Learn Hardcore Turkish: Şarj bitince telefon kapanıyor. - When the charge runs out, the phone turns off.

-ince is a converbial suffix that attaches to a verb stem to form a temporal clause meaning “when” or “as soon as.” In bitince, it literally means “when (it) runs out.”

How is bitince formed from bitmek? Why is there no m?

To form the -ince converb, you remove the infinitive suffix -mek/-mak (including the m) from bitmek, leaving the stem bit-, then add -ince, giving bitince.

Why is the suffix -ince and not -ınca?

Turkish vowel harmony requires the suffix vowel to match the last vowel of the stem. The stem bit- contains the front vowel i, so we use the front-vowel variant -ince, not the back-vowel variant -ınca.

Why is şarj used without an article or case ending?

In Turkish, indefinite or general nouns often appear without articles. Here şarj functions as the subject of the subordinate clause (it’s the thing running out) and stays in the nominative case, so no additional suffix is needed.

Why doesn’t telefon take the accusative suffix -u?

Telefon is the subject of the intransitive verb kapanmak (“to turn off by itself”), not a direct object. Only definite direct objects get the accusative suffix -ı/-i/-u/-ü.

Why is kapanıyor used instead of kapatıyor?

kapanmak is an intransitive verb meaning “to shut/turn off” (on its own). kapatmak would be “to turn something off” (transitive). Since the phone is turning itself off when the charge runs out, we use kapanıyor.

What tense or aspect does kapanıyor express here?

The -iyor form is called the present continuous, but in a temporal clause like this it conveys a general or habitual result: “when the charge runs out, the phone always turns off.” In English we’d use the simple present for such general truths.

Could we say şarj bittiğinde instead of şarj bitince? What’s the difference?

Yes. -diğinde also forms a temporal clause meaning “when/after.” So şarj bittiğinde is correct. The nuance is that -ince often emphasizes immediacy (“as soon as”), while -diğinde is more neutral (“when/after”). Both work here.