Breakdown of Eğer kütüphaneye gidersen ödünç kitap alabilirsin.
gitmek
to go
eğer
if
kütüphane
the library
ödünç kitap alabilmek
to be able to borrow books
Questions & Answers about Eğer kütüphaneye gidersen ödünç kitap alabilirsin.
What does eğer mean, and is it always required in conditional sentences?
Eğer means if. It’s used to introduce a conditional clause. In Turkish it’s optional, though—you can drop eğer if your verb already has the conditional suffix -(y)se.
Example:
• Eğer kütüphaneye gidersen...
• Kütüphaneye gidersen...
Both mean “If you go to the library...” and are equally correct.
How is gidersen formed? Why isn’t it gitersen or just giders?
Breakdown of gidersen (“if you go”):
- root git (to go)
- epenthetic vowel -i- (because git ends in a consonant)
- conditional consonant -r-
- conditional vowel -e (vowel-harmonized with i)
- 2nd person singular ending -n
Putting it together: git + i + r + e + n → gidersen.
The rule is: root + -(i)rse + personal ending.
Why is kütüphaneye in the dative case, and why do we add -ye instead of -a?
You’re expressing motion to the library, so you use the dative case. The dative suffix is -(y)e / -(y)a, chosen by vowel harmony:
• a/e matches the last vowel of the word.
• A y is inserted if the word ends in a vowel to avoid a hiatus.
Since kütüphane ends in –e, you add -ye (with buffer y):
kütüphane + ye → kütüphaneye (“to the library”).