Breakdown of Eğer örneklerimiz olmasaydı, hemen beyaz iplik getirtilirdi.
olmak
to be
getirmek
to bring
beyaz
white
hemen
immediately / right away
eğer
if
iplik
thread
örnek
sample
Questions & Answers about Eğer örneklerimiz olmasaydı, hemen beyaz iplik getirtilirdi.
What gives getirtilirdi the meaning of "would be..."?
It uses the Aorist Past tense, formed by combining the Aorist suffix (-ir) and the past tense suffix (-di). In "Type 2" conditional sentences (imagining a different present or future), the Aorist Past in the main clause translates to "would [verb]" in English. Because the verb stem here means "be ordered to be brought," the whole word means "would be ordered to be brought."
Can we break down the suffixes in getirtilirdi? How does it mean "ordered to be brought"?
The root is getir- (bring). We add the causative suffix -t to get getirt- (to have someone bring / to order). Then, we add the passive suffix -il to get getirtil- (to be ordered to be brought). Finally, the aorist past -irdi adds the "would" meaning. This kind of suffix stacking is very common in Turkish!
Why is "if we didn't have samples" translated as örneklerimiz olmasaydı?
Turkish doesn't have a direct verb for "to have." Instead, you express possession by saying "our things exist" or "our things don't exist." Örneklerimiz means "our samples." Combined with olmasaydı (if it didn't exist / if it were not), it literally means "if our samples did not exist," which is how Turkish expresses "if we didn't have samples."
Is the word eğer required to make this an "if" sentence?
No, eğer is optional. The conditional "if" meaning is already securely provided by the -sa suffix in olmasaydı. Adding eğer at the beginning of the sentence simply helps warn the listener early on that a conditional statement is coming.
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