You missed a train or lacked a piece of information. You will imagine what would have changed under a different condition, then apply the same pattern to an unreal situation now.
The idea
Use -seydi or -saydı for the imagined condition. In this lesson, pair it with a past-aorist result such as söylerdim (I would tell / would have told) or kaçırmazdık (we would not miss / would not have missed). In Dün bilseydim sana söylerdim, knowing is the unreal condition and telling is its imagined result. Context sets the time: Şimdi vaktim olsaydı means “if I had time now”. In yağmasaydı, the condition itself is negative: “if it had not rained”. The introductory word eğer is optional.
| Imagined condition | Imagined result |
|---|---|
| Dün bilseydim | sana söylerdim |
| Erken çıksaydık | treni kaçırmazdık |
| Şimdi vaktim olsaydı | seninle yürürdüm |
Examples
- Dün bilseydim sana söylerdim.If I had known yesterday, I would have told you.
- Erken çıksaydık treni kaçırmazdık.If we had left early, we would not have missed the train.
- Beni arasaydın sana yardım ederdim.If you had called me, I would have helped you.
- Şimdi vaktim olsaydı seninle yürürdüm.If I had time now, I would walk with you.
- Dün yağmur yağmasaydı bahçede otururduk.If it had not rained yesterday, we would have sat in the garden.
- Haritaya baksaydım yanlış sokağa girmezdim.If I had looked at the map, I would not have gone down the wrong street.
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Watch out
Do not swap gelseydi and geldiyse. In a story where someone did not come, gelseydi imagines their coming; geldiyse leaves open whether they came. Nor does -seydi always mean past time: şimdi can place the unreal situation in the present.
Try it yourself
You did not know yesterday. Complete the unreal condition using bilmek for ben.
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bilseydim
bilseydim: you did not know yesterday, so knowing belongs to the alternative past. The ending identifies the person who would have known as “I”.
You left late and missed the train. Supply the imagined negative result using kaçırmak for biz.
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kaçırmazdık
kaçırmazdık: the train was missed in reality; an early departure would have prevented that. The imagined result is therefore negative and refers to “we”.
The person did not come yesterday. Choose gelseydi or geldiyse to imagine a different past.
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gelseydi
gelseydi: the opening sentence already says the person did not come. Geldiyse would reopen that question instead of imagining the opposite.
You have no time now. Complete the unreal condition with olmak; vaktim is the subject.
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olsaydı
olsaydı: şimdi fixes the situation in the present. The subject is vaktim (my time), so the verb is third person; the possessor “I” does not make it olsaydım.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
You did not know yesterday. Complete the unreal condition using bilmek for ben.
You left late and missed the train. Supply the imagined negative result using kaçırmak for biz.
The person did not come yesterday. Choose gelseydi or geldiyse to imagine a different past.
You have no time now. Complete the unreal condition with olmak; vaktim is the subject.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write a fact about yesterday and a fact about now. For each, imagine a different condition and its result. Mark which part is the condition and which part is the result.