Breakdown of Şu oda küçük. Sandalye yok.
şu
that (pointed out)
küçük
small
yok
there is not / non-existent
oda
room
sandalye
chair
Questions & Answers about Şu oda küçük. Sandalye yok.
Why use Şu for 'that' instead of O?
Both şu and o can translate to 'that'. We use o for things that are far away or out of sight. We use şu for things that are a bit closer to you, or when you are physically pointing at the object to draw someone's attention to it.
Why is there no word for 'is' in Şu oda küçük?
In Turkish, you don't need a verb like 'to be' for simple sentences describing what something is. Simply putting the subject (Şu oda) and the adjective (küçük) together automatically means 'That room is small'.
Could Sandalye yok also mean 'There are no chairs'?
Yes! When stating that a general type of item exists or doesn't exist, Turkish keeps the noun singular. So Sandalye yok translates perfectly to both 'There is no chair' and 'There are no chairs'. You don't need the plural ending -ler here.
How would I add a number to say 'There aren't two chairs'?
You would say İki tane sandalye yok. This uses the counting word tane (item/piece). Remember the strict rule from this lesson: whenever you use a number, the noun must stay singular. It is always iki tane sandalye, never iki tane sandalyeler.
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