In English the Conditional Tenses are formed with that very important little word "if"
Turkish Conditional if sentences are often introduced with the word eğer if
or less commonly şayet lest, unless
In Turkish these words are pointers alerting the listener that a Condition and Result are following.
They do not have any direct meaning.
They are "alerters"
Explanation of Condition and Result
Here are a few examples of Conditional Sentences in English.
We recognize them and use them with ease in our Mother Tongue.
Conditional Sentences are not so easy to recognize in Turkish.
They appear as a Mood of the verb itself.
It needs practice!
If we leave at noon, we will arrive on time.
If you hit me, I shall tell my mother.
If we had left at noon, we would have arrived on time.
If (ever) you join the club we would welcome you.
Unless you work hard, you will not be successful.
If you do not work hard you may not be successful.
We can not go to the races whenever it rains.
We can not go to the races if it rains.
If it had not rained we could have gone to the races.
If ever you go to London you must visit Bucking ham Palace.
When(ever) you go to London you can visit Bucking ham Palace.
[If ever you go]
Please take whichever one that you want.
[If you want that one then take it.]
If the sweets are not too dear then we will buy them
The word "unless" can be used in place of if not.
The words if ever, whenever, whatever, whichever, however, when , what, which, how can be used in place of if…
English Conditional Examples
The Real Conditional:
Is used to express condition and result based on fact in both the Present and the Future.
- If the kettle gets too hot then it boils.
[Present Tense Condition and Result]
- Whenever the kettle gets too hot it boils.
[Simple Habitual and Result]
- It the kettle gets too hot it will boil.
[Future Result of Present Condition]
- If you practice hard you will win a prize.
[Future Result of Present Condition]
- If you do not practice hard you will not win a prize.
[Future Result of Present Condition Negative]
The Unreal Conditional:
Is used to express unreal results or wishes and desires in the Present and Future.
- If I practice hard I might win a prize.
[Result: Present Desire]
- If I was richer I would buy a new house.
[Result: Future Wish]
- If I were you I would stay in England.
[Result: Future Habitual]
The Past Conditional
Is used to state Conditions in the Past that did not happen.
Often used to express criticism or regret.
- If I had practiced harder I would have won a prize.
[Regret]
- If I had been richer, I would have bought a bigger house.
[Unrealized due to Condition]
- If I were you I would not have stayed in England.
[Criticism of Past Condition]
The changes of tense and mood of the verbs show the meaning in English.
The same is true for Turkish.
The correct tenses and mood of condition and result must be used to adequately communicate the correct meaning of the statement.
English uses its normal tenses and the condition is produced by insertion of that little word
if Turkish has a special conditional tense form suffixed with
-se-/-sa-if… The Turkish Conditional Suffix -se/-sa.
The Turkish conditional is characterized by the suffix
-se-/-sa- A simple example is
varthere is, there are →
varsaif there is, if there are when suffixed with the
-sa Conditional Suffix.
yokthere isn't, there aren't →
yoksa if there isn't, if there aren't
- Paranız varsa bana verin.
If you have [any] money [then] give it to me.
- Bir taksi yoksa burada kalalım.
If there isn't a taxi [then] let's stay here.
The Conditional Suffixes of Verbs
Conditional Personal suffix is added after tense and mood signs of the verb
- If I-sem -sam →
yaparsamif I do
- If you-sen -san →
giriyorsanif you are entering
- If he-se -sa →
kesilecekse if it will be cut, if it is to be cut
- If we-sek -sak →
anlaşmıyorsakif we are not agreeing
- If you-seniz -sanız →
mutlu olmayacaksanız if you will not be happy
- If they-seler -salar →
gelebilecekselerif they will be able to come
Turkish Conditional Tense
Simple Present |
Present Continuous |
---|
gelsem |
If I come |
geliyorsam |
If I am coming |
yazsan |
If you write |
yazmıyorsan |
If you are not writing |
gülse |
If he laughs |
gülecekse |
If he will laugh |
içsek |
If we drink |
içiyorsak |
If we are drinking |
görebilirseniz |
If you can see |
görmüyorsanız |
If you are not seeing |
yapıyorsalar |
If they are doing |
yapabilirseler |
If they can do |
Turkish Conditional Positive - Model Conjugations
Simple Actual |
Conditional |
---|
gelsem |
if I were to come |
gelsen |
if you were to come |
gelse |
if he were to comes |
gelsek |
if we usually come |
gelseniz |
if you were to come |
gelseler |
if they were to come |
Turkish Present Continuous Conditional
Present Continuous |
Conditional |
---|
geliyorsam |
if I am coming |
geliyorsan |
if you are coming |
geliyorsa |
if he is coming |
geliyorsak |
if we coming |
geliyorsanız |
if you are coming |
geliyorsalar |
if they are coming |
Turkish Simple Habitual Conditional
Simple Habitual |
Conditional |
---|
gelirsem |
if I (usually) come |
gelirsen |
if you (usually) come |
gelirse |
if he (usually) comes |
gelirsek |
if we (usually) come |
gelirseniz |
if you (usually) come |
gelirseler |
if they (usually) come |
Turkish Future Intentional Conditional
Future Intention |
Conditional |
---|
geleceksem |
if I (will) come |
geleceksen |
if you (will) come |
gelecekse |
if he (will) come |
geleceksek |
if we (will) come |
gelecekseniz |
if you (will) come |
gelecekseler |
if they (will) come |
Turkish Real Past Conditional
Past Reality |
Conditional |
---|
geldiysem |
if I came |
geldiysen |
if you came |
geldiyse |
if he came |
geldiysek |
if we came |
geldiyseniz |
if you came |
geldiyseler |
if they came |
Turkish Unreal Past Conditional
Past Unreality |
Conditional |
---|
gelseydim |
If only I had come |
gelseydin |
If only had come |
gelseydi |
If only had come |
gelseydik |
If only we had come |
gelseydiniz |
If only you had come |
gelseydiler |
If only they had come |
Turkish Simple Negative Conditional
Negative Simple |
Conditional |
---|
gelmesem |
if I were not to come |
gelmesen |
if you were not to come |
gelmese |
if he were to not comes |
gelmesek |
if we usually do not come |
gelmeseniz |
if you were not to come |
gelmeseler |
if they were not to come |
Turkish Continuous Negative Conditional
Negative Present |
Continuous Conditional |
---|
gelmiyorsam |
if I am not coming |
gelmiyorsan |
if you are not coming |
gelmiyorsa |
if he is not coming |
gelmiyorsak |
if we are not coming |
gelmiyorsanız |
if you are not coming |
gelmiyorsalar |
if they are not coming |
Turkish Habitual Negative Conditional
Negative Simple |
Habitual Conditional |
---|
gelmezsem |
if I (usually) do not come |
gelmezsen |
if you (usually) do not come |
gelmezse |
if he (usually) do not comes |
gelmezsek |
if we (usually) do not come |
gelmezseniz |
if you (usually) do not come |
gelmezseler |
if they (usually) do not come |
Turkish Future Negative Conditional
Negative Future |
Conditional |
---|
gelmeyeceksem |
if I (will) not come |
gelmeyeceksen |
if you (will) not come |
gelmeyecekse |
if he (will) not come |
gelmeyeceksek |
if we (will) not come |
gelmeyecekseniz |
if you (will) not come |
gelmeyecekseler |
if they (will) not come |
Turkish Real Past Negative Conditional
Negative Past |
Real Conditional |
---|
gelmediysem |
if I had not come |
gelmediysen |
if you had not come |
gelmediyse |
if he had not come |
gelmediysek |
if we had not come |
gelmediyseniz |
if you had not come |
gelmediyseler |
if they had not come |
Turkish Unreal Past Conditional
Negative Past |
Unreal Conditional |
---|
gelmeseydim |
If only I had not come |
gelmeseydin |
If only you had not come |
gelmeseydi |
If only he had not come |
gelmeseydik |
If only we had not come |
gelmeseydiniz |
If only you not had come |
gelmeseydiler |
If only they had not come |
Turkish Conditional Examples in Various Tenses and Moods.
- Erken varırsanız, beklemelisiniz.
If you arrive early, you will have to wait.
- Erken varırsanız, beklersiniz.
If you arrive early, you would have to wait.
- Erken varsaydınız, bekleyecektiniz.
If you had arrived early, you would have had to wait.
- Sana yardım edebilirlerse, yardım edecekler.
They will help you if they can.
- Sana yardım etseler, yardım ederler.
They would help you if they could.
- Sana yardım edebilseydiler, (yardım) ederlerdi.
They would have helped you if they could have.
- Fazla içersen sarhoş olursun.
If you drink too much you get drunk.
- Çok çalışmazsan, sınavı geçemeyeceksin,
Unless you work hard you will not be able to pass your test.
- Sigara içmeyi bırakırsan, daha uzun yaşarsın.
If you stop smoking you will live longer.
- Yağmur yağmasaydı dışarı çıkmayacaktık.
We would not have gone out if it had not stopped raining.
- Eğer buradan gitseydim sana yazardım.
If I had gone away, I would have written to you.
Turkish Verbs of Condition
There are some verbs in the Turkish vocabulary that already have a "conditional feeling" within themselves.
They contain
-sa-/-se- conditional sign within the verb stem itself.
The meaning of these verbs is best translated
to regard as… + verb.
An example of this effect is the verb:
gülümsemekto smile →
gülümsüyorumI am smiling. The "conditional sign"
-s(e)- + üyorum is part of the verb stem.
The verb itself has the meaning
"to regard as laughing".
Applying this method to other "conditional of regard verb stems" the Turkish becomes more transparent.
- If we mean the true conditional of the verb "to smile": →
- gülümsüyorsam
- If I smile / am smiling
Turkish "to consider as…" Verb List
- küçümsemek
to belittle
[to consider as small]
- kötümsemek
to disparage
[to consider as bad]
- benimsemek
to appropriate
[to consider as personal]
- çekimsemek
to refrain from
[to consider as absent]
- gereksemek
to consider as necessary
- hafifsemek
to take s.o lightly
[to consider as light]
- yakınsamak
to converge
[to consider as nearing]
- umursamak
to care
[to have consideration]
- çıkarsamak
to infer, to deduce
[to consider as resulting in…]
The resemblance between the conditional structure and the suffix "-semek" in Turkish is quite by chance.
This is not really part of the conditional tense itself.
It is mentioned here as an aid for understanding when reading Turkish.