Breakdown of Keşke hayat sadece tatil yapmaktan ibaret olsa.
olmak
to be
hayat
life
sadece
only, just
tatil yapmak
to take a holiday
Questions & Answers about Keşke hayat sadece tatil yapmaktan ibaret olsa.
Why does the sentence end with the conditional olsa instead of a present tense like oluyor?
The word keşke (if only / I wish) triggers the conditional mood to express a hypothetical wish or regret. Therefore, the verb olmak (to be) takes the conditional suffix -sa, becoming olsa (if it were).
Why is the ablative suffix -tan added to the verbal noun yapmak?
This is driven by the word ibaret (consisting of). In Turkish, the thing that something consists of must take the ablative case (-dan / -den / -tan / -ten). So, 'consisting of doing' becomes yapmaktan ibaret.
How does ibaret olmak differ from just using the verb olmak (to be)?
İbaret olmak specifically means 'to consist of,' 'to be composed of,' or 'to amount to.' When paired with sadece (only) like in this sentence, it gives the strong nuance that life 'is nothing but' or 'amounts to nothing more than' taking a vacation.
Why do we use the plain infinitive yapmak (plus the case ending) rather than a possessed form like yapmamdan?