Turkish -ken and -ince: while and when

The idea

-ken presents an action or state as a background during which another happens: yemek yaparken telefon çaldı. -ince presents an event as the point at or after which another happens: yağmur durunca dışarı çıktık. The contrast is viewpoint, not a rule that every real-world event must be instantaneous.

Examples

• Ben yemek yaparken telefon çaldı.The phone rang while I was cooking.
• Telefon çalınca odaya girdim.When the phone rang, I entered the room.
• Yağmur yağarken içeride kaldık.We stayed inside while it rained.
• Yağmur durunca dışarı çıktık.When the rain stopped, we went outside.
• Sen konuşurken ben dinliyorum.I listen while you speak.
• Sen bitirince ben konuşacağım.When you finish, I will speak.

Watch out

Do not translate every English ‘when’ mechanically with one suffix. Ask whether the speaker highlights an ongoing background or the occurrence of an event.

Try it yourself

1. Which form means ‘while the lesson is continuing’? (ders sürerken / ders sürünce)

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   ders sürerken

   ders sürerken: -ken presents the lesson as ongoing background.

2. Which form means ‘after the lesson ends’? (ders bitince / ders biterken)

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   ders bitince

   ders bitince: -ince presents the end of the lesson as the point after which the next action occurs.

3. Ben yemek yaparken telefon ___. (çaldı / çaldım)

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   çaldı

   çaldı: the phone is third person; çaldım would mean I rang or played.

Use it today

Describe a phone ringing while you cook and going outside when rain stops; explain which timing each suffix highlights.