You will decide whether a clause with -dikçe expresses a repeated trigger, a developing change or a condition that stays true. The surrounding sentence supplies the meaning.
The idea
Attach this converb to a verb stem: baktıkça links each look to a recurring memory; okudukça can show understanding developing as reading progresses. With açık kaldıkça, the result continues for as long as the door remains open. The converb itself has no person ending and is not a past-tense verb. The subjects may differ: in Sen güldükçe ben de gülüyorum, you laugh and I respond. The main verb and context locate the events in time; see the related suffix lesson for the complete set of forms.
Examples
- Bu fotoğrafa baktıkça o günü hatırlıyorum.Whenever I look at this photo, I remember that day.
- Ben metni okudukça ayrıntıları daha iyi anlıyorum.As I read on through the text, I understand the details better.
- Sen güldükçe ben de gülüyorum.Whenever you laugh, I laugh too.
- Hava soğudukça gölün yüzeyi donuyor.As the weather gets colder, the surface of the lake freezes.
- Bu kapı açık kaldıkça içeri soğuk hava girer.As long as this door stays open, cold air comes in.
- Müzik çaldıkça çocuklar dans ediyor.As long as the music keeps playing, the children keep dancing.
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Watch out
Do not use -dikçe merely because English says “when”. For one completed look, bir kez bakınca fits; baktıkça suggests repetition or continuation. Conversely, -ince can also occur in habitual contexts, so the distinction depends on the whole sentence, not a one-word translation.
Try it yourself
Choose the form linking each look at the photo to the memory: baktıkça or baktım.
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baktıkça
baktıkça: each look brings the memory back. Baktım means “I looked” and would give a separate finite statement, not the required link between the two events.
Is my level of understanding increasing (artıyor) or decreasing (azalıyor)?
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artıyor
artıyor: daha iyi anlıyorum tells us that comprehension improves as reading advances. Nothing in the sentence says that the number of details increases.
Complete “Whenever you laugh, I laugh too”: güldükçe or güldüğün.
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güldükçe
güldükçe: sen identifies the person whose laughter triggers the response, while ben identifies the responder. Güldüğün alone does not supply the “whenever” link here.
I looked once yesterday and noticed the date. Choose bakınca or baktıkça.
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bakınca
bakınca: dün and bir kez place this discovery at one particular look. Baktıkça would instead invite a recurring or continuing reading that conflicts with that context.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Choose the form linking each look at the photo to the memory: baktıkça or baktım.
Is my level of understanding increasing (artıyor) or decreasing (azalıyor)?
Complete “Whenever you laugh, I laugh too”: güldükçe or güldüğün.
I looked once yesterday and noticed the date. Choose bakınca or baktıkça.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Keep your progress
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Write one sentence about a recurring memory, one about gradual improvement and one about a continuing condition. Then give one sentence different subjects in its two clauses and identify who does each action.