There are two conditionals in Turkish that look almost identical and trip up every learner. The verbal conditional -sA attaches to a verb and means "if (someone) does/did something." The copular conditional, -(y)sA (also written separately as ise), attaches to a noun, adjective, or location and means "if (something) is." So gelse "if he comes" (verb) versus zenginse "if he is rich" (copula). On top of that, the free-standing word ise does a second job entirely — it marks contrastive topics, "as for." This page keeps those threads straight.
The conditional of states: "if (it) is"
When the "if" clause is about a state rather than an action — if he is rich, if you are ready, if it's true — you attach -(y)sA to the predicate. Like the other copular suffixes, it harmonizes two ways on the A (sa / se) and takes a buffer y after a vowel.
| Person | After consonant (hazır) | After vowel (müsait) | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ben (I) | hazırsam | müsaitsem | if I am ready/available |
| sen (you, sg.) | hazırsan | müsaitsen | if you are … |
| o (he/she/it) | hazırsa | müsaitse | if he/she/it is … |
| biz (we) | hazırsak | müsaitsek | if we are … |
| siz (you, pl.) | hazırsanız | müsaitseniz | if you are … |
| onlar (they) | hazırsalar | müsaitseler | if they are … |
(Both hazır and müsait end in consonants; the "after vowel" column shows the harmony, while a genuinely vowel-final predicate like araba gives arabaysa "if it's a car," with the buffer y.) The personal endings here are -m, -n, -k, -nIz — the same possessive-style set the verbal conditional uses.
Müsaitsen bu akşam bir kahve içelim mi?
If you're free this evening, shall we grab a coffee?
Hava güzelse pikniğe gideriz, değilse evde film izleriz.
If the weather's nice we'll go on a picnic; if not, we'll watch a film at home.
Söylediğin doğruysa o zaman özür dilerim.
If what you said is true, then I apologize.
-(y)sA vs the verbal -sA: keep them apart
These two conditionals share the -sA shape but attach to different things and mean different things. The copular one bolts onto a predicate noun/adjective/locative and needs the buffer y after a vowel; the verbal one is part of the verb's suffix chain. Compare:
Evdeyse ona söylerim.
If he's at home, I'll tell him. (copular: 'if he IS at home')
Eve gelirse ona söylerim.
If he comes home, I'll tell him. (verbal: 'if he COMES home')
The first, evde + yse, is a state — being at home. The second, gel-ir-se, is an action — coming home. English uses "if" for both, so you must decide from the meaning which Turkish form you need. See the verbal conditional and the conditionals overview for the full contrast.
Param yeterliyse o ceketi alacağım.
If my money is enough, I'll buy that jacket.
Yorgunsanız hiç ısrar etmem, başka zaman görüşürüz.
If you're tired, I won't insist at all; we'll meet another time.
ise as a contrastive topic marker: "as for"
Now the second life of this word. Written as a separate ise (and unstressed), it functions as a contrastive topic marker, best translated "as for" or "whereas." It sits right after the topic it contrasts and sets that topic against what came before. This is a discourse tool, not a conditional, even though it's the very same word.
Ali gelir, Ayşe ise gelmez.
Ali will come; as for Ayşe, she won't.
Ben çayı severim, kardeşim ise hep kahve içer.
I like tea; my brother, on the other hand, always drinks coffee.
Here ise contributes no "if" meaning at all — Ayşe ise is "as for Ayşe," not "if Ayşe." You recognize this use by its position (right after a noun phrase that's being contrasted) and by the parallel clause it plays against. After a pronoun it gives the very common ben ise "as for me, I (by contrast)," o ise "he, on the other hand."
Herkes erken çıktı, ben ise son ana kadar çalıştım.
Everyone left early; I, on the other hand, worked until the last minute.
ise in the contrast can also carry the conditional sense
Occasionally context lets ise lean toward "if it is the case that," bridging the two senses — but for clarity the everyday split holds: cliticized -(y)sA = conditional of a state; free ise between two contrasted clauses = "as for / whereas." For the discourse contrast use alongside ama "but," see contrast with ise and ama.
Yağmur yağıyorsa şemsiyeni unutma.
If it's raining, don't forget your umbrella.
Common mistakes
❌ Zenginise.
Incorrect spelling/form — cliticize it: zengin + se → zenginse 'if he's rich.'
✅ Zenginse.
If he's rich.
❌ Doğrusa.
Incorrect — doğru ends in a vowel, so the buffer y is needed: doğruysa.
✅ Doğruysa.
If it's true.
❌ Eve ise gelirim.
Incorrect for 'if I come home' — that's the verbal conditional gelirsem, not ise; here ise would only mean 'as for the house.'
✅ Eve gelirsem haber veririm.
If I come home, I'll let you know.
❌ Ben gelirim, Ayşe gelmez ise.
Awkward — as a contrastive 'as for Ayşe', ise follows the topic: Ayşe ise gelmez.
✅ Ben gelirim, Ayşe ise gelmez.
I'll come; as for Ayşe, she won't.
❌ Müsaitsen mi?
Incorrect — don't add a question particle to a conditional; just ask Müsait misin? or state the condition Müsaitsen…
✅ Müsaitsen bana yardım eder misin?
If you're free, would you help me?
The central confusion is always copular -(y)sA (state) versus verbal -sA (action), plus forgetting the buffer y after a vowel. The contrastive ise is a separate skill: spot it by its position after a contrasted topic.
Key takeaways
- -(y)sA / ise is the copular conditional — "if (it) is" — for states: zenginse "if he's rich," hazırsanız "if you're ready," doğruysa "if it's true."
- It is distinct from the verbal conditional -sA, which attaches to a verb for actions: gelse "if he comes." Decide by meaning (being vs doing).
- Form: two-way harmony (sa / se) plus buffer y after a vowel: hazır → hazırsa, araba → arabaysa, doğru → doğruysa.
- The free-standing ise is also a contrastive topic marker meaning "as for / whereas": Ayşe ise gelmez, ben ise. Recognize it by position and a contrasting clause.
- For the bigger picture, see the conditionals overview, contrast with ise and ama, and the copula overview.
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- The Conditional -sA ('if')A2 — The verbal conditional -sA attaches to a bare verb stem for hypothetical and wish conditions — gelsem 'if I come', Keşke gelse 'if only he'd come' — and contrasts with the real/factual conditional -(y)sA, which attaches to a full tense (gelirse 'if he comes').
- The Copula System: 'To Be' Without a VerbA1 — Turkish has no verb 'to be' to conjugate; instead a set of endings — plus the defective particle i- for the past, evidential, and conditional — cliticizes onto the predicate, and the present 'is' is often nothing at all.
- 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.
- Contrast: ama, ise, oysa, halbukiB2 — Four ways to mark contrast in Turkish — plain ama 'but', the clitic topic-contraster ise 'as for/whereas', and oysa/halbuki for counter-expectation 'but in fact' — and how to choose the one that says exactly what you mean.