Clauses of fear (-acak diye)

Clauses of Anticipatory Concern

To express fear or worry that an event will happen, Turkish uses a structure that literally translates to "thinking [X will happen], I fear."

Conjugate the feared event in the future tense (-(y)AcAk). Follow it with diye ("thinking that"), and add a main verb of emotion, such as korkmak (to fear) or kaygılanmak (to worry).

The vinegrower is afraid that the crop will dry up.
Bağcı, mahsul kuruyacak diye korkuyor.
He worries that pests will damage the grapes.
Haşereler üzümlere zarar verecek diye kaygılanıyor.
I am afraid that frost will spoil the bunches.
Don salkımları bozacak diye korkuyorum.

Questions and Other Tenses

To ask if someone is worried about something, place the question particle (mi / / mu / ) immediately after diye.

Are you afraid that the wine will be wasted?
Şarap ziyan olacak diye mi korkuyorsunuz?

While the feared event itself is always expressed in the future tense because it is an anticipated outcome, your main emotion verb can take any tense.

He was going to pick the grapes, but he got scared that it would rain.
Üzümleri toplayacaktı ama yağmur yağacak diye korktu.
We had worried that mold would spread to the cellar.
Küf mahzene yayılacak diye kaygılanmıştık.