Unreal Conditionals
B1
Verb Moods
Unreal conditionals express conditions that are presented as contrary to reality or not fulfilled.
They are used both for past situations that did not happen and for present situations treated as unreal or unattainable.
1. Function
Unreal conditionals are used to express:
unreal past conditions (regret, missed opportunity),
unreal present conditions (hypothetical evaluation),
criticism or retrospective judgment.
2. Forms
Unreal conditionals are formed with:
the conditional marker –sA, and
the past copula –DI.
Suffix shapes:
–sA → sa / se
Past Copula stem –DI → dı / di / du / dü
3. Morphology
The conditional suffix –sA does not encode tense by itself.
Unreality is expressed through the past copula –DI following the conditional form.
Affirmative structural order
Verb stem → –sA → –(y)DI → personal ending
The buffer consonant –y– appears because –sA ends in a vowel.
Unreal Conditional Personal Forms (example base: gel-)
gelseydim
gelseydin
gelseydi
gelseydik
gelseydiniz
gelselerdi
Variation Note
The form gelseydiler is also widely used in spoken Turkish.
While gelselerdi is the standard and preferred form in reference grammars, gelseydiler commonly appears in everyday speech and is generally understood as equivalent in meaning.
Negative Formation
Negation is expressed with –mA, which precedes the conditional suffix.
Negative structural order
Verb stem → –mA → –sA → –(y)DI → personal ending
No buffer consonant appears between –mA and –sA.
Negative Unreal Conditional Personal Forms
gelmeseydim
gelmeseydin
gelmeseydi
gelmeseydik
gelmeseydiniz
gelmeselerdi
4. Structural Formation
Basic structure:
Unreal conditional clause + result clause
The unreal conditional clause may precede or follow the result clause.
Result Clause Forms
The result clause typically expresses an unreal outcome and appears with past-marked forms:
giderdim / alırdım / yapardım
(Aorist + Past Copula)gelecektim / yapacaktım
(Future + Past Copula)
5. Usage
Unreal past
Used to express regret, criticism, or missed opportunity.
Unreal present
Used to evaluate a situation treated as unreal or unattainable.
Examples
Dün bana söyleseydin, gelirdim.
(If you had told me yesterday, I would have come.)Param olsaydı, alırdım.
(If I had money, I would buy it.)Vaktim olsaydı, giderdim.
(If I had time, I would go.)Keşke burada olsaydın.
(I wish you were here.)Keşke gelmeseydin.
(I wish you had not come.)
Notes
Unreal conditionals are formed with –sA + past copula –DI, not with the tense suffix –DI directly on the verb stem.
After –sA, the past copula normally appears with the buffer –y– because –sA ends in a vowel.
In the third person plural, the plural marker –ler appears after –sA and before –DI, and the buffer –y– is not used because –ler ends in a consonant.
Negation precedes –sA: Verb stem → –mA → –sA → –(y)DI → personal ending.
Unreal Conditionals (B1) – FAQ
Q: What do unreal conditionals express in Turkish?
A: Unreal conditionals express situations that are contrary to reality, including unreal past situations (regret, missed opportunities) and unreal present situations (hypothetical or unattainable states).
Q: How are unreal conditionals formed morphologically?
A: Unreal conditionals are formed with the conditional suffix –sA followed by the past copula –DI. The structure is: verb stem + –sA + –(y)DI + personal ending.
Q: How is negation formed in unreal conditionals?
A: Negation is formed by adding –mA before the conditional suffix –sA, resulting in the structure: verb stem + –mA + –sA + –(y)DI + personal ending.