Let's get ready for a harsh winter! When advising neighbors on stocking up for the cold months, you will want a polite way to make suggestions.
Giving Advice with "-sa iyi olur"
To give mild advice—equivalent to "you had better" or "it would be good if"—Turkish uses the conditional mood followed by the phrase iyi olur (it becomes good).
Attach the conditional suffix -sa / -se directly to the verb stem, followed by a personal ending. For the informal "you," add -n (-san / -sen).
| You had better store provisions in the cellar for the winter. | Kış için kilerde erzak depolasan iyi olur. |
| You had better buy dry food for this harsh winter. | Bu zorlu kış için kuru gıda alsan iyi olur. |
Suggestions for "We" and Plural "You"
You can change who the advice is for by swapping the personal ending on the conditional verb.
For "we," use the first-person plural ending -k (-sak / -sek).
| We had better buy a generator for power outages. | Elektrik kesintileri için jeneratör alsak iyi olur. |
For plural or formal "you," use the second-person plural ending -nız / -niz (-sanız / -seniz).
| You had better check the provisions in the cellar. | Kilerdeki erzakları kontrol etseniz iyi olur. |
| You had better take precautions for the icing on the roads. | Yollardaki buzlanma için önlem alsanız iyi olur. |
Negative Advice
To suggest that it would be better if someone did not do something, insert the negative suffix -ma / -me right before the conditional suffix. For a third person ("he," "she," "it," or "nobody"), no personal ending is needed (-masa / -mese).
| It would be better if nobody went outside while there is icing and a power outage. | Buzlanma ve elektrik kesintisi varken kimse dışarı çıkmasa iyi olur. |