When you reach a language learning plateau, stubborn mistakes can feel permanent. To express universal concessive conditionals like "no matter what/how/who," pair a question word with a verb in the conditional mood.
The formula is:
- Question Word (ne, nasıl, kim, ne kadar, hangi, vb.)
- Verb Stem + Conditional Suffix (-sa / -se)
- Personal Suffix
For instance, combining ne kadar (how much) with the conditional form of gayret etmek creates "no matter how much effort I make":
| No matter how much effort I make, I still have an accent. | Ne kadar gayret etsem, hâlâ aksanım var. |
You can also use question words with postpositions, such as kiminle (with whom):
| No matter who I speak to, I cannot keep a new dialect in my memory. | Kiminle konuşsam, yeni bir şiveyi hafızamda tutamıyorum. |
What and How
Use ne (what) or nasıl (how) for tricky grammar rules or difficult pronunciation:
| No matter what I write, I make spelling mistakes because of the exceptions. | Ne yazsam, istisnalar yüzünden imla hatası yapıyorum. |
| No matter how I explain the stress, they do not grasp it. | Vurguyu nasıl anlatsam, kavramıyorlar. |
Modifying Nouns with "Hangi"
To say "no matter which [noun]," place hangi before the noun. The noun still takes any case ending the verb requires (like the accusative case for a specific direct object):
| He is such a stubborn student that no matter which spelling flaw I show, he does not accept it. | O öyle inatçı bir öğrenci ki, hangi imla kusurunu göstersem kabul etmiyor. |
| My memory is very bad; no matter which word I learn, I forget it. | Hafızam çok kötü; hangi kelimeyi öğrensem unutuyorum. |
Changing the Subject and Location
Change the personal suffix to describe other people. The third person (he/she/it) takes no personal suffix, leaving just -sa / -se:
| No matter what he reads, he finds a flaw in the stress. | Ne okusa, vurguda bir kusur buluyor. |
This structure also works with directional words like nereye (where to) for situations that persist across different places:
| No matter where I go, people make an effort to protect their mother tongue. | Nereye gitsem, insanlar ana dilini korumak için gayret ediyor. |