Pano kapının yanında.

The board is next to the door.

Breakdown of Pano kapının yanında.

• olmak: to be
• kapı: the door
• yanında: next to
• -ın: of
• pano: the board

Questions & Answers about Pano kapının yanında.

What exactly does the word pano mean here?

• pano usually means a board or panel that's used for displaying things: a notice board, bulletin board, or an electrical control panel.
• For a classroom chalkboard/whiteboard, Turkish more often uses tahta (e.g., yazı tahtası, beyaz tahta).
• So in everyday contexts, pano is “notice board/bulletin board/panel,” not the writing board at the front of a classroom.

Why is there no separate word for “is”?

• Turkish nominal sentences in the present tense (3rd person) typically have a “zero copula” — no overt verb for “to be.”
• Pano kapının yanında. literally “Board door’s side-at.” means “The board is next to the door.”
• You can add the copular suffix -dır/dir/dur/dür for emphasis or formality: Pano kapının yanındadır. (more formal/definitive).

What does kapının mark?

• kapının is the genitive form of kapı (“door”), meaning “of the door.”
• Form: kapı + -nın → kapının (4‑way vowel harmony chooses -ın after the vowel ı).
• It shows possession/association in the structure “X’s side”: “the door’s side.”

How is yanında built morphologically?

• Base noun: yan = “side.”
• Add 3rd person possessive: yan + -ı → yanı = “its side.”
• Add buffer consonant before case: yanı + -n- → yanın-
• Add locative case: yanın- + -da → yanında = “at/on its side.”
• Put together with the possessor: kapı-nın yan-ı-n-da = “at the door’s side” → “next to the door.”
• Note the two grammar pieces at play:
  • Genitive–possessive link: kapının yanı (“the door’s side”).
  • Locative case on the possessed noun: yanında (“at its side”).

Why not say kapı yanında without the genitive?

• Postpositions like yanında come from possessed nouns and require the preceding noun to be in the genitive: X-in yanında = “next to X.”
• So you need kapının yanında, not kapı yanında.
• There is a set phrase kapı yanı (“door-side”) as a compound noun in some contexts, but for “next to the door” in a sentence like this, use the genitive pattern.

What’s the literal structure and meaning?

• Literal build: Pano kapı-nın yan-ı-n-da. → “Board door-of side-its-at.”
• Natural English: “The board is next to the door.”

How do I say “There is a board next to the door”?

• Use the existential verb var and usually put the indefinite bir with the noun:
  • Kapının yanında bir pano var. = “There is a board next to the door.”
• Contrast: Pano kapının yanında. = “The board is next to the door.” (you already know the board exists; you’re telling where it is).

Can I change the word order?

• Default neutral: Pano kapının yanında.
• Location-first for emphasis/focus: Kapının yanında pano. (elliptical; more natural as an answer or with var)
• For existence, prefer: Kapının yanında pano var.
• Turkish allows flexible order, but meaning/pragmatics (focus/new info) change with the order.

How do I make it a yes–no question?

• Attach the question particle to the predicate (here, the location phrase):
  • Pano kapının yanında mı? = “Is the board next to the door?”
• The particle harmonizes: mi/mı/mü/mu. Here it’s mı after a/ı.

How do I negate it?

• Use değil to negate nominal predicates:
  • Pano kapının yanında değil. = “The board is not next to the door.”
• For existence sentences, negate var with yok:
  • Kapının yanında pano yok. = “There isn’t a board next to the door.”

How do I put it in the past or future?

• Past: add past copula to the predicate phrase:
  • Pano kapının yanındaydı. (“was next to the door”)
    • Build: yanında + y + dı (buffer y before the past -dı)
• Future: use olacak:
  • Pano kapının yanında olacak. (“will be next to the door”)
• Negatives: yanında değildi, yanında olmayacak.

What if the subject is plural?

• You can leave the predicate unmarked for plural:
  • Panolar kapının yanında. = “The boards are next to the door.”
• Or you can add plural agreement to the predicate:
  • Panolar kapının yanındalar. (also correct; often more conversational)

What if the thing you’re next to is plural (e.g., “the doors”)?

• Most common: keep the possessed noun in 3rd-singular and just make the possessor plural:
  • Kapıların yanında = “next to the doors.”
• You may also see full plural possession:
  • Kapıların yanlarında = “at the sides of the doors” (emphasizes each has its side).
• Both are used; the first feels more neutral for location descriptions.

How is this different from kapıda?

• kapıda = “at/on the door” (on the door area itself, at the doorway).
• kapının yanında = “next to the door” (beside it, not at/within it).

Are there useful synonyms or near-synonyms for yanında?

• yanı başında = immediately right next to
• dibinde = right at the foot/base of, very close
• bitişiğinde = adjacent to (esp. buildings/rooms)
• kenarında = by the edge/edge of
• yakınında = near/around (looser than “next to”)
• Intensifiers: hemen yanında, tam yanında = “right next to.”

How do I say “to the left/right of the door”?

• Kapının solunda = “on the left of the door”
• Kapının sağında = “on the right of the door”
• Example: Pano kapının solunda.

How should I pronounce the dotless ı in kapının and yanında?

• Turkish ı is a back, unrounded vowel (like the “uh” in “sofa” but shorter/centralized). It is not the English “ee.”
• Roughly: kapının → ka-puh-nuhn; yanında → ya-nuhn-da.
• Be careful not to confuse ı (dotless) with i (dotted).