Saying "There is" and "There are"
To express that something exists, Turkish uses the word var (there is / there are). Unlike English, it doesn't change whether you are talking about one thing or many things. It is placed at the very end of the sentence.
To say where that thing is, put the location at the beginning of the sentence using the locative case (-da / -de / -ta / -te).
| There is a television in the room. | Odada bir televizyon var. |
| There is a large bed in the hotel. | Otelde büyük bir yatak var. |
Listing Items with "ve"
If you want to say there are multiple different items in a place, you can use the word ve (and) to connect them.
| There is a computer and a telephone on the table. | Masada bilgisayar ve telefon var. |
| There is a bed and a television in the room. | Odada bir yatak ve bir televizyon var. |
Talking about Quantities
To describe how much or how many of something exists, place a number or a word like çok (a lot of / many) right before the item. Notice that in Turkish, the noun stays singular when it follows a number or a quantity word like çok.
| There are three towels in the bathroom. | Banyoda üç havlu var. |
| There is a lot of money in the wallet. | Cüzdanda çok para var. |
| There are many people on the street. | Sokakta çok insan var. |
Asking "Is there?"
To ask if something exists, simply add the yes/no question particle mı after var. It is always written as a separate word: var mı? (Is there? / Are there?).
| Is there water in the glass? | Bardakta su var mı? |
| Is there hot coffee in the office? | Ofiste sıcak kahve var mı? |
| Is there a problem at the bank? | Bankada bir problem var mı? |