A real (open, factual) condition is one you treat as genuinely possible: if it rains, we get wet; if you've finished, tell me. Turkish builds these not by putting -sA on the bare stem — that would make the event hypothetical — but by taking a fully tensed verb and clipping -(y)sA onto the end of it. The tense you choose inside the if-clause mirrors the real time and aspect of the event, exactly as it would in a plain statement. This is the workhorse conditional of everyday Turkish, and getting the placement right is the difference between "if he comes" and "were he to come."
The shape: a finished verb, then -(y)sA
Take any normal tensed verb. Add the conditional -(y)sA after it. Because there is already a tense suffix in the way, two things happen: the buffer -y- appears if the tense ends in a vowel, and personal endings move to the very end.
| Protasis tense | 3sg form | Real condition | English |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aorist | gelir | gelirse | if he comes |
| Present continuous | geliyor | geliyorsa | if he is coming |
| Past -DI | geldi | geldiyse | if he came / has come |
| Future | gelecek | gelecekse | if he's going to come |
| Reported -mIş | gelmiş | gelmişse | if he (apparently) came |
Each row says something different about reality. gelirse is the neutral, predictive "if he comes." geliyorsa says the coming is in progress right now. geldiyse locates it firmly in the past. gelecekse commits to a planned future. The if-clause is not a special mood that erases tense — it keeps its tense and merely flags it as a condition.
İstersen gel, istemezsen kalma.
Come if you want; if you don't want to, don't stay.
Sınavı geçtiysen seni akşam yemeğe çıkarırım.
If you passed the exam, I'll take you out to dinner tonight.
Yarın çalışacaksan bu gece erken yat.
If you're going to work tomorrow, go to bed early tonight.
What goes in the result clause
In a real condition, the protasis (the if-part) comes first, and the apodosis (the result) follows. For a predictable outcome the result clause overwhelmingly uses the aorist — Turkish's tense of general truths and confident predictions — or the future when you're announcing a specific plan.
Yağmur yağarsa, ıslanırız.
If it rains, we get wet.
Acele etmezsek treni kaçırırız.
If we don't hurry, we'll miss the train.
Bu ilacı içersen kendini daha iyi hissedeceksin.
If you take this medicine, you'll feel better.
The aorist in the result (ıslanırız, kaçırırız) is doing the same job as English present-for-future in if it rains, we get wet: stating a reliable, rule-like consequence. Reach for the aorist -Ir when the result is a general truth, and the future when it's a one-off promise.
The result can also be an imperative or a suggestion (optative), which is extremely common in instructions:
Bittiyse söyle, devam edelim.
If it's finished, say so, and let's continue.
Gelmiyorsa beklemeyelim, başlayalım.
If she isn't coming, let's not wait — let's start.
Tense agreement across the two clauses
Because the protasis keeps a real tense, you naturally line up the time of the two clauses. A past condition usually feeds a present or future result (you're reacting now to something that may already be done); a future condition feeds a future result.
Mektubu gönderdiyse bugün eline geçer.
If she sent the letter, it'll reach him today.
Toplantı uzayacaksa öğle yemeğini erteleriz.
If the meeting is going to run long, we'll push back lunch.
Param yetiyorsa o ceketi alacağım.
If I have enough money, I'm going to buy that jacket.
The reported/inferential -mIş + -se is worth singling out: gelmişse means "if it turns out he came / if he (reportedly) came," adding a layer of "as far as I can tell." It is the conditional of hearsay and inference, not the same as the plain past geldiyse.
Haberlerde söylenmişse doğrudur herhâlde.
If it was said on the news, it's probably true.
The copular real condition
States — being rich, being at home, being true — have no verb, so -(y)sA lands straight on the predicate: zenginse, evdeyse, doğruysa, hazırsa. These are real conditions too, sitting on the zero present tense. They are detailed on the copular conditional ise page, but they belong to the same factual family.
Müsaitsen bu akşam buluşalım.
If you're free, let's meet up this evening.
Adres yanlışsa kargo geri döner.
If the address is wrong, the parcel comes back.
Orthography of -(y)sA
- The conditional written after a tense is -(y)sa / -(y)se by two-way harmony: gelirse, yağarsa, gidiyorsa, çalışacaksa.
- The buffer -y- appears only when the tense ends in a vowel. After -DI (which ends in -i/-ı/-u/-ü) you always get -yse / -ysa: geldiyse, aldıysa, okuduysa.
- After consonant-final tenses — -Ir (gelir), -yor (geliyor), -AcAk (gelecek), -mIş (gelmiş) — there is no -y-: gelirse, geliyorsa, gelecekse, gelmişse.
- Personal endings follow the conditional: gelirse*m, geldiysen, geleceksek*.
- eğer may open the sentence for emphasis but never replaces the suffix.
Common mistakes
❌ Yağmur yağsa, ıslanırız.
Incorrect for a genuine forecast — bare -sA makes it hypothetical, not real.
✅ Yağmur yağarsa, ıslanırız.
If it rains, we get wet.
For a real possibility, put -(y)sA on the aorist (yağar + sa), not on the bare stem. Yağsa means "were it to rain," a remote musing.
❌ İşin bittise söyle.
Incorrect — missing buffer -y- after the vowel-final -DI.
✅ İşin bittiyse söyle.
If your work is finished, say so.
After -DI the conditional is always -yse / -ysa: bitti + yse → bittiyse.
❌ Geliyor ise beklemeyelim.
Awkward — ise written separately on a continuous tense in neutral speech.
✅ Geliyorsa beklemeyelim.
If he's coming, let's not wait.
On a real tense, the conditional normally cliticizes as the suffix -sa/-se; writing it as a standalone ise here is stiff and dispreferred.
❌ Eğer treni kaçırırsak geç kalırız ise.
Incorrect — stray ise, doubled conditional.
✅ Treni kaçırırsak geç kalırız.
If we miss the train, we'll be late.
Key takeaways
- A real condition = a finished tense + -(y)sA: gelirse, geliyorsa, geldiyse, gelecekse, gelmişse.
- The protasis comes first; the result clause is usually aorist (predictable consequence) or future (specific plan), and may be an imperative/optative in instructions.
- Pick the protasis tense to match the real time/aspect of the event — the conditional does not erase tense.
- Buffer -y- appears only after a vowel-final tense (always after -DI: geldiyse).
- Bare-stem gelse is not a real condition; that path leads to the hypothetical and counterfactual forms.
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Start learning Turkish→Related Topics
- The Conditional SystemB1 — How Turkish encodes the reality of a condition by where the suffix -sA attaches — bare stem for hypotheticals, a full tense for real conditions, and -sAydI for counterfactuals.
- Conditional Copula: -(y)sA / iseB1 — The copular conditional -(y)sA / ise means 'if (it) is' for states (zenginse 'if he is rich'), and as the separate word ise also works as a contrastive topic marker 'as for' (Ayşe ise gelmez 'as for Ayşe, she won't come').
- The Aorist -(A/I)r: Habitual and GeneralA2 — How to form the Turkish aorist and why it covers habits, general truths, and polite offers rather than the present moment.
- Counterfactual and Past Conditions: -sAydIB2 — The unreal-past frame -sAydI … -Irdi — saying 'if X had happened, Y would have happened' about a world that did not come true, plus keşke wishes.