There is and There isn't

Var And Yok

In Turkish, both "var" (There is)  and "yok" (There isn't) are used to express the presence absence of things. There are no direct English equivalents that is why understanding these concepts are crucial point in learning Turkish. "Var" and "yok" are mostly placed at the end of the sentence and there are four cases to be mentioned:

Positive - "Var"  (There is)

Examples:

Mutfakta elma var - There is an apple in the kitchen. 

Hastanede doktor var - There is a doctor in the hospital.

Plajda insanlar var - There are people  on the beach.

Arabada bebek var - There is a baby in the car.

Okulda öğretmen var - There is a teacher in the school

Negative - "Yok" (There  isn't)

Examples:

Mutfakta elma yok - There isn't an apple in the kitchen. 

Hastanede doktor var - There isn't  a doctor in the hospital.

Plajda insanlar var - There aren't people  on the beach.

Arabada bebek var - There isn't a baby in the car.

Okulda öğretmen var - There isn't a teacher in the school

Positive Question Sentence - "Var mı" - (Is there) 

In Turkish,  different forms of "mi" ("mı"/"mi"/"mu"/"mü") are used to form questions. By applying the rules of vowel harmony, "mı"  is added to "var" to make the positive question form "var mı".

Examples:

Mutfakta elma var mı - Is there an apple in the kitchen? 

Hastanede doktor var mı - Is there a doctor in the hospital?

Plajda insanlar var mı - Are there people  on the beach?

Arabada bebek var mı - Is there a baby in the car?

Okulda öğretmen var mı - Is there a teacher in the school?

Negative Question Sentence - "Yok mu" - (Isn't there) 

To make the negative question sewntence, "mu" is added to "yok" to get "yok mu"

Examples:

Mutfakta elma yok mu? - Isn't there a car in the garage?

Hastanede doktor yok mu? - Isn't there a child in the park?

Plajda insanlar yok mu? - Isn't there a ball on the football field?

Arabada bebek yok mu? - Isn't there a passenger on the train?

Okulda öğretmen yok mu? - Isn't there a muezzin in the mosque?