Questions & Answers about Otobüste kırk yolcu var.
If I wanted to ask how many passengers are on the bus, how would I use kaç?
You simply replace the number (kırk) with the question word kaç. The question would be: Otobüste kaç yolcu var?
Why is it yolcu (passenger) instead of yolcular (passengers)?
In Turkish, nouns always stay in their singular form after numbers. You never add the plural suffix -lar or -ler when a specific quantity is stated. This same rule applies after the question word kaç (how many).
Why does 'on the bus' translate to otobüste instead of otobüsde?
The suffix for 'on', 'in', or 'at' is usually -de or -da. However, because otobüs ends in a voiceless consonant (s), the letter d in the suffix changes to a t to match it. This makes the suffix -te.
Is var used for both 'there is' and 'there are'?
Yes! Turkish does not distinguish between singular and plural for this word. Var covers both 'there is' and 'there are', and it almost always goes at the very end of the sentence.