Questions & Answers about Çantada kaç kalem var?
Why is the suffix -da used on çanta instead of -de or -ta?
The word for bag is çanta. Because its last vowel is a, Turkish vowel harmony rules dictate that we use the back-vowel suffix -da instead of -de. Also, because çanta ends in a vowel, the suffix keeps the d instead of changing to a hard t.
Why is the word for pen (kalem) in the singular form when we are asking about 'pens'?
In Turkish, whenever you use a number or a question word about quantity like kaç (how many), the noun that follows it must always stay in its singular form. You would never say kaç kalemler.
Why does the location (çantada) come at the very beginning of the sentence?
Turkish generally puts the setting (time or place) at the beginning of the sentence to set the scene. After establishing the location with çantada (in the bag), we place the question kaç kalem (how many pens) right before the existence word var (there are), which always goes at the very end.
How exactly does var work in this sentence?
The word var means 'there is' or 'there are'. Literally, this sentence translates to 'In the bag, how many pens exist?'.
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