B1 · Commands, wishes and conditions · about 7 minutes
If only …: wishes with “keşke”
I wish I had …
One word for the wish, one ending for the time: “-se” for now, “-seydi” for the past.
Do you know this already?
“New to me”: the explanation first, then practice. “Test myself”: 3 short questions – get at least two right and you go straight to the harder exercises.
Understand
RememberKeşke plus -se for now, plus -seydi for the past.
- Signal words
- keşke
- keşke … olsa
- keşke … olsaydı
The form
The forms and what they mean
Each row gives the meaning first, then the form in Turkish.
negation
| I wish you were here! | Keşke burada olsan! |
| if only the weather were nice tomorrow! | Keşke yarın hava güzel olsa! |
| I wish I could swim! | Keşke yüzebilsem! |
| I wish I had more time! | Keşke daha çok vaktim olsa! |
| if only I had known! | Keşke bilseydim! |
| if only I hadn’t gone! | Keşke gitmeseydim! |
| I wish you had come too! | Keşke sen de gelseydin! |
| I wish! | Keşke! |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
Keşke comes first, and the verb takes a conditional form.
Keşke burada olsan!I wish you were here!
For now or later it is -se on the stem.
Keşke yarın tatil olsa!If only tomorrow were a day off!
For the past it is -seydi.
Keşke daha erken gelseydin!I wish you had come earlier!
The negative has -me- before the ending.
Keşke o kadar çok içmeseydim!I wish I hadn’t drunk so much!
With -ebil in front it means “I wish I could”.
Keşke Türkçe konuşabilsem!I wish I could speak Turkish!
Example sentences
Keşke daha çok paramız olsa!I wish we had more money!
Keşke o filmi görmeseydim!I wish I hadn’t seen that film!
Keşke Türkçe bilsem!I wish I knew Turkish!
5 more example sentences
Keşke sen de gelseydin, çok güzeldi.I wish you had come too, it was lovely.
Yarın tatil mi? — Keşke!Is tomorrow a day off? — I wish!
Keşke deniz kenarında yaşasak!If only we lived by the sea!
Keşke ona doğruyu söyleseydim!I wish I had told him the truth!
Keşke bu kış kar yağsa!If only it would snow this winter!
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English speakers often mix up “I wish” and “I hope”: “I hope it’ll be sunny tomorrow.” Carried over with keşke, the verb stays in the future: Keşke yarın güneşli olacak. But after keşke it is always -se or -seydi.
Quick check
A warm-up: 2 questions, answered straight away. They do not count towards your progress.
Practise
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.
Now write it yourself9 sentences on this topic, typed and checked instantly.
Well done
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The full explanation
Read it all · about 1 min
Keşke means “if only” or “I wish”. It comes at the start of the sentence, and the verb at the end takes a conditional form — never the ordinary present or future. English does something similar: “I wish you were here”, not “I wish you are here”.
For a wish about now or later, use -se straight on the stem: Keşke burada olsan! “I wish you were here!” — Keşke yarın hava güzel olsa! “If only the weather were nice tomorrow!”
For something past that you regret, use -seydi: Keşke daha çok çalışsaydım! “I wish I had studied more!” — Keşke o gün gitmeseydim! “If only I hadn’t gone that day!”
On its own as an answer, Keşke! means “I wish!” or “If only!”
A closer look
“keşke” and “umarım”
For a wish that may well come true you often hear umarım “I hope” with the ordinary form: Umarım yarın hava güzel olur. Keşke, on the other hand, sounds wistful, as if it were rather unlikely — just like “I hope” and “I wish” in English.
Umarım yarın hava güzel olur.I hope the weather is nice tomorrow.
Worth knowing1
Worth knowing
Compared with English
After “I wish” English shifts the verb back: “I wish I had”, “I wish I had had”. Turkish uses the conditional forms you learnt for “if”. keşke is the signal that turns a condition into a wish.
Keşke daha çok vaktim olsa.I wish I had more time.
The verbs on this page, in every form: bilmek · ummak