Learn Turkish: Sokakta araba yok. - There are no cars on the street.

In Turkish, when we make general statements about whether something exists or not using var (there is/are) or yok (there isn't/aren't), we usually keep the noun singular. Saying araba yok simply means "car non-existent" in a general sense, which naturally translates to "there are no cars" in English.

Why does "sokak" (street) take "-ta" instead of "-da" for the word "on"?

This is because of a rule called consonant assimilation. The word sokak ends in a hard consonant (k). When you add a suffix that normally starts with "d" (like the location suffix -da meaning in/on/at), the "d" changes to a hard "t" to match it. So, sokakda becomes sokakta.

How exactly does "yok" mean "there are no"? Is it a verb?

Yok is not an action verb; it is actually an adjective that means "non-existent" or "absent". In Turkish, you don't need a verb like "to be" in this kind of sentence. You just state the location (sokakta), the thing (araba), and its non-existence (yok).

Can I change the word order and say "Araba sokakta yok"?

You can, but it changes the meaning slightly. The standard word order for "there is/are" sentences is Location + Subject + yok. If you say Araba sokakta yok, it emphasizes the car, sounding more like "The car is not on the street" (talking about a specific car rather than cars in general).