Questions & Answers about Sokakta arabalar var.
Why is it sokakta and not sokakda?
This is because of consonant assimilation! The locative suffix meaning "in/on/at" is normally -da or -de. However, the word sokak ends with the hard consonant k. In Turkish, when a suffix starting with d attaches to a word ending in a hard consonant (like the letters in the memory trick "Fıstıkçı Şahap": f, s, t, k, ç, ş, h, p), the d changes to a t to match it. So, -da becomes -ta.
Why does the suffix use the vowel a (-ta) instead of e (-te)?
This is a quick reminder of vowel harmony. The last vowel in sokak is a, which is a back vowel (a, ı, o, u). Because of this, the suffix must also use a back vowel, making it -ta.
Does var change if there is more than one car?
No, var stays exactly the same! It simply means that something exists. It doesn't change forms for singular or plural subjects. Because we have arabalar (cars) in this sentence, we translate it as "there are" in English, but the Turkish word var works for both "there is" and "there are".
Why is the location (sokakta) placed at the very beginning of the sentence?
In Turkish sentences that state something exists somewhere, the location almost always comes first. The standard word order is: Location + Subject + var. Literally, you are saying "On the street cars exist."
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