”

Add the question particle mı after var and raise your intonation:
Bodrum katında eski tuğlalar ve kırık kütükler var mı?

Why is bodrum written with a lowercase b, unlike the city name Bodrum?

Here bodrum is a common noun (“basement”), not the proper noun for the Turkish coastal city. Only proper nouns are capitalized in Turkish.