To talk about a close call—something that almost happened but was narrowly averted—Turkish uses the words az kalsın or neredeyse (almost / nearly).
Using the Past Continuous Tense
When using these words to describe a past averted action, the verb must be conjugated in the Past Continuous tense. Even though English uses the simple past ("I almost fell"), Turkish conceptually treats it as "I almost was falling."
To build this, add the continuous suffix -yor and the past tense suffix -du to the verb stem, followed by your personal suffix. Because -yor always ends in a rounded vowel, the past suffix will always be -du.
| We were walking towards the cliff, I almost fell. | Kayalığa doğru yürüyorduk, az kalsın düşüyordum. |
| We almost rolled off the cliff. | Neredeyse kayalıktan yuvarlanıyorduk. |
Az Kalsın and Neredeyse are Interchangeable
Both az kalsın and neredeyse serve the exact same function. You can swap them freely, placing them right before the verb or earlier in the clause.
| Good thing the railing was there, he almost fell into the valley. | İyi ki korkuluk vardı, az kalsın vadiye düşüyordu. |
| They almost broke the wooden railing. | Neredeyse tahta korkuluğu kırıyorlardı. |
Close Calls with Injuries and Nature
This structure is very common when recounting accidents, minor injuries, or dangerous encounters in nature. Just remember to always use the past continuous tense for the averted action.
| You almost sprained your ankle yesterday, are you hurt anywhere? | Dün az kalsın bileğini burkuyordun, bir yerin incindi mi? |
| My knee was bleeding a lot, I almost fainted. | Dizim çok kanıyordu, az kalsın bayılıyordum. |
| Good thing we returned from the facility early, we almost got caught under an avalanche. | İyi ki tesisten erken döndük, neredeyse çığ altında kalıyorduk. |
