Breakdown of Eğer kalıplar yanlış olsaydı, yakalar tekrar kestirilirdi.
olmak
to be
kesmek
to cut
yanlış
wrong
tekrar
again
eğer
if
kalıp
pattern
yaka
collar
Questions & Answers about Eğer kalıplar yanlış olsaydı, yakalar tekrar kestirilirdi.
That's a lot of suffixes in kestirilirdi! Can you break them down?
Sure! The root is kes- (to cut). We add the causative -tir to mean "to have someone cut" (to order a cut). Then we add the passive -il to mean "to be ordered to be cut". Finally, we add the aorist past -irdi (the aorist -ir plus the past -di), which creates the "would..." meaning for the result of a conditional sentence.
Why is the aorist past (-irdi) used here for "would be" instead of just a conditional or regular past tense?
In Turkish "if... then..." sentences, when you express what would happen in an imaginary or contrary-to-fact situation, the main clause uses the aorist past. The aorist part (-ir) gives the sense of a general consequence, while the past part (-di) distances it from reality, perfectly matching the English "would".
Why use eğer at the beginning if olsaydı already contains the conditional -sa suffix?
The word eğer means "if," but the actual grammar rule for conditionals is handled by the -sa suffix on the verb (ol-sa-y-dı). Eğer is completely optional! It is just used to give the listener an early hint that an "if" statement is coming, which is especially helpful in longer sentences.
Both kalıplar (patterns) and yakalar (collars) are plural. Why don't their verbs (olsaydı and kestirilirdi) take plural suffixes?
In Turkish, when the subject is plural but non-human (like patterns or clothing parts), the verb must remain in the singular form. You only add a plural suffix to the verb (like olsalardı) if the plural subjects are people.
Learn Eğer kalıplar yanlış olsaydı, yakalar tekrar kestirilirdi and more in Turkish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free