Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası var.

There is a security camera at the apartment building entrance.

Breakdown of Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası var.

• olmak: to be
• giriş: the entrance
• apartman: the apartment building
• güvenlik kamerası: the security camera

Questions & Answers about Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası var.

Does apartman mean an individual apartment or the apartment building?

In Turkish, apartman means the apartment building. An individual apartment unit is daire (or apartman dairesi).

Why is it apartman girişinde and not apartmanın girişinde? Are both correct?

Both are used.

• Apartmanın girişinde = a full “X’s Y” genitive–possessive: “at the building’s entrance.”
• Apartman girişinde = a common compound/noun phrase (“apartment entrance”) with the same meaning in practice. It sounds a bit more like a set place name or generic location. In everyday speech, both are fine.

How is girişinde built morphologically?

giriş (entrance) + -i (3rd person possessive “its”) + -n (buffer) + -de (locative “at/in”) → “at its entrance.”
The “its” refers back to apartman.

Why is it -de, not -te in girişinde?

Because we add the locative after a possessed form (girişi-), a buffer -n- comes in: girişinde. After the voiced n, the locative surfaces as -de, not -te.
Compare:

• Without possessive: girişte (“at the entrance”) — voiceless ş → -te
• With possessive: girişinde (“at its entrance”) — buffer n → -de

Can I just say girişte instead of girişinde?

• girişte = “at the entrance” (generic or context-known entrance).
• (apartman) girişinde = specifically “at the entrance of (the apartment building).”
  When you name the thing that owns the entrance, Turkish usually shows that relationship with the possessive form (girişinde).

What does var do here, and how do I negate it?

var expresses existence: “there is/are.”
Negation uses yok, not değil.

• Positive: Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası var.
• Negative: Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası yok.

How do I ask a yes/no question with var?

Put the question particle after var:

• Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası var mı? — “Is there a security camera at the apartment entrance?”
  Short answers: Var. / Yok.

What is the -sı in güvenlik kamerası? Is it “its camera”?

No. This is an indefinite noun–noun compound: güvenlik (security) + kamera-sı (“camera” with the compound/3rd-person possessive marker). It means “security camera,” not “its camera.” The -s- is a buffer because kamera ends in a vowel.

Why is it -sı, not -si in kamara-sı?

Vowel harmony: the last vowel of kamera is a (a back vowel), so the suffix uses the back vowel ı → -sı. With a front vowel, you’d get -si/-sü/-sü depending on harmony.

Is the sentence saying there is exactly one camera?

Not necessarily. güvenlik kamerası var is indefinite (“there is a security camera / there are security cameras”).

• To stress one: bir (tane) güvenlik kamerası var.
• To make it clearly plural: güvenlik kameraları var.

Can I change the word order?

Yes, for emphasis:

• Neutral/location first: Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası var.
• Emphasizing the place: Güvenlik kamerası apartman girişinde var.
  Meaning stays the same; word order shifts focus.

Can I drop güvenlik and just say kamera?

Yes. Apartman girişinde kamera var = “There’s a camera at the apartment entrance.” Adding güvenlik specifies the type: security camera.

Does apartmanda güvenlik kamerası var mean the same thing?

Slightly different:

• Apartmanda … var = “in the building (somewhere inside the building).”
• Apartman girişinde … var = specifically “at the entrance.”

Why is there no accusative on güvenlik kamerası?

With existential var/yok, the item is indefinite and not marked with accusative. Accusative is for specific, definite direct objects of transitive verbs.

How do I say it in the past or future?

• Past: Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası vardı / yoktu.
• Future (existence expected): Apartman girişinde güvenlik kamerası olacak.
  (Formal alternative: … bulunacak.)

What’s the difference between giriş and kapı?

• giriş = entrance/entry area; girişte/girişinde = “at the entrance.”
• kapı = door/gate; kapıda/kapısında = “at the door.”

Anything to watch for with -de/-da vs the separate particle de/da (“also”)?

Yes:

• Locative suffix attaches: girişinde (one word).
• The particle de/da is separate: girişinde de = “also at the entrance.”
  Don’t confuse them.

What are the buffer letters doing here?

• -s- appears before the 3rd-person possessive on vowel-final stems: kamera-sı.
• -n- appears when adding another suffix after a possessed form: girişi-n-de.