Breakdown of Keşke her çalışan için iş yükü az olsa.
iş
work
olmak
to be
her
every
için
for
az
little, not much
keşke
if only / I wish
çalışan
employee
yük
burden / load
Questions & Answers about Keşke her çalışan için iş yükü az olsa.
How does the verb olsa work with keşke in this sentence?
The word keşke (I wish / if only) pairs with the conditional suffix -sa / -se to express a present or future wish. By adding -sa to ol- (to be / become), olsa translates to 'were' or 'would be'. It shows we are wishing for a hypothetical situation.
Is çalışan a verb or a noun here?
It acts as a noun meaning 'employee.' It is actually the present participle of çalışmak (to work), formed with the -an suffix. It literally means 'the one who works,' but it is the standard, everyday Turkish word for an employee.
Why is there an -ü at the end of iş yükü?
İş yükü (workload) is a noun compound made of iş (work) and yük (load). In Turkish, when you combine two nouns to create a new specific concept, the second noun must take a possessive suffix. Here, it takes -ü to match the vowel harmony of yük.
Could I drop the word keşke and still mean 'I wish'?
Yes! The conditional suffix -sa on olsa already carries the meaning of a wish all by itself. Adding keşke just adds emotional emphasis (like saying 'if ONLY'), but the sentence is perfectly correct and means the exact same thing without it.
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