Expressing Inevitability with "İster İstemez"
To express that an action or reaction happens "inevitably" or "whether one likes it or not," Turkish uses the adverbial phrase ister istemez.
This expression literally combines the aorist (simple present) positive and negative forms of istemek (to want): ister (wants) and istemez (does not want).
Simply place ister istemez into your sentence—usually right before the main verb—and conjugate the verb normally.
| Everyone will inevitably grow old one day. | Herkes bir gün ister istemez yaşlanacak. |
This phrase is especially common when discussing physical changes and bodily reactions that happen as we age, often appearing in conditional sentences describing natural consequences:
| If you are very sad, your hair inevitably turns white. | Eğer çok üzgün olursan, saçların ister istemez beyazlar. |
| If your resistance drops, your joints inevitably start to ache. | Direncin düşerse eklemlerin ister istemez ağrımaya başlar. |
We also use ister istemez to describe new habits we are forced to adopt when dealing with weaker joints or a shifting memory:
| If his legs become weak, my grandfather inevitably uses a cane. | Bacakları güçsüzleşirse dedem ister istemez baston kullanır. |
| In old age, forgetfulness inevitably increases. | Yaşlılıkta unutkanlık ister istemez artar. |
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