Learn Turkish: Rafta kaç bardak var? - How many glasses are on the shelf?

In Turkish, whenever you use a number or a quantity word like kaç (how many), the noun that follows must remain singular. So, you literally say "how many glass" instead of "how many glasses".

The word for shelf is raf. Why does "on the shelf" use -ta instead of the usual -da suffix?

The locative suffix (in/on/at) is normally -da or -de. However, raf ends in f, a hard (voiceless) consonant. Turkish makes pronunciation easier by matching hard consonants with hard letters, so the d changes to a t, making it rafta.

Why is kaç in the middle of the sentence instead of at the beginning?

In Turkish, question words often sit in the exact same spot where the answer will go. If you answer this question with Rafta iki bardak var (There are two glasses on the shelf), you can see that kaç just takes the place of the number iki.

Why does the sentence end with var?

var means "there is" or "there are". Turkish typically puts the verb or existence word at the very end of the sentence. The literal translation is "On the shelf how many glass there are?".