Learn Turkish: Savurganlık yapmak yerine o parayla bir arsa alsaymış, çok zengin olurmuş. - Rumor has it if he had bought a plot of land with that money instead of being wasteful, he would be very rich.

Savurganlık yapmak yerine o parayla bir arsa alsaymış, çok zengin olurmuş.

Rumor has it if he had bought a plot of land with that money instead of being wasteful, he would be very rich.

Breakdown of Savurganlık yapmak yerine o parayla bir arsa alsaymış, çok zengin olurmuş.

Questions & Answers about Savurganlık yapmak yerine o parayla bir arsa alsaymış, çok zengin olurmuş.

What is the difference between alsaymış and the standard past conditional alsaydı?

While alsaydı simply means "if he had bought," alsaymış adds the inferential -mIş suffix to the conditional -sA. This shows the speaker is reporting hearsay, someone else's regret, or a rumor. It adds the specific flavor of "Supposedly, if he had bought..." or "I heard that if he had bought..."

Why does the main clause use olurmuş instead of the usual olurdu ("he would be")?

Olurmuş combines the aorist (-ur) with the inferential -muş to create a reported hypothetical result. Because the condition (alsaymış) is based on hearsay, the result must match that tone. If you used olurdu, you would be stating a direct, known consequence; olurmuş means "he would be rich (so they say)."

How does the grammar in yapmak yerine work?

Yerine is a postposition meaning "instead of." When you want to use an action with it, the verb stays in its full dictionary infinitive form (-mAk). There is no need for possessive endings or case markers on the verb here. It literally translates to "instead of to do."

Could I say savurgan olmak yerine instead of savurganlık yapmak yerine?