Konser sırasında ara var.

There is a break during the concert.

Breakdown of Konser sırasında ara var.

• olmak: to be
• konser: the concert
• -sırasında: during
• ara: the break

Questions & Answers about Konser sırasında ara var.

How is sırasında formed and what does it exactly mean?

sırasında comes from the noun sıra (“turn/time”) + the 3rd-person possessive suffix -sı (“its”) + the locative suffix -nda (“in/at”). Literally sıra-sı-n-da means “in its time,” i.e. “during” or “in the course of.” You use it to say “during X.”

Should I say konser sırasında or konserin sırasında? Which is correct?

Standard Turkish grammar calls for the genitive on the possessor:
• konserin sırasında (“during the concert”)
In everyday speech, however, people often drop the -in and simply say konser sırasında. Both are understood; konserin sırasında is more “textbook,” while konser sırasında is very common in conversation.

Why isn’t there a “the” or “a” before ara? How do I say “a break” or “the break”?

Turkish has no articles like English a/the. You can show indefiniteness by adding bir (“one/a”) if you want:
• bir ara var = “there is a break”
To indicate “the break,” you’d use a demonstrative:
• o ara var = “there is that break”
Most of the time, plain ara var (“there is a break”) is enough when context is clear.

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

var is the 3rd-person singular of varolmak (“to exist”) and simply means “there is/are.” Turkish word order is Subject-Object-Verb (S-O-V), and var is the verb indicating existence, so it naturally comes last. The pattern is:
• [time/place/thing] + var = “There is [thing] [time/place].”

Can I use other words for “during” instead of sırasında?

Yes. Two common alternatives:
• esnasında (Arabic origin; almost identical to sırasında)
• boyunca (“throughout,” stresses the entire duration)
Examples:
• konser esnasında – “during the concert”
• konser boyunca – “throughout the concert”

Why is konser sırasında at the beginning? Can I move it elsewhere?

Time expressions are flexible in Turkish. You can put konser sırasında at the start (most common) or directly before the verb:
• Konser sırasında ara var. (very natural)
• Ara var konser sırasında. (grammatical but less typical)
As a rule of thumb, keep time/place phrases early in the sentence for clarity.

Is there a difference between ara and mola for “break”?

Both translate as “break/intermission,” but with a slight nuance:
• ara is very general and used for planned pauses (e.g., performance intermissions).
• mola often implies a short rest (coffee break, rest stop).
For a concert’s intermission, ara or the compound konser arası is the idiomatic choice.