Turkish: A Comprehensive Grammar

Turkish: A comprehensive grammar 420
(i) The attachment of the suffix -sA (one of the tense/aspect/modality markers
described in 8.2.3.3) to a verb:
(3) [Biraz erken gel-se-n] iyi ol-ur.
a.bit early come-COND-2SG good be-AOR
‘It would be good [if you came a bit early].’
(4) [Telefon et-se-ydi-k] belki bekle-r-ler-di.
telephone AUX-COND-P.COP-1PL perhaps wait-AOR-3PL-P.COP
‘[If we had telephoned], perhaps they would have waited.’
(ii) The use of the copular marker -(y)sA, or its free-standing alternate ise, following (a)
one of the position 3 tense/aspect/modality markers (8.2.3.3), (b) a subject complement
(12.1.1.2), (c) the negative particle değil, (d) one of the existential expressions var/yok or
(e) one of the copular markers -(y)DI or -(y)mIş. (For a fuller explanation of the
attachment properties of -(y)sA see 8.3.2, 8.4.)
(5) [Yabancı bir dil öğren-ir-se-niz] dünya-nız genişle-r.
foreign a language learn-AOR-COND.COP-2PL world-2PL.POSS expand-AOR
‘[If you learn a foreign language] your world will expand.’
(6) [Yorgun-lar-sa] yarın-a bırak-abil-ir-iz.
tired-3PL-COND.COP tomorrow-DAT leave-PSB-AOR-1PL
‘[If they’re tired] we can leave [it] till tomorrow.’
Note that the attachment of -(y)sA to the past copula -(y)DI in nominal predicates is a
usage accepted by some but not all speakers:
(7) [Para-sı var-dı-ysa] ev-e neden hiç bak-ma-mış?
money-3SG.POSS existent-P.COP-COND.COP house-DAT why at.all look-
NEG-EV/PF
‘[If he had money], why did he not look after the house at all?’
The use of the non-suffixed copular form ise is nowadays rare in ordinary conditional
sentences, particularly in those where the conditional clause contains a verb. However, it
is quite often used for purposes of emphasis in the type of concessive clause discussed in
27.4.2.2, where the conditional copula is followed by dA. For the use of ise as a topic
shifter see 23.3.3.1 (ii).
The two conditional suffixes differ not only in the kind of stem to which they can be
attached, but also in their stressability. -sA is a regular stressable suffix (4.3.1), whereas -
(y)sA, like all the copular markers, is unstressable (4.3.2).
(8) [Arabayı sat-SA] hepimiz rahatLArız.
sell-COND
‘[If he sold the car] it would be a relief to all of us.’
(9) [Arabayı sat-AR-sa] hepimiz rahatLArız.
sell-AOR-COND.COP
‘[If he sells the car] it will be a relief to all of us.’
-sA occurs only in the predictive type of conditional. -(y)sA, on the other hand, occurs in
both predictive and knowable conditional sentences.