Breakdown of Kasabanın etrafında yüksek dağlar var.
var
there is / existent
yüksek
high
dağ
mountain
kasaba
town
etraf
surroundings
Questions & Answers about Kasabanın etrafında yüksek dağlar var.
Why does kasaba get the -nın suffix?
To say 'around the town,' Turkish literally says 'at the surroundings of the town.' The -nın is the genitive suffix (functioning like 'of the' or an apostrophe-s). This makes Kasabanın mean 'the town's', which then links together with etraf (surroundings).
How exactly is the word etrafında built?
It starts with etraf (surroundings). First, we add the 3rd person possessive -ı to link it back to the town (etrafı = its surroundings). Then, we add the locative suffix -da (at/in). Whenever you attach a spatial suffix like -da right after a 3rd person possessive suffix, Turkish requires the buffer letter -n- in between. This gives us etrafında.
Why is var placed at the very end of the sentence?
While English starts sentences with 'There are...', Turkish sentences usually put the verb or the main predicate at the very end. Existence words like var (there is/are) and yok (there isn't/aren't) follow this rule. The typical pattern is to state the location first (Kasabanın etrafında), then the subject (yüksek dağlar), and finally var.
Since dağlar (mountains) is plural, does var need a plural suffix too?
No, it doesn't. The word var is invariable, meaning it never changes form to match singular or plural nouns. You use the exact same word whether you are saying 'there is a mountain' or 'there are mountains'.
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