Changing the Past: -(y)saydı
Sometimes you want to talk about how a past event could have gone differently. To say "If X had happened..." (even though it didn't), combine the conditional suffix (-sa / -se) with the past tense suffix (-ydı / -ydi).
Attach this to the verb stem, followed by a personal ending.
The second half of the sentence describes what the result would have been. This result clause uses the past form of the aorist tense (usually ending in -ırdı or -erdi for positive verbs).
| If we had scored that goal, we would have finished the league first. | O golü atsaydık, ligi birinci bitirirdik. |
| If the referee had seen that foul, he would have given a red card. | Hakem o faulü görseydi, kırmızı kart verirdi. |
Negative Conditions
To say "If something hadn't happened," place the negative marker (-ma / -me) directly after the verb stem, right before -saydı or -seydi.
If you also want to say a result wouldn't have happened, use the negative aorist past in the result clause (such as -mazdı or -mezdik).
| If the opposing team hadn't committed a foul, our player wouldn't have fallen. | Rakip takım faul yapmasaydı, oyuncumuz düşmezdi. |
| If the captain hadn't gotten injured in the first match, we wouldn't have lost the match. | Kaptan birinci maçta sakatlanmasaydı, maçı kaybetmezdik. |
"If it had been..." with Olsaydı
When describing conditions with adjectives or nouns rather than action verbs, use olsaydı (the conditional past of olmak, to be). This translates to "If it had been...".
| If this league had been easier, we would have won every match. | Bu lig daha kolay olsaydı, her maçı kazanırdık. |
| If the new stadium had been open, we would have played the final there. | Yeni stadyum açık olsaydı, finali orada oynardık. |