# I wish I lived in İstanbul.



## FlyingBird

'*İ wish i live in İstanbul*' nasıl söylerdiniz?

Keşke İstanbul'da......?


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## maxguncel

Keşke İstanbul'da yaşasaydım.


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## ferisi

"Keşke İstanbul'da yaşasam" (general) or
 "Keşke İstanbul'da yaşasaydım." (past)  or you can translate is as "İstanbul'da yaşamayı dilerdim." (dream, wish).

However, "Keşke İstanbul'da yaşıyor olsaydım. (have been/past)" or "Keşke İstanbul'da yaşayabilseydim"(could) are much beter in daily language but all of are true of course.

"İstanbul'da yaşıyor olmayı isterdim." one of the the other choice..

Apart from all of these, "Şimdi İstanbul'da olmak vardı..." would be the best choice in Turkish daily usage. Its a expression of course and to not make a mistake not I trying translate to English... But its a Turkish wish:  "Şimdi (object, noun) (verb) vardı"


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## FlyingBird

Really don't understand why did you put 'yaşasaydım' and 'yaşayabilseydim'. Cause i want to say 'i wish i live in istanbul *right this moment*'


Keşke istanbul'da yaşasaydım=(i wish i lived in istanbul *before* )
Keşke istanbul'da yaşayabilseydim  (i wish i could lived in istanbul *before* )

Can you explain this please? 


And how would you translate following:

*İ wish i was in istanbul this new year.* (new year is not anymore, but it was 5 days ago)
*İ wish i will be in istanbul this new year.* (New year will be for 5 days, i want to be in istanbul untill than)
*İ wish i am in istanbul in new year.* (New year is right now, but i am not in istanbul)


İ am now really confused


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## rupertbrooke

Let me try to explain wishes in English:-
We use past tense 'would' and 'could' to talk about wishes for the *future*:
I don’t like my work. I wish I could get a better job.
That’s a dreadful noise. I wish it would stop.
I always have to get home early. I wish my parents would let me stay out later.

We use past tense forms to talk about wishes for the *present*:
I don’t like this place. I wish I lived in somewhere more interesting.
These seats are very uncomfortable. I wish we were travelling first class.
Everyone wishes they had more free time.
Mehmet wishes he wasn’t so busy.
I wish it wasn’t so cold.

We use the past perfect to talk about wishes for the *past*:
I wish I had worked harder when I was at school.
Ayşegül wishes she had listened to what her mother told her.
I wish I hadn’t spent so much money last month.

If I apply this to your question, will Turkish scholars correct the following halting attempts at clarification?
I wish I were/was/could be in Istanbul NOW=Şimdi İstanbul'da olmak vardı/keşke İstanbul'da olsaydım/ Keşke İstanbul'da yaşasam. [irrealis]
I wish I could be in Istanbul IN THE FUTURE=Keşke İstanbul'da yaşasam iyi olur/fena olmaz.[irrealis but remotely possible]
I wish I had been in Istanbul IN THE PAST=Keşke istanbul'da yaşasaydım=(I wish I had lived in Istanbul before)/Keşke istanbul'da yaşayabilseydim ( I wish I could have lived) [irrealis]

I don't know if fluent Turkish speakers &, more to the point, those knowledgeable in both Turkish & English grammar think this analysis is erroneous but I would value feedback. At least it will provide a starting-point for grammatical discussion & help FlyingBird en passant.


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## rupertbrooke

Your knowledge of English is fair but not strong, so apologies for the long explanation. I admitted that my knowledge might be erroneous & asked for specialist grammatical help. And you *can* use iyi olur & fena olmaz with the wish interpretation of -sa. Sabah biraz daha erken kalksan iyi olur & biraz daha yüksek sesle konuşsalar fena olmuz are both good sentences in Turkish.
<->


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## FlyingBird

İ am really sorry if my post was rude. But i really didn't wanted it to be rude. 

When i said that i would like also someone else's answer, than i didn't meant that your answer is bad, i just wanted to see also other opinions.

İ am really sorry.

btw i think your explanation about english is great, i also learned something new from your post


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## rupertbrooke

Thank you! It seems we are both waiting for Rallino or Reverence to enlighten us.


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