Turkish Has No "To Have"
English says "I have a car." Turkish says arabam var — literally "my car exists." There is no separate verb: the possessive suffixes you just learned do all the work, and var closes the sentence.
| I have a car. | Arabam var. |
| I have a question. | Bir sorum var. |
| I have two cats. | İki kedim var. |
This works for every person — just change the possessive suffix:
| We have a guest. | Misafirimiz var. |
| He does not have a car. | Onun arabası yok. |
Not Having: yok
To say you don't have something, use yok (there is not) instead of var:
| I have no money. | Param yok. |
| I have no time at all today. | Bugün hiç zamanım yok. |
Asking "Do You Have?"
Add the question particle mı — it harmonizes with var as var mı and with yok as yok mu:
| Do you have a car? | Araban var mı? |
| No, I do not have a car. | Hayır, arabam yok. |
| Do you have time? | Zamanın var mı? |
| Yes, I have a lot of time. | Evet, çok zamanım var. |
The Pattern at a Glance
| Turkish | Literally | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Arabam var | my car exists | I have a car |
| Param yok | my money does not exist | I have no money |
| Araban var mı? | does your car exist? | Do you have a car? |
You already met this pattern in sentences like İki kardeşim var (I have two siblings) — now you know exactly how it works.
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