Wishing for Things to be Different: Keşke
To express a wish about the present—like wishing for a lighter workload—use keşke (if only / I wish) with the conditional mood (-sa / -se).
| if only / I wish | keşke |
Unlike standard "if" conditions, present wishes stand alone and don't need a result clause.
keşke + ... + verb stem + -sa / -se + personal ending
| The work I do is very exhausting, I wish it were easier. | Yaptığım iş çok yorucu, keşke daha kolay olsa. |
| I wish the workload were low for every employee. | Keşke her çalışan için iş yükü az olsa. |
Wishing You "Had" Something
To say "I wish I had...", use a possessive ending on the noun you want, followed by olsa (the conditional form of olmak, to be). Literally, this means "I wish my [noun] existed."
| My company is not flexible, I wish I had such an opportunity. | Şirketim esnek değil, keşke böyle bir imkânım olsa. |
| I wish I had free time to establish balance in my life. | Hayatımda denge kurmak için keşke boş zamanım olsa. |
Wishes with Action Verbs
Attach -sa or -se (following 2-way vowel harmony) to any verb stem to say "I wish something would happen" or "I wish someone would do something."
| My boss is very strict, I wish my stress would ease a little. | Patronum çok katı, keşke stresim biraz hafiflese. |
| I wish all the employees worked flexible hours. | Keşke bütün çalışanlar esnek saatlerde çalışsa. |
Wishing for Yourself: Olsam and Olsak
To say "I wish I were..." or "I wish we were...", add the appropriate personal ending to olsa. Remember that the conditional structure uses -m for "I" (olsam) and -k for "we" (olsak).
| I wish I were free all day on the weekend. | Keşke hafta sonu bütün gün boş olsam. |
| I wish we were free on the weekend. | Keşke hafta sonu serbest olsak. |