Learn Hardcore Turkish: Akıllı saat gecikince kadın, telefondan alarm kurdu. - When the smartwatch was delayed, the woman set an alarm on the phone.

The suffix is -(y)IncA, which makes an adverbial clause meaning “when/once/after/whenever.”
Formation here: gecik- (to be delayed) + -ince (front-vowel harmony) → gecikince.
If the stem ends in a vowel, insert a buffer -y-: e.g., başla-y-ınca.
The time is relative: it tells you the main action happens when/after the subordinate action.

Is -(y)IncA more “when” or “because”?

Primarily “when/once.” But if the first event is an obvious reason for the second, English may translate it as “since/as/because.” Here, “When the smartwatch was running late/slow, the woman set an alarm…” could also be felt as causal.

Who is the subject of the -ince clause?

It’s akıllı saat. -(y)IncA clauses don’t mark person on the verb, so you supply the subject explicitly if needed. Here, “the smartwatch” is the subject of gecikince, and “the woman” is the subject of the main clause.

Why is it just kadın and not bir kadın if we mean “a woman”?

Bare singular subjects can be definite or generic in Turkish. Without bir, kadın often reads as “the woman” (a specific one known from context). If you want to emphasize indefiniteness, use Bir kadın, ….

Why doesn’t alarm have the accusative ending (-ı)?

Because it’s an indefinite, non-specific object: alarm kurdu = “(she) set an alarm.” If it’s specific/definite, add accusative: alarmı kurdu = “(she) set the alarm (the known one).”

Is alarm kurmak the normal way to say “set an alarm”?

Yes, very common. You’ll also hear alarm ayarlamak. With a specific alarm, you can say alarmı kurdu/ayarladı.

Why telefondan and not telefonda or telefonla?

telefondan (Ablative -DAn): “from the phone/via the phone,” often used for doing something through/using a device or source. Natural here: “she set it from the phone.”
telefonda (Locative -DA): “on/at the phone” (location), or “while on the phone” (during a call).
telefonla (Instrumental -lA): “with/by (means of) the phone.” Also possible: telefonla alarm kurdu = “she set it using the phone.” The sentence’s telefondan implies doing it through the phone interface.

If it’s her phone, shouldn’t it be telefonundan?

That’s a good, more specific option: telefonu (her phone) + -ndan → telefonundan (“from her phone”). You can also say kendi telefonundan for clarity. The bare telefondan is more generic.

Is gecikince the most natural verb for a watch? What about geri kalınca?

For timepieces, Turkish commonly says:

geri kalmak = “to be slow / lose time,”
ileri gitmek = “to be fast / gain time.” So many speakers prefer Akıllı saat geri kalınca…. gecikmek (“to be delayed”) is widely used for people/trains/events; for a watch it’s understandable but less idiomatic than geri kalmak.

Could the clause order be changed?

Yes. Both are fine:

Akıllı saat gecikince, kadın telefondan alarm kurdu.
Kadın, akıllı saat gecikince, telefondan alarm kurdu. Putting the -(y)IncA clause first is very common; moving it after the subject is also natural.

What about the comma placement? The given sentence has a comma after kadın.

Standard punctuation puts the comma after the introductory adverbial clause:

Preferred: Akıllı saat gecikince, kadın telefondan alarm kurdu. A comma after kadın is not typical here. You can also omit the comma in short sentences: Akıllı saat gecikince kadın telefondan alarm kurdu.

Why not Akıllı saati gecikince?

Because akıllı saat is the subject of the -(y)IncA clause, so it stays in the nominative. The accusative -ı is for definite direct objects, not subjects.

How is kurdu formed?

Verb root: kur- (“set up, establish; set (an alarm)”)
Past tense: -DI → kurdu (vowel harmony: u; voiced d because it follows voiced r)
3rd person singular has no extra personal ending: kurdu = “(he/she) set.”

Any pronunciation tips?

gecikince: c = the “j” in “jam” (so roughly “ge-ji-kin-je”); ç would be “ch,” but this word has c.
kadın: the dotless ı is a central vowel (like the second vowel in English “roses” for many speakers).
akıllı: both vowels after k and l are dotless ı.

Does Turkish have gender here? How do we know it’s “the woman”?

Turkish has no grammatical gender. kadın means “woman” lexically. The 3rd-person verb kurdu doesn’t mark gender; we know it’s “the woman” from the noun kadın in the sentence.