Learn Turkish: Dört tane elma var. - There are four apples.

In Turkish, when you use a number to say how many of something there are, the noun must always stay in its singular form. Because we used the number dört (four), we say elma instead of the plural elmalar.

What does tane do in this sentence?

tane roughly translates to "item" or "piece." When counting physical objects, Turkish speakers frequently use tane between the number and the noun, acting like a generic counter word. It is very natural to use, though dropping it and just saying dört elma is also perfectly correct.

Does var mean "there are" in this sentence? I thought it meant "there is."

It means both! The word var simply states that something exists. It does not change its form for singular or plural subjects. Because we are talking about four apples here, it translates to "there are" in English.

Why does the sentence end with var?

Turkish word order typically places the verb or existence word at the very end of the sentence. Instead of starting with "There are" like in English, Turkish states the objects first (dört tane elma) and ends with the word that means they exist (var).