Learn Turkish: Masada bir şey var. - There is something on the table.

In English, we usually start with "There is..." and put the location at the end. In Turkish, "there is" sentences almost always follow this specific order: Location + Subject + var (exists). So literally, this sentence translates to "On the table, a thing exists."

What does the -da at the end of masada do?

It is the locative suffix, which means "in," "on," or "at." Masa means "table," so masada means "on the table." Turkish adds suffixes to the end of words instead of using separate words for prepositions like English does.

How do I know whether to use -da or -de for "on"?

Turkish uses vowel harmony, meaning suffixes change to match the vowels in the root word. Because the last vowel in masa is "a" (a back vowel), the suffix must also have a back vowel, making it -da. If the word had a front vowel like "e" or "i" (for example, ev meaning "house"), it would take -de instead, making it evde.

Why are bir and şey written as two separate words when it translates to the single word "something"?

Bir means "a" or "one," and şey means "thing." Even though they combine to mean "something," they must always be written with a space between them in Turkish. Writing them together is actually a very common spelling mistake!