istər..., istərsə də...

Whether One or Another

Level 6

Use istər..., istərsə də... to show that a situation is universal across different categories. It translates to 'whether... or...' or 'both... and...' with an inclusive nuance.

How It Works

The expression istər..., istərsə də... is a formal correlative conjunction, known in Azerbaijani linguistics as a bölüşdürmə bağlayıcısı (distributive conjunction).

1. Structure:

  • istər: Derived from the aorist form of the verb istəmək (to want), it precedes the first item.
  • istərsə də: Combines the conditional mood with the additive particle da/də. It precedes the final item in the list.

2. Usage and Register:
This pattern is highly common in formal, literary, and journalistic Azerbaijani. While casual speech might use the simpler həm... həm də, this pattern is preferred when you want to emphasize that the choice between alternatives does not change the result (e.g., 'Whether rich or poor, everyone must follow the law').

3. Grammatical Parallelism and Punctuation:
The items linked must be in the same grammatical case. If the first item is in the locative case, the second must be as well. Punctuation Rule: A comma normally goes before every instance of the conjunction after the first one (i.e., before the second 'istər' and before 'istərsə də').

4. Multiple Items:
If there are more than two items, istər is repeated for each initial item, and istərsə də is used only for the last one: İstər A, istər B, istərsə də C. Note that the comma precedes each subsequent part of the correlative structure.

Examples (4)

  1. İstər müəllimlər, istərsə də şagirdlər bu qərardan razı qaldılar.

    Both the teachers and the students were satisfied with this decision.

    Word by Word: Whether teachers, whether-if also students this decision-from satisfied stayed-they.

    Here, the pattern links two groups of people, showing the decision affected both equally.

  2. İstər yayda, istərsə də qışda bu dağlar çox gözəl görünür.

    Whether in summer or in winter, these mountains look very beautiful.

    Word by Word: Whether summer-in, whether-if also winter-in these mountains very beautiful look.

    This demonstrates the use of the locative case (-da/-də) for both coordinated time periods.

  3. İstər gəl, istərsə də gəlmə; biz artıq qərarımızı vermişik.

    Whether you come or not, we have already made our decision.

    Word by Word: Whether come, whether-if also come-not; we already decision-our-acc given-are.

    The pattern can also link verbs in the imperative mood to show that an action's outcome is independent of someone else's choice.

  4. İstər Bakıda, istər Gəncədə, istərsə də Naxçıvanda bu qayda keçərlidir.

    Whether in Baku, Ganja, or Nakhchivan, this rule is valid.

    Word by Word: Whether Baku-in, whether Ganja-in, whether-if also Nakhchivan-in this rule valid-is.

    This shows how to link three items by repeating 'istər' and ending with 'istərsə də'.

Common Mistakes

  • Leaving out 'də' after 'istərsə' is possible, but the full pair is more common.

    Different Meaningİstər yayda, istərsə qışda...
    İstər yayda, istərsə də qışda...

    'İstər yayda, istərsə qışda' is also correct. The fuller form 'istərsə də' is the more common pair in careful writing.

  • Case mismatch between the coordinated items.

    İstər Bakıda, istərsə də Gəncəyə...
    İstər Bakıda, istərsə də Gəncədə...

    Both items must be in the same case (in this case, the locative -da/-də) because they function parallelly in the sentence.

  • Forgetting the comma before 'istərsə də'.

    İstər kitab istərsə də dəftər al.
    İstər kitab, istərsə də dəftər al.

    Azerbaijani punctuation rules require a comma to separate items linked by repeating conjunctions.

How It Connects

Tap a pattern to see what it builds on and what it leads to.

istər..., istərsə də...Level 6Whether One or Another

Learn This First

The pattern 'istər..., istərsə də...' is an advanced correlative coordinator used to include multiple alternatives in a single statement. It is built upon the verb 'istəmək' (to want) in its conditional and concessive forms. To understand it, learners need to be familiar with how Azerbaijani handles correlative structures and the use of the additive particle 'da/də' to link parallel concepts.

Words in This Pattern