Word
Kütüphanede binlerce kitap var.
Meaning
There are thousands of books in the library.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Kütüphanede binlerce kitap var.
olmak
to be
kitap
the book
kütüphane
the library
-de
in
binlerce
thousands
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Questions & Answers about Kütüphanede binlerce kitap var.
What does the suffix -de in Kütüphanede indicate?
The -de suffix here is the locative case, meaning “in” or “at.” So kütüphane (library) + -de = “in the library.”
Why is var used at the end of the sentence?
Var is the existential verb meaning “there is/are.” In Turkish, to express existence you use var (affirmative) or yok (negative) instead of a verb like “to be.” So …kitap var = “there are books.”
Why do we say binlerce kitap instead of kitaplar (books)?
Kitaplar is simply the plural of “book” (books). Binlerce means “thousands of” and already implies plurality, so you don’t pluralize kitap again. Hence binlerce kitap = “thousands of books.”
What is the function of -ler in binlerce?
The -ler in binlerce isn’t the regular plural suffix. It’s part of a numeral formation meaning “so many” or “thousands.” Numerals like iki (two), on (ten), yüz (hundred) become ikilerce, onlarca, yüzlerce to mean approximate quantities (“dozens,” “hundreds,” “thousands”).
Is there an article (a/an/the) in Turkish before binlerce kitap?
No. Turkish does not use articles like “a” or “the.” Definiteness is often inferred from context. Here binlerce kitap simply means “thousands of books” without any article.
Why is the word order Kütüphanede binlerce kitap var and not Binlerce kitap kütüphanede var?
Turkish is relatively flexible, but the typical order is Locative → Quantity/Object → var. You could say Binlerce kitap kütüphanede var, but placing the location first (Kütüphanede) is more neutral and common.
How would you make this sentence negative?
Replace var with yok (the negative existential verb). So: Kütüphanede binlerce kitap yok. = “There aren’t thousands of books in the library.”
How do you form a question from this sentence?
Add the question particle mı/mu/mü/... after var and adjust for vowel harmony. Since var ends in a consonant, you attach mı:
“Kütüphanede binlerce kitap var mı?” = “Are there thousands of books in the library?”
If I want to specify an exact number, how would it look?
You just replace binlerce with the numeral + noun (no plural):
“Kütüphanede iki bin kitap var.” = “There are 2000 books in the library.”