İstek kipi (optative)
Turkish has a small mood for wishes and gentle commands: stem + -e / -a (harmony) + person ending. gel- + -e- + -sin = gelesin = 'may you come'. Most everyday wishes use the third person: olsun ('let it be'), gelsin ('let him come'). The 1sg/1pl is also alive in 'let me / let's': gideyim = 'let me go', gidelim = 'let's go'. The 2nd-person and full optative paradigm now feels literary or fixed in idioms.
The classical paradigm
Stem + -e / -a + personal endings. gel-: geleyim, gelesin, gele, gelelim, gelesiniz, geleler. Most natural in modern speech are geleyim ('let me come') and gelelim ('let's come'); the others sit on the literary / poetic shelf. Allah razı olsun ('may God be pleased') uses the 3rd-person imperative cousin -sin rather than the bare optative — they overlap.
What's still in daily use
-(y)eyim / -(y)ayım = 'let me (V)': gideyim (let me go), bakayım (let me have a look), alayım (let me get/buy). -(y)elim / -(y)alım = 'let's (V)': gidelim (let's go), yiyelim (let's eat), konuşalım (let's talk). After a vowel-final stem, the buffer y appears: bekle- + -yelim = bekleyelim ('let's wait').
3rd person — uses the imperative -sin
Modern Turkish uses -sin / -sın / -sun / -sün (the 3rd-person imperative) for 'may he / let him': gelsin ('let him come'), olsun ('let it be'). Plural: gelsinler ('let them come'). These show up everywhere — including in fixed wishes: Allah razı olsun! ('May God be pleased!'), Geçmiş olsun! ('Get well soon!', literally 'may it have passed').
Frozen optative idioms
Many high-frequency expressions preserve the old -e / -a form: Yaşa! ('Long live!' / 'bravo!' — from yaşamak), Var ol! ('thrive!' — old optative of olmak, with var), Tanrı korusun ('God forbid'). Don't try to derive these — memorize them as units. They're how Turkish speakers wish well, swear, bless, and curse.
Optative vs. imperative vs. subjunctive feel
English carves these up; Turkish blurs them. gel = bare imperative ('come!'). gelsin = 3rd-person imperative ('let him come'). geleyim = 1sg optative ('let me come / I'd like to come'). gelelim = 1pl optative ('let's come'). Conditional -se covers 'if'; the optative covers 'wishes / suggestions'. There's no separate subjunctive — these moods carry the load together.
