Build conditional forms in two positions: after an aorist form, as in gelirse, and directly after a verb stem, as in gelsem. This page focuses on those two patterns.
The idea
Use -se after e, i, ö, ü and -sa after a, ı, o, u, looking at the last vowel before the suffix. The consonant s stays the same. In gel-ir-se, the aorist remains before the conditional: “if he or she comes”. In gel-se-m, the suffix follows the stem and -m marks “I”: “if I were to come”. The bare-stem pattern can express a hypothesis or a wish, depending on context. A vowel-final stem takes it directly: bekle-se, oku-sa.
| Last vowel | Suffix | Base | Conditional form |
|---|---|---|---|
| e, i, ö, ü | -se | gel | gelse |
| a, ı, o, u | -sa | bak | baksa |
| i | -se | gelir | gelirse |
| a | -sa | yağar | yağarsa |
| e | -se | bekle | beklese |
| u | -sa | oku | okusa |
| i | -se | git | gitse |
Examples
- Yağmur yağarsa pencereyi kapatırım.If it rains, I will close the window.
- Erken gelirsen birlikte yemek yaparız.If you come early, we will cook together.
- Bu kitabı okursan konuyu anlarsın.If you read this book, you will understand the topic.
- gelirseif he or she comesgelir-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)se-se / -sa: the conditional suffix
- yağarsaif it rainsyağar-ir / -ar / -er: the aorist (gelir, yapar)sa-se / -sa: the conditional suffix
- gelsemif I were to comegelse-se / -sa: the conditional suffixmConditional person endings: -m, -n, -k
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Watch out
Do not remove the aorist merely because English uses “if”: gelirse and gelse are not freely interchangeable. Nor does git- become gid- before -se: write gitse, because the suffix begins with a consonant.
Try it yourself
Add the conditional to gelir: if he or she comes. Write the whole word.
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gelirse
gelirse: the supplied base gelir already contains the aorist. Keep its r; the last vowel i selects -se. No person ending is added for he or she.
Add the conditional to yağar: if it rains. Write the whole word.
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yağarsa
yağarsa: start with yağar, whose last vowel is a. Adding -sa makes the rain a condition; the ğ in the stem stays.
Use the bare stem gel- with the conditional and “I”: if I were to come.
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gelsem
gelsem: the prompt asks for the bare-stem hypothesis with “I”. Join gel, se and m; adding -ir would instead produce gelirsem.
Use the bare stem git- with the conditional, third person singular: if he or she were to go.
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gitse
gitse: the following s is a consonant, so the final t of git stays. Its vowel i calls for -se, with no extra person ending here.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Add the conditional to gelir: if he or she comes. Write the whole word.
Add the conditional to yağar: if it rains. Write the whole word.
Use the bare stem gel- with the conditional and “I”: if I were to come.
Use the bare stem git- with the conditional, third person singular: if he or she were to go.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the parts in order to build this word: if he or she comes
Tap the parts in order to build this word: if it rains
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Write two conditions about tomorrow with an aorist form plus -se/-sa. Then split gelsem into stem, conditional and person ending, and explain how it differs from gelirsem.