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In conversational Turkish, the third-person "to be" (is/are) is often implied without any suffix (for example, *Bu ev büyük* means "This house is big"). However, to state a universal truth, an encyclopedic fact, or an official rule, you add the factual copula suffix **-DIr**.

This suffix indicates an objective fact and is heavily used in news broadcasts, textbooks, and formal presentations.

### Four-Way Vowel Harmony

The factual copula follows four-way vowel harmony:

- **-dır** (after a, ı)
- **-dir** (after e, i)
- **-dur** (after o, u)
- **-dür** (after ö, ü)

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### Consonant Mutation

If the word ends in a voiceless consonant (f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p), the **d** hardens into a **t**, creating **-tır**, **-tir**, **-tur**, and **-tür**.

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### Stating General Existence (Vardır)

You already know that **var** means "there is" or "there are". By attaching the factual suffix, we create **vardır**. 

While **var** points out something present at a specific moment, **vardır** is used to state that something exists as a matter of universal or geographical fact.

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Factual copula (-dır / -dir)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
official	resmî
The official language is Turkish.	Resmî dil Türkçedir.
capital city	başkent
state	devlet
The capital is the center of the state.	Başkent, devletin merkezidir.
The Earth is a large planet.	Dünya, büyük bir gezegendir.
flag	bayrak
A flag is necessary for every state.	Her devlet için bir bayrak gereklidir.
north	kuzey
The coldest region is the north.	En soğuk bölge kuzeydir.
While the north is cold, the south is always hot.	Kuzey soğukken, güney her zaman sıcaktır.
east	doğu
There are high mountains in the east of the country.	Ülkenin doğusunda yüksek dağlar vardır.
There are wild animals in the forest.	Ormanda vahşi hayvanlar vardır.
The coldest continent is in the south.	En soğuk kıta güneydedir.
The sun is a large star.	Güneş, büyük bir yıldızdır.
independent	bağımsız
law	yasa
Laws are important in independent countries.	Bağımsız ülkelerde yasalar önemlidir.
The weather is coldest before the sun rises.	Güneş doğmadan önce hava en soğuktur.
The lion is a wild animal.	Aslan, vahşi bir hayvandır.
west	batı
The capital is in the west of the country.	Başkent, ülkenin batısındadır.
Those who govern the country are politicians.	Ülkeyi yönetenler siyasetçilerdir.
This is an official law.	Bu, resmî bir yasadır.
island	ada
This independent island's flag is blue.	Bu bağımsız adanın bayrağı mavidir.
That large island is in the east, the capital is in the west.	O büyük ada doğudadır, başkent batıdadır.