Breakdown of Eğer kalın iplik olsaydı, düğmeler sıkıca diktirilirdi.
olmak
to be
kalın
thick
sıkıca
tightly
eğer
if
dikmek
to sew
iplik
thread
düğme
button
Questions & Answers about Eğer kalın iplik olsaydı, düğmeler sıkıca diktirilirdi.
How do we get "would be ordered to be sewn" from diktirilirdi?
This verb stacks several suffixes! It starts with the root dik- (to sew). Next is -tir (causative: to make someone sew), followed by -il (passive: to be ordered to be sewn). Finally, we add the current lesson's grammar: -ir (aorist) + -di (past). In Turkish, combining the aorist and past tense (-irdi) is how you express "would happen" in the main clause of a conditional sentence.
Why is the past tense ending -dı attached to the conditional olsa?
Adding the past tense to a conditional suffix (-saydı) creates a hypothetical or unreal situation. While olsa means "if there is", olsaydı means "if there were" or "if there had been". It sets up the imaginary scenario that requires the "would" in the second half of the sentence.
What is the -ca suffix doing at the end of sıkıca?
Since olsaydı already means "if there were", do we really need Eğer at the start of the sentence?
No, it is completely optional. Turkish speakers often place eğer at the beginning of a sentence to give the listener an early warning that an "if" statement is coming, but the actual grammatical work is done by the -sa suffix on the verb.
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