The condition in full: -sa, -ecekse, -saydı and the stubborn ise
The condition lives in the verb, and the word eğer can be thrown away. The tail itself has three jobs, and mixing them is costly. For example: “İşe alınırsam hemen başlarım” — If they hire me, I will start right away. A rule from the Turkish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
The condition lives in the verb, and the word eğer can be thrown away. The tail itself has three jobs, and mixing them is costly.
A real condition is -sa/-se straight on the tense stem: İşe alınırsam hemen başlarım, if they hire me I start at once. The thing can happen, and the outcome stands in the future.
A condition about intention is -ecekse/-acaksa: future first, condition second. Gelecekse önceden haber versin, if he means to come let him give notice. The difference is fine: kabul ederse is if he agrees, gelecekse is if the intention is already there.
What never happened takes -saydı/-seydi: Sözleşmeyi okusaydım imzalamazdım. The trap is plain -sa there: that gives if I read it, not if I had read it.
Table
| the form | what kind of condition | example | translation |
|---|---|---|---|
| -sa / -se | real, possible | kabul ederse | if he agrees |
| -ecekse / -acaksa | the intention is already there | istifa edecekse | if he is going to resign |
| -saydı / -seydi | unreal, never happened | sorsaydın | if you had asked |
| ise / -se with a noun | a condition on a noun | hazırsan başlayalım | if you are ready, let us start |
| -se de | a concession, “even if” | geç olsa da | even if it is late |
By example
- İşe alınırsam hemen başlarımIf they hire me, I will start right away
- Gelecekse önceden haber versinIf he is going to come, let him give notice in advance
- Sözleşmeyi okusaydım imzalamazdımIf I had read the contract, I would not have signed it
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
The condition in full: how does it work in Turkish?
The condition lives in the verb, and the word eğer can be thrown away. The tail itself has three jobs, and mixing them is costly.
What does it look like in an example sentence Turkish?
“İşe alınırsam hemen başlarım” — If they hire me, I will start right away. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.