……
Questions & Answers about Yolda kayrak taşı var.
What is yolda, and what does the suffix -da do?
yolda comes from yol (road) plus the locative suffix -da, so it literally means on the road. The suffix -da marks the location where something exists or happens.
What case is kayrak taşı in?
kayrak taşı is in the nominative case (no case ending), because with the existential verb var, the noun that “exists” stays in the nominative.
Why does taş take -ı (becoming taşı) in kayrak taşı, and is that the accusative?
Here taş takes the 3rd-person-singular possessive suffix -ı to form a noun–noun compound (“slate stone”). It is not the accusative case. The verb var doesn’t take a direct object, so this -ı is purely the possessive marker inside the compound.
How is var functioning in this sentence?
var is the existential verb meaning there is/there are. It asserts the existence of something in a specified location and normally appears at the end of the sentence in Turkish.
Why is var placed at the end?
Turkish follows a subject-object-verb (SOV) order in its basic form. Since var is the verb (existential), it naturally comes last after the locative phrase and the noun.
How would I form a question: “Is there slate stone on the road?”
Add the question particle mı to var:
Yolda kayrak taşı var mı?
How do I say “There is no slate stone on the road”?
Use yok, the negative existential, instead of var:
Yolda kayrak taşı yok.
What if I want to refer to multiple slate stones?
Pluralize the head of the compound (the second noun) by adding -lar:
Yolda kayrak taşları var.
This means “There are slate stones on the road.”
Can I drop the possessive suffix and just say kayrak taş?
No. In Turkish noun–noun compounds the second noun must carry a possessive suffix. Without -ı, the compound would be ungrammatical.
Does yolda ever mean “en route” or “in transit”?
Yes. yolda can also mean on the way or in transit (e.g. “Sabah yolda kaldım” = “I got delayed on the way this morning”). In our sentence it simply indicates the physical location on the road.
More from this lesson
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
“What's the best way to learn Turkish grammar?”
Turkish grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.
Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor
Start learning TurkishMaster Turkish — from Yolda kayrak taşı var to fluency
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.
- ✓ Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
- ✓ Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
- ✓ Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
- ✓ AI tutor to answer your grammar questions