Breakdown of Eğer çok üzgün olursan, saçların ister istemez beyazlar.
üzgün
sad
çok
very
olmak
to be
saç
hair
eğer
if
ister istemez
inevitably / whether one likes it or not
beyazlamak
to turn white / to whiten
Questions & Answers about Eğer çok üzgün olursan, saçların ister istemez beyazlar.
How does ister istemez literally mean "inevitably"?
It is formed by combining the positive (ister) and negative (istemez) aorist forms of the verb istemek (to want). Literally meaning "wants, doesn't want," it acts as an adverb meaning "whether one wants to or not," which naturally translates to "inevitably" or "unavoidably" when placed before a verb.
Why use the verb olursan instead of just attaching the conditional to the adjective like üzgünsen?
While üzgünsen means "if you are sad right now" describing a current state, olursan uses the aorist tense of olmak (to become/be) to express a general condition ("if you ever become sad"). This fits the sentence perfectly because it is stating a general, inevitable rule.
Is beyazlar a plural noun meaning "whites" or a verb here?
It is a verb! You can turn many adjectives into verbs using the -la or -le suffix. Here, beyaz (white) becomes beyazlamak (to turn white). The final -r is the aorist (simple present) tense suffix, making it "turns white."
Why is hair pluralized as saçların, but the verb beyazlar doesn't have the plural suffix -lar?
First, Turkish often uses the plural saçlar for the hair on your head, unlike English which uses the uncountable singular. Second, there is a strict grammatical rule that non-human plural subjects (like hair, animals, or objects) take a singular verb. That is why it is beyazlar rather than beyazlarlar.
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