-masa/-məsə

Negative Conditional

Level 4

Verb Stem + -ma/-mə + -sa/-sə + Personal Ending

How It Works

The negative conditional is formed by adding the negative suffix -ma/-mə directly to the verb stem, followed by the conditional marker -sa/-sə and then the appropriate personal ending.

1. Vowel Harmony:
This pattern follows two-way vowel harmony:

  • -masa: Used with back vowels (a, ı, o, u). Example: bax- (look) → baxmasa (if he doesn't look).
  • -məsə: Used with front vowels (e, ə, i, ö, ü). Example: get- (go) → getməsə (if he doesn't go).

2. Personal Endings:
The personal endings are attached after the conditional suffix. Note that for the second person plural, only -nız or -niz are possible because the conditional suffix always ends in 'a' or 'ə':

  • Mən (I): -m (e.g., gəlməsəm - if I don't come)
  • Sən (You): -n (e.g., gəlməsən - if you don't come)
  • O (He/She/It): Ø (e.g., gəlməsə - if he doesn't come)
  • Biz (We): -q/-k (e.g., baxmasaq - if we don't look)
  • Siz (You all/Formal): -nız/-niz (e.g., baxmasanız - if you don't look)
  • Onlar (They): -lar/-lər (e.g., gəlməsələr - if they don't come)

3. Stress Placement:
In Azerbaijani, the negative suffix -ma/-mə is unstressed. The stress falls on the syllable immediately preceding the negation. For example, in gəlməsə, the stress is on the first syllable 'gəl'.

4. Usage with 'Əgər':
While the word əgər (if) is often used at the start of the sentence for emphasis (see əgər + -sa/-sə), the suffix -masa/-məsə is grammatically sufficient on its own. This pattern represents the Simple Conditional mood, which is distinct from the isə particle used in compound tenses (like getmirsə).

Examples (4)

  1. İstəməsən, demə.

    If you don't want to, don't say it.

    Word by Word: Want-not-if-you, say-not.

    Uses the 2nd person singular negative conditional followed by a negative imperative.

  2. Vaxtında gəlməsəniz, biz gedəcəyik.

    If you (plural) do not come on time, we will leave.

    Word by Word: Time-in come-not-if-you, we go-will.

    Shows the formal/plural 2nd person ending -niz attached to the negative conditional.

  3. O, razı olmasa, heç nə edə bilmərik.

    If he does not agree, we can't do anything.

    Word by Word: He, agree be-not-if, nothing do can-not-we.

    Demonstrates the 3rd person (zero ending) negative conditional with a compound verb.

  4. Yağış yağmasa, parka gedərik.

    If it doesn't rain, we will go to the park.

    Word by Word: Rain fall-not-if, park-to go-will-we.

    A classic real condition where the result depends on the absence of rain.

Common Mistakes

  • Incorrect suffix order.

    Gəlməmsə
    Gəlməsəm

    Learners often try to put the personal ending before the conditional marker. In Azerbaijani, the order is always Stem + Negation + Conditional + Person.

  • Vowel harmony errors.

    O gəlmasa...
    O gəlməsə...

    The verb 'gəlmək' has a front vowel (ə), so it must take the front-vowel version of the suffix (-məsə) rather than the back-vowel version (-masa).

How It Connects

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-masa/-məsəLevel 4Negative Conditional

Learn This First

To understand the negative conditional (-masa/-məsə), you need to know how to identify a verb stem and how to apply the negative suffix -ma/-mə. Additionally, you must be familiar with two-way vowel harmony to choose between the -masa and -məsə variants based on the preceding vowel in the verb stem.

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Patterns that build on this one.

Words in This Pattern

-mə