Depoda taze meyve var.

There is fresh fruit in the warehouse.

Breakdown of Depoda taze meyve var.

• olmak: to be
• taze: fresh
• meyve: the fruit
• -da: in
• depo: the warehouse

Questions & Answers about Depoda taze meyve var.

Why doesn’t the sentence use a verb like is or are, and what does var mean?

In Turkish, existential statements don’t use olmak (“to be”) the way English does. Instead they use the special verb var, which literally means “to exist.” You always put var at the end of the clause, so Depoda taze meyve var = “In the warehouse fresh fruit exists” (i.e. “There is fresh fruit in the warehouse”).

What does the locative suffix -da do in Depoda, and why is it -da (not -de or -ta/-te)?

The suffix -DA marks the locative case (“in/at”). Its exact form follows two phonological rules: 1) Vowel harmony – use a after back vowels (a, ı, o, u) and e after front vowels (e, i, ö, ü).
2) Consonant voicing – use d after voiced sounds (including vowels) and t after voiceless consonants (p, t, k, ç, f, h, s, ş).
Since depo ends in a vowel (voiced) and has a back vowel (o), we add -da: depo + da → depoda.

Why is meyve singular here, and why isn’t there a plural suffix -ler?

Turkish often keeps nouns in the singular when talking about a general category or an unspecified quantity, especially with uncountable or collective items. meyve can mean “fruit” as a whole. If you want to refer to individual fruits, you add the plural -ler: taze meyveler = “fresh fruits.”

Why are there no articles (a / the) before taze meyve?

Turkish simply does not have articles.

• A bare noun is indefinite by default, so taze meyve = “fresh fruit” (some, in general).
• If you need exactly one, use bir: bir taze meyve = “a fresh fruit.”

How do I say “some fresh fruit” or make the noun plural for “fresh fruits”?

• “Some fresh fruit” (indefinite, uncountable) → Depoda biraz taze meyve var.
• “Some fresh fruits” (a few countable items) → Depoda birkaç taze meyve var.
• Just plural “fresh fruits” → Depoda taze meyveler var.

How would I make this negative—“There is no fresh fruit in the warehouse”?

Replace var with its negative counterpart yok:
Depoda taze meyve yok (“In the warehouse, fresh fruit does not exist”).

Can I change the word order? For example, Taze meyve depoda var?

Yes. Turkish is fairly flexible, though the neutral order for existential sentences is [Location] + [Object] + var. Starting with Depoda marks the location as your topic. Taze meyve depoda var is grammatical but shifts the emphasis slightly.

What’s the difference between var and vardır?

var is the straightforward “there is/are” for a present, factual existence.
vardır is the aorist/inferential form, used for general truths, polite statements, assumptions or hearsay.

• Depoda taze meyve var → “There is fresh fruit in the warehouse (right now).”
• Depoda taze meyve vardır → “One can assume/it’s generally the case that there is fresh fruit in the warehouse.”

Why does the adjective taze come before meyve? Is that order fixed?

Yes. In Turkish, adjectives normally precede the nouns they modify. You wouldn’t say meyve taze to mean “fresh fruit.” That adjective-noun order is one of the few fairly strict rules.