Learn Hardcore Turkish: Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum. - When I am late, I immediately let you know.

In this sentence, geç kalınca means “when I am late / whenever I’m late.”
The subject of this -ınca clause is understood to be the same as the subject of the main verb (veriyorum = I), so we interpret it as “when I am late”, not “when you/he is late.”

Why is it kalınca and not something like kaldığımda or geç kaldığım zaman?

All of these are grammatically correct but slightly different in style/nuance:

Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum.
– Natural, everyday spoken Turkish. -ınca is short and commonly used for “when/whenever.”
Geç kaldığımda sana hemen haber veriyorum.
– Literally “when I am late,” with -dığımda emphasizing “at the time when I am late.” Feels a bit more explicit or formal, though it can be used in speech too.
Geç kaldığım zaman sana hemen haber veriyorum.
– Literally “at the time when I am late.” Slightly longer and more “bookish” / careful.

In casual speech, -ınca is very common for habitual “when/whenever,” so geç kalınca is the most natural choice here.

Is geç kalınca more like “when” or “if” in English?

It’s closer to “when / whenever” than to “if.”

Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum.
→ “When I’m late, I immediately let you know” / “Whenever I’m late, I let you know.”

For a more “if”-type condition, Turkish normally uses -se / -sa:

Geç kalırsam sana haber veririm.
→ “If I’m late, I’ll let you know.”

Both can sometimes be translated as “if” in English, but:

-ınca = whenever that situation occurs (more matter-of-fact)
-se/-sa = a more explicit condition (“if it happens”)

What case is sana, and why is it used instead of senin?

Sana is the dative case of sen (“you”):

sen – you (subject form)
sana – to you
senin – your

In sana hemen haber veriyorum, sana means “to you”, because haber vermek (to inform) takes a dative object for the person you inform:

Sana haber veriyorum. – I’m informing you.
Ona haber veriyorum. – I’m informing him/her.
Onlara haber veriyorum. – I’m informing them.

So senin (“your”) would be wrong here; we don’t need a possessive, we need a direction: to whom the news is given → sana.

What does haber vermek literally mean, and why not just say söylüyorum?

Literally:

haber – news, information, message
vermek – to give

So haber vermek literally = “to give news”, but idiomatically it means:

to inform,
to let someone know,
to notify.

In your sentence:

sana hemen haber veriyorum = “I let you know immediately / I inform you right away.”

You can use söylemek in some contexts:

Geç kalınca sana hemen söylüyorum. – “When I’m late, I tell you right away.”

This sounds more like “I tell you (I’m late)”.
Haber vermek is more about notifying / giving information, and is extremely common in exactly this kind of context (being late, changes of plan, updates, etc.). It’s the most natural choice here.

Why is it veriyorum (present continuous) if the meaning is habitual (“when I’m late, I always let you know”)?

In Turkish, the present continuous (-yor, here veriyorum) is very often used in informal speech for:

habitual actions
near-future plans

So:

Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum.
is understood as: “When I’m late, I (always / habitually) let you know right away.”

You could also use the aorist (broad tense) for a clearly habitual statement:

Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veririm.

This also means “When I’m late, I (always) let you know immediately,” and may sound slightly more neutral/standard. In everyday speech, both veriyorum and veririm can be heard; veriyorum feels a bit more personal/conversational.

Can the word order sana hemen haber veriyorum be changed?

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, but some orders are more natural. In neutral emphasis, a common pattern is:

[indirect object] – [adverb] – [object] – [verb]

So:

sana (to you)
hemen (immediately)
haber (news/information)
veriyorum (I give)

= Sana hemen haber veriyorum.

Possible and natural variations:

Geç kalınca hemen sana haber veriyorum.
(emphasis a little more on sana, “I let you know right away (not someone else).”)

Less natural or wrong:

Sana haber hemen veriyorum. – Sounds odd; hemen usually comes before the verb or before the whole predicate, not squeezed between object and verb like that.
Hemen sana haber veriyorum. – Also okay; just changes the emphasis slightly to “I immediately let you know.”

Turkish usually keeps the finite verb at the end, but the elements before it can move for emphasis.

Why is there no ben (“I”) in the sentence?

Turkish is a pro‑drop language: the subject pronoun is often omitted because it is already clear from the verb ending.

veriyorum = “I am giving” / “I give”
The -um ending tells us the subject is “I”.

So:

Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum.
already means “When I’m late, I immediately let you know.”

You can say Ben geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum, but ben is only used when you need extra emphasis (e.g., contrast: “I (as opposed to others) let you know when I’m late.”). In a neutral sentence, ben is normally dropped.

How would you say “When you are late, let me know immediately” using a similar structure?

You can keep the same pattern but change the subject and object:

Sen geç kalınca bana hemen haber ver.
– When you’re late, let me know immediately.

Breakdown:

sen – you (can be omitted: Geç kalınca is enough in context)
geç kalınca – when you’re late
bana – to me
hemen – immediately
haber ver – let (me) know / inform

If you want it more polite/formal, you can use siz and the polite imperative:

Siz geç kalınca lütfen bana hemen haber verin.
– When you are late, please let me know immediately.

How would you make it negative, e.g. “When I’m not late, I don’t let you know”?

You negate the -ınca clause and/or the main verb with -ma/-me:

Geç kalmayınca sana haber vermiyorum.
– When I’m not late, I don’t let you know.

Pieces:

geç kal-ma-yınca – when (I) don’t end up being late
sana – to you
haber ver-miyor-um – I don’t inform (you)

So you can see:

kalınca → “when (I) am late”
kalmayınca → “when (I) am not late”