Questions & Answers about Beş bardak sıcak su var.
Why is it bardak instead of the plural bardaklar since there are five of them?
In Turkish, whenever you use a number to count something, the noun that follows must always remain in its singular form. Since we have the number beş (five), bardak (glass) stays singular. Saying beş bardaklar is grammatically incorrect.
The lesson teaches the counting word tane. Should I say beş tane bardak sıcak su?
You usually leave tane out when using units of measurement. Tane is a generic counter meaning 'pieces' or 'items'. Because bardak (glass) is already acting as a specific measuring unit for the water, adding tane is unnecessary. You mostly use tane for individual objects, like beş tane elma (five apples).
How does Turkish handle the word 'of' in 'glasses of hot water'?
Turkish doesn't need a connecting word for 'of' in quantity phrases. You simply place the number, the container, and the substance in order: beş (five) followed by bardak (glass) followed by sıcak su (hot water).
Why does sıcak come right before su and not before bardak?
Adjectives in Turkish always go immediately before the exact noun they describe. Here, the water is hot, not the glass itself. So sıcak must go right before su. If you said beş sıcak bardak su, it would change the meaning to 'five hot glasses of water'.
Why do we use var for 'there are'?
The word var means both 'there is' and 'there are'. It expresses existence and doesn't change form whether you are talking about one item or many. Plus, because of the Turkish rule where nouns after numbers stay singular (beş bardak), the grammar naturally feels singular anyway!
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