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### The Converb of Exception (-mAdIkçA)

In the previous lesson, you learned how to use `-dIkçA` to express "as long as" or "the more... the more...". To express the negative version of this—meaning "unless" or "as long as [an action] does not happen"—you simply add the negative suffix `-mA` before `-dIkçA`.

You create this form by attaching `-ma` or `-me` (following 2-way vowel harmony) directly to the verb stem, followed by the converb suffix. 

| Verb Stem | Negative + Suffix | Form | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| ver- (to give) | -medikçe | vermedikçe | unless (one) gives |
| yağ- (to rain) | -madıkça | yağmadıkça | unless it rains |
| aç- (to open) | -madıkça | açmadıkça | unless (one) opens |
| büyü- (to grow) | -medikçe | büyümedikçe | unless (it) grows |

Because the negative suffix `-mA` always ends in a vowel, consonant mutation never occurs here. The `d` will never harden into a `t`. You only have two straightforward forms to remember: `-madıkça` and `-medikçe`.

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### Setting the Condition

Just like its positive counterpart, `-mAdIkçA` does not take tense or personal markers itself. It acts purely as a condition for the rest of the sentence. The main verb (or noun) at the end of the sentence determines who is doing the action and when it happens.

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This structure is extremely useful for talking about natural processes, farming, and agriculture, because it easily describes a state that remains frozen or an outcome that won't occur until a specific requirement is met.

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Unless (-mAdIkçA)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

postposition

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Demonstrative pronouns (bu, şu, o)

Basic question words (kim, ne)

Plural nouns (-lar, -ler)

I am and you are (-(y)ım, -sın)

We, you, and they are (-(y)ız, -sınız)

Negative statements (değil)

Yes and no questions (mı, mi, mu, mü)

Questions with 'to be' (mısın, mıyım)

Numbers 1 to 10 (bir, iki, üç)

Numbers 11 to 20 (on bir, on iki)

Numbers by tens to 100 (otuz, kırk...)

Counting objects (tane)

The locative case (-da, -de)

Consonant assimilation (-ta, -te)

Asking where (nerede)

There is / there are (var)

There is not / there are not (yok)

Asking how many (kaç)

Infinitive verbs (-mak, -mek)

Informal commands (git, gel)

Negative commands (-ma, -me)

Polite and plural commands (-In, -InIz)

Basic word order

Present continuous for consonant roots (-iyor)

Present continuous for vowel roots (-iyor)

Present continuous personal suffixes (-iyorum)

Negative present continuous (-miyor)

Present continuous questions (-iyor mu)

Future plans with present continuous

The dative case (-(y)a, -(y)e)

Consonant mutation (k, t, p, ç to ğ, d, b, c)

From or out of (-dan / -den)

Directional question words (nereye, nereden)

First and second person possessives (-(i)m, -(i)n)

Third person possessive (-(s)i)

Plural possessives (-imiz, -iniz, -leri)

The genitive case (-(n)in)

Definite noun compounds (-nin ... -si)

Indefinite noun compounds (bare noun + -(s)i)

Possessive buffer letter (n)

Spatial postpositions (içinde, üstünde)

The definite direct object (-(y)ı, -(y)i)

Object question words (kimi, neyi)

Adjectives modifying nouns

Manner and choice questions (nasıl, hangi)

Basic degree modifiers (çok, biraz)

Comparisons (daha, en)

Days of the week

Months of the year

The time question word (ne zaman)

Telling time (saat, buçuk)

Asking the time (saat kaç, saat kaçta)

Basic conjunctions (ve, ama, veya)

Causality conjunction (çünkü)

Means and accompaniment (ile, -(y)lA)

Purpose and beneficiaries (için)

Expressing desire (-mak istemek)

The past copula (-(y)DI)

The direct past tense (-DI)

Past tense personal suffixes (-DIm, -DIn)

Past tense negative (-mAdI)

Past tense questions (-DI mI)

Ordinal numbers (-(I)ncI)

Greetings and politeness

Saying 'too' (de, da)

Conversation fillers (şey, yani, hadi)

Conversational essentials

Reflexive pronouns (kendim, kendin)

Reciprocal pronouns (birbiri)

Indefinite pronouns for people (herkes, kimse)

Indefinite pronouns for things and places (her şey, hiçbir şey)

Conjunctions of consequence (bu yüzden, bu nedenle)

Correlative conjunctions (hem... hem, ne... ne)

Verbs taking the dative case (-e / -a)

Verbs taking the ablative case (-den / -dan)

Time origin (beri)

Time duration (-DIr)

Comparisons of similarity (gibi)

Comparisons of equality (kadar)

Perspectives (göre)

Verbal nouns (-mA / -mE)

Verbal nouns as objects (-mAyI / -mEyI)

Verbal nouns with the dative (-mAyA / -mEyA)

General necessity (lazım / gerek)

Personal necessity (-mAm lazım)

Third-person commands (-sIn / -sInlAr)

First person singular optative (-(y)AyIm)

Question	Answer
fertilizer	gübre
crop	ekin
to dry up	kurumak
Unless you give fertilizer, the crops dry up.	Gübre vermedikçe ekinler kuruyor.
well	kuyu
Unless it rains, the well dries up.	Yağmur yağmadıkça kuyu kuruyor.
greenhouse	sera
to rot	çürümek
Unless you open the greenhouse, the tomatoes rot.	Serayı açmadıkça domatesler çürüyor.
We are not going to the greenhouse unless the crops grow.	Ekinler büyümedikçe seraya gitmiyoruz.
mud	çamur
tractor	traktör
Unless the mud dries, the tractor does not work.	Çamur kurumadıkça traktör çalışmıyor.
harvest	hasat
I have nothing other than a tractor for the harvest.	Hasat için traktörden başka hiçbir şeyim yok.
shovel	kürek
The worker managed to dig the well with a shovel.	İşçi kuyuyu kürekle kazabildi.
Unless we buy fertilizer, we have no harvest.	Gübre almadıkça hasadımız yok.
The apples fell into the mud and rotted.	Elmalar çamura düştü ve çürüdü.
Do you have a shovel in the tractor?	Traktörde küreğin var mı?