Use a “when” clause to set the time for a plan, a past event or a habit. You will also track who does each action, even when the two subjects differ.
The idea
The clause with -ince names an event that provides the time for the main action: Zil çalınca çocuklar bahçeye koştu. It takes no person or tense ending of its own; the main verb and context place the sentence in time. Compare future arayacağım with habitual açarım. The subjects may differ: in Sen gelince ben masayı hazırlayacağım, you arrive and I set the table. “As soon as” is a possible reading, but an immediate response is made explicit by hemen in Mesajı okuyunca hemen cevap ver. See the related suffix lesson for the forms.
Examples
- Eve varınca seni arayacağım.I'll call you when I get home.
- Yağmur durunca dışarı çıkacağız.We'll go outside when the rain stops.
- Çay soğuyunca tadı değişir.When tea cools down, its taste changes.
- Zil çalınca çocuklar bahçeye koştu.When the bell rang, the children ran into the garden.
- Sen gelince ben masayı hazırlayacağım.When you arrive, I'll set the table.
- Mesajı okuyunca hemen cevap ver.As soon as you read the message, reply.
- Her sabah uyanınca pencereyi açarım.Every morning, I open the window when I wake up.
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Watch out
Do not read gelince as “when I come” just because the main verb ends in the first person. In Sen gelince ben masayı hazırlayacağım, sen belongs to the arrival and ben to preparing the table. Keep that subject clear; do not add a person ending to gelince.
Try it yourself
Choose the form that means “when I get home”: varınca or varacağım.
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varınca
varınca: arriving home sets the time for the call. Varacağım would be a separate future statement, “I will arrive”, and would not link the two actions this way.
Who will set the table: ben (I) or sen (you)?
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ben
ben: the speaker will set the table; sen names the person arriving. The first-person ending in hazırlayacağım confirms who prepares it.
Make the reply immediate: choose hemen (immediately) or bazen (sometimes).
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hemen
hemen: the instruction requires a reply without delay after reading. Bazen means “sometimes” and would change how often, not how quickly, you reply.
This happened yesterday. Complete the main verb using the past of koşmak (to run).
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koştu / koştular
koştu / koştular: the running happened yesterday, so the main verb is past. Both forms work because çocuklar denotes people; the plural verb ending is optional here.
Practice round
Answer questions, then rebuild Turkish sentences and words where available. We keep your score.
Choose the form that means “when I get home”: varınca or varacağım.
Who will set the table: ben (I) or sen (you)?
Make the reply immediate: choose hemen (immediately) or bazen (sometimes).
This happened yesterday. Complete the main verb using the past of koşmak (to run).
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
Tap the words in the right order.
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Write one plan, one habit and one past event with a “when” clause. Give one sentence two different subjects. Add hemen to one sentence and explain what that adds.