Imagining Possibilities: The Present Conditional
When you want to talk about a hypothetical scenario—like what you would do if you changed your daily routines—Turkish uses the conditional suffix -sa or -se (following 2-way vowel harmony).
To form the "if" clause, attach this suffix directly to the verb stem, followed by a personal ending. Note that for this structure, the first person singular takes -m and the first person plural takes -k.
Verb Stem + -sa / -se + Personal Ending
For example, starting with okumak (to read), the stem is oku. Add -sa and the "you" ending -n to get okusan (If you read). The result clause (what would happen) usually uses the aorist (broad tense) to describe the expected outcome.
| If you read about nutrition, you would learn beneficial things. | Beslenme hakkında okusan faydalı şeyler öğrenirsin. |
Negative Conditionals and "Would"
To say "if I didn't..." or "if we didn't...", insert the negative suffix -ma or -me right before the conditional suffix.
Verb Stem + -ma / -me + -sa / -se + Personal Ending
Notice that the result clause sometimes combines the aorist with the past tense (like -rdI or -mazdI), specifically meaning what someone would or wouldn't do in that imagined situation.
| If I didn't use my time well, I wouldn't be productive. | Zamanımı iyi kullanmasam verimli olmazdım. |
You can also pair a positive "if" clause with a negative "wouldn't" result:
| If we consumed less sugar, we wouldn't get sick. | Daha az şeker tüketsek hasta olmazdık. |
More Examples
The -sa / -se suffix gives the meaning of "if" all on its own, though you can also add the word eğer (if) at the beginning of the sentence for emphasis.
| If I changed my lifestyle, I would be very energetic. | Hayat tarzımı değiştirsem çok enerjik olurum. |
Whether a verb ends in a vowel or a consonant, the pattern is exactly the same. Let's look at a few more examples with different subjects:
| If they socialized more, they would change their boring routines. | Daha çok sosyalleşseler sıkıcı rutinlerini değiştirirler. |
| If we reduced the expenses, we would save money. | Masrafları azaltsak para biriktiririz. |