Questions & Answers about Burada yarım elma var.
We just learned buçuk means 'half'. Why does this sentence use yarım instead?
In Turkish, there are two main words for 'half'. Yarım is used for exactly half of an object or a single unit, like yarım elma (half an apple) or yarım saat (half an hour). Buçuk is used only when you add a half to a whole number, like üç buçuk (three and a half / half past three). Since we only have a standalone half of an apple here, we must use yarım.
The English translation says 'half an apple'. Why isn't bir (a/an) used in the Turkish sentence?
In Turkish, yarım already acts as the quantity word describing the noun. You don't need to include bir (a/an) when you have already specified the amount this way. Yarım elma is the standard, natural way to say 'half an apple'.
Why does the sentence start with burada instead of just bura?
Bura means 'this place', but to say that something is located at a place, you need the locative suffix -da or -de (meaning in, on, or at). So, burada means 'at this place' or 'here'. This suffix is almost always used on the location word when making sentences with var (there is).
Could I change the word order and say 'Yarım elma burada var'?
People would understand you, but it isn't the natural way to phrase it. In Turkish, when you use var (there is) or yok (there is not) to state that something exists somewhere, the standard word order is: Location + Object + var. Following this rule gives us: Burada (Here) + yarım elma (half an apple) + var (exists).
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