Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor.

Breakdown of Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor.

durmak
to stop
yağmur
the rain
-unca
when
sis
the fog
oluşmak
to form

Questions & Answers about Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor.

What does the suffix -unca in durunca mean, and how does it work?

-unca (or -ince after front vowels) is a temporal conjunctional suffix meaning “when,” “once,” or “after.” You attach it directly to the verb stem:
dur- (stem of durmak, “to stop”) → dur-unca = “when it stops.”
It creates a subordinate clause describing the time frame for the main clause.

Why is durunca used here instead of durur durmaz?

Both can express time, but with a slight nuance:
durunca = “when/once it stops” (neutral, any time it stops)
durur durmaz = “as soon as it stops” (emphasizes immediacy)
In our sentence, durunca simply states that fog forms whenever rain stops, without stressing an instant reaction.

Why is durmak (to stop) used for yağmur (rain)? Can rain really “stop”?

In Turkish, durmak can be used with weather verbs to mean “to cease” or “to come to an end.” So:
Yağmur durdu. = “The rain stopped.”
It’s a perfectly natural collocation, just like in English.

Why is the verb oluşuyor in the present progressive? Couldn’t we say oluşur instead?

Turkish often uses the present progressive (-iyor form) for recurring events or natural phenomena:
Sis oluşuyor. = “Fog is forming” (habitual/regular occurrence).
You could use the simple present (sis oluşur) to express a general truth, but it’s less common for weather processes. The progressive here emphasizes that fog regularly forms after the rain stops.

There’s no subject before oluşuyor. Is that okay?

Yes. Turkish allows impersonal or zero subjects when the context is clear. Here, the subject is understood as “fog” or just an impersonal “it.” If you want to be explicit, you can say:
Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor. (implicit)
Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor. or even Sis oluşuyor yağmur durunca. (explicit sis)

Could we say Yağmur durunca sis geliyor instead of sis oluşuyor?

Not really. Gelmek means “to come,” but for fog we usually use verbs like oluşmak (“to form”) or çökme k (“to settle, descend”):
Sis oluşuyor. = “Fog forms.”
Sis çökmeye başlıyor. = “Fog begins to settle.”

Can I swap the clause order to “Sis oluşuyor yağmur durunca”?
Yes, you can. Turkish is relatively flexible with clause order, and subordinate clauses can come after the main clause. However, placing the time clause first (Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor) is more standard and flows more naturally.
AI Language TutorTry it ↗
What's the best way to learn Turkish grammar?
Turkish grammar becomes intuitive with practice. Focus on understanding the core patterns first — how sentences are structured, how verbs change form, and how words relate to each other. Our course breaks these concepts into small lessons so you can build understanding step by step.

Sign up free — start using our AI language tutor

Start learning Turkish

Master Turkish — from Yağmur durunca sis oluşuyor to fluency

All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods.

  • Infinitely deep — unlimited vocabulary and grammar
  • Fast-paced — build complex sentences from the start
  • Unforgettable — efficient spaced repetition system
  • AI tutor to answer your grammar questions