Turkish Conditional Mood (-se / -sa): Expressing 'If' & Wishes

Turkish has no separate word that does the work of English “if”. The condition lives in a suffix on the verb, -se / -sa. The word eğer (if) can open the sentence, but it is optional; without the suffix there is no condition.

• Eğer gelirsen sevinirim. — If you come, I’ll be glad.
• Gelirsen sevinirim. — (same meaning, without eğer)

This page covers both forms of the suffix and all the main sentence types: real, unreal, past, wishes, suggestions and “even if”.

Two kinds of -se

The suffix appears in two ways, and the difference is in what comes before it.

The vowel follows two-way vowel harmony: -se after e, i, ö, ü; -sa after a, ı, o, u.

The pure conditional

It takes the short person endings (-m, -n, -k), the same set as the definite past.

The aorist conditional

This is the form you need for everyday “if” sentences. It is the aorist plus -se/-sa.

The same suffix attaches to other tenses (geliyorsa, geldiyse, gelecekse) and to nouns, adjectives and var/yok, with a buffer y after vowels: evdeysen (if you’re at home), hastaysan (if you’re ill), varsa (if there is), yoksa (if there isn’t / otherwise).

Overview of conditional sentence types

1. Real conditions

Something that may well happen. The if-clause takes the aorist conditional.

• Yağmur yağarsa evde kalırız. — If it rains, we’ll stay at home.
• Zamanın olursa beni ara. — If you have time, call me.
• Erken kalkarsak kahvaltı yaparız. — If we get up early, we’ll have breakfast.
• Bana yardım edersen çok sevinirim. — If you help me, I’ll be really happy.
• Acele etmezsen otobüsü kaçırırsın. — If you don’t hurry, you’ll miss the bus.

Use the aorist even when English uses the present for a future event. Yarın yağmur yağarsa is “if it rains tomorrow”; yağacaksa means “if it is going to rain” (for example, according to the forecast).

2. Factual conditions

The condition refers to a situation the speaker takes as possibly already true.

• Yorgunsan biraz dinlen. — If you’re tired, rest a bit.
• Ödevini bitirdiysen dışarı çıkabilirsin. — If you’ve finished your homework, you can go out.
• Bu akşam gelecekseniz haber verin. — If you’re coming this evening, let us know.
• Sorunuz varsa sorabilirsiniz. — If you have a question, you can ask.

3. Unreal present: “if I had…, I would…”

Use the pure -se in the if-clause and the aorist + past (-ırdı) in the main clause.

• Param olsa yeni bir araba alırdım. — If I had money, I would buy a new car.
• Zamanım olsa sana yardım ederdim. — If I had time, I would help you.
• Senin yerinde olsam onu arardım. — If I were you, I would call him.

4. Unreal past: “if I had…, I would have…”

Add the past -di to the pure conditional: -seydi / -saydı. The main clause keeps -ırdı.

• Bilseydim gelirdim. — If I had known, I would have come.
• Erken çıksaydık treni kaçırmazdık. — If we had left early, we wouldn’t have missed the train.
• Bana söyleseydin yardım edebilirdim. — If you had told me, I could have helped.

The main-clause pattern -ırdı is covered in compound tenses.

5. “Even if”: -se bile, -se de

Add bile or de/da (see particles) after a conditional:

• Yağmur yağsa bile gideceğim. — Even if it rains, I’ll go.
• Pahalı olsa da alacağım. — Even if it’s expensive, I’ll buy it.
• Ne kadar çalışsam da yetmiyor. — However much I work, it’s not enough.

Wishes with keşke

Keşke (“if only”, “I wish”) pairs with the pure conditional:

• Keşke burada olsan. — I wish you were here.
• Keşke daha çok param olsa. — If only I had more money.
• Keşke yarın tatil olsa. — I wish tomorrow were a holiday.

With -seydi, it expresses regret about the past:

• Keşke dün gelseydin. — I wish you had come yesterday.
• Keşke ona söylemeseydim. — I wish I hadn’t told him.

In speech, -seydi is also often used for present wishes (Keşke burada olsaydın).

Suggestions and self-questions

The pure conditional with a question asks “what if” or “shall I/we”:

• Ne yapsam? — What should I do?
• Bir çay içsek mi? — Shall we have a tea?
• Pencereyi açsam mı? — Should I open the window?

Fixed expressions

• Ne olursa olsun — whatever happens
• Ne kadar erken olursa o kadar iyi. — The sooner, the better.
• Yoksa…? — Or else…? / Could it be that…? (Yoksa unuttun mu? — Don’t tell me you forgot?)

Short dialogue

• Deniz: Hafta sonu hava güzel olursa denize gidelim mi? — If the weather is nice at the weekend, shall we go to the sea?
• Kerem: Olur, ama cumartesi çalışıyorum. Pazar günü olsa? — Sure, but I’m working on Saturday. What about Sunday?
• Deniz: Pazar da olur. Arabam olsa seni alırdım, ama otobüsle gideceğiz. — Sunday’s fine too. If I had a car, I’d pick you up, but we’ll go by bus.
• Kerem: Sorun değil. Yağmur yağsa bile gelirim! — No problem. Even if it rains, I’ll come!

The dialogue uses a real condition (olursa), a suggestion (olsa?), an unreal present (olsa … alırdım) and a concessive (yağsa bile).

Common mistakes

1. No suffix after eğer: Eğer gelirim, … → Eğer gelirsem, …
2. Wrong harmony: gelirsam → gelirsem; yaparsen → yaparsan.
3. Mixing real and unreal: Param olursa alırdım → Param olsa alırdım (unreal) or Param olursa alırım (real).
4. Future in a simple if-clause: Yarın yağacaksa evde kalırız only works for a forecast; for “if it rains tomorrow” say Yarın yağarsa.
5. Aorist after keşke: Keşke burada olursan → Keşke burada olsan.
6. Wrong negative: gelirmezsem → gelmezsem.

Mini-exercise

Complete the sentences.

1. Yarın hava güzel (ol-, real) pikniğe gideriz. → ?
2. Param (ol-, unreal present) bir ev alırdım. → ?
3. Erken (kalk-, unreal past, ben) uçağı kaçırmazdım. → ?
4. Keşke Türkçeyi daha iyi (bil-, ben). → ?
5. Pahalı (ol-, even if) alacağım. → ?
6. (aç = hungry, factual, sen) bir şey ye. → ?

Answers: 1. olursa 2. olsa 3. kalksaydım 4. bilsem 5. olsa bile / olsa da 6. Açsan

Practice this

See the full pure-conditional paradigm of any verb in the verb conjugator, and review the aorist, since most real if-clauses are built on it.