When there is no one to act: var, yok and lazım
English says there is and there is not. Turkish says it with two words that carry no person and no tense: var and yok. The place takes the where-tail and the thing stands plain: Odada kimse yok. In the past they become vardı and yoktu. For example: “Bugün markete gitmek lazım” — Today I have to go to the store. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
English says there is and there is not. Turkish says it with two words that carry no person and no tense: var and yok. The place takes the where-tail and the thing stands plain: Odada kimse yok. In the past they become vardı and yoktu.
Have to is built with lazım or gerek, and on its own it belongs to nobody. Beklemek lazım is waiting is needed, and who waits goes unsaid.
To name the person you hang the tail not on lazım but on the action itself. Gitmem lazım is my going is needed, that is, I have to go. Then on down the line: gitmen lazım for you, gitmesi lazım for him.
The trap is saying ben lazım. The owner of the errand sits inside the first word, not beside it.
Table
| the turn | example | literally |
|---|---|---|
| var / yok | Bilet var mı? | is there a ticket? |
| vardı / yoktu | Dün ekmek yoktu | there was no bread yesterday |
| -mak lazım | Beklemek lazım | waiting is needed — by whom, unsaid |
| -mam lazım | Gitmem lazım | my going is needed → I have to go |
| -il- (no doer named) | Burada park edilmez | parking is not done here → no parking |
| the 3rd person plural | Kapıyı kırmışlar | the door got broken — by whom, unimportant |
By example
- Bugün markete gitmek lazımToday I have to go to the store
- Odada kimse yokThere is no one in the room
- Bu saatte taksi bulunmazAt this hour there is no taxi to be found
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Var vs yok?
English says there is and there is not. Turkish says it with two words that carry no person and no tense: var and yok. The place takes the where-tail and the thing stands plain: Odada kimse yok. In the past they become vardı and yoktu.
Gitmem lazım or gitmek lazım?
Have to is built with lazım or gerek, and on its own it belongs to nobody. Beklemek lazım is waiting is needed, and who waits goes unsaid.
How to say no smoking here in Turkish?
To name the person you hang the tail not on lazım but on the action itself. Gitmem lazım is my going is needed, that is, I have to go. Then on down the line: gitmen lazım for you, gitmesi lazım for him.
How to say the bag was stolen in Turkish?
The trap is saying ben lazım. The owner of the errand sits inside the first word, not beside it.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“Bugün markete gitmek lazım” — Today I have to go to the store. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.