Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum, çünkü endişelenmeni istemiyorum.

Breakdown of Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum, çünkü endişelenmeni istemiyorum.

sen
you
çünkü
because
istemek
to want
hemen
immediately
geç kalmak
to be late
endişelenmek
to worry
-ınca
when
haber vermek
to let know
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Questions & Answers about Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum, çünkü endişelenmeni istemiyorum.

What does “geç kalınca” literally mean, and how is -ınca used here?

Geç kalınca is literally “when (I) am late” or “when (I) arrive late.”

  • geç kalmak = to be late
  • -ınca / -ince / -unca / -ünce = a time-clause suffix meaning “when / whenever / as soon as.”

So:

  • geç kal-ıncawhen (I) am late / whenever (I) am late

The subject (I) is not written because Turkish generally drops the subject if it’s clear from context and the verb ending (here, veriyorum shows it’s “I”).

This -ınca structure is very common for expressing conditions that are also time-related, similar to English “when(ever)” or “if (and when)”.


Could we say “geç kaldığımda” or “geç kalırsam” instead of “geç kalınca”? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can, and all are grammatically correct, but they have slightly different nuances:

  1. Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum

    • “When(ever) I’m late, I let you know immediately.”
    • Neutral, common, and sounds like a general rule / habit.
  2. Geç kaldığımda sana hemen haber veriyorum

    • Same basic meaning: “When I’m late, I let you know immediately.”
    • -dığımda comes from -diğ + im + de (participle + my + at/when).
    • Slightly more explicit and a bit more formal/literary, but still fine in speech.
  3. Geç kalırsam sana hemen haber veriyorum / veririm

    • “If I am late, I let you know / I will let you know immediately.”
    • -rsam is more clearly conditional (“if”) rather than purely temporal (“when”).
    • Very natural when you’re talking about a possible future situation.

In most everyday speech, geç kalınca and geç kalırsam are both very common.

  • -ınca leans slightly toward “when(ever)”,
  • -rsam leans slightly toward “if”.

Why is it “haber veriyorum” and not just a single verb like “haberiyorum”? What does “haber vermek” mean?

In Turkish, “haber vermek” is a fixed verb phrase meaning:

  • “to inform (someone)”
  • “to let (someone) know”
  • “to give notice / to notify”

It’s built from:

  • haber = news, information
  • vermek = to give

So literally it is “to give news”, but idiomatically it’s “to inform / to let you know.”

You must keep it as two words:

  • haber veriyorum = “I am (I do) inform / I let (you) know”
  • sana haber veriyorum = “I let you know / I inform you

You cannot fuse it into one word like “haberiyorum” in Turkish.


Why is it “sana haber veriyorum” and not “seni haber veriyorum” or “senin haber veriyorum”?

Because of the case system:

  • sana = “to you” (dative case: -a / -e)
  • seni = “you” as a direct object (accusative)
  • senin = “your” (possessive)

The verb phrase haber vermek is constructed like:

  • (birine) haber vermek = “to give news to someone / to inform someone”

That “to someone” is expressed with the dative case: -a / -e.

So:

  • sana haber veriyorum = “I give news to you” → “I let you know”
  • seni haber veriyorum → wrong structure for this meaning
  • senin haberin var / yok → “you have / don’t have news” (different structure entirely)

Therefore “sana” is correct here because the action is directed to you.


What exactly does “endişelenmeni istemiyorum” mean, and how is “endişelenmeni” formed?

Endişelenmeni istemiyorum literally means:
“I do not want your worrying.” → idiomatically: “I don’t want you to worry.”

Breakdown of endişelenmeni:

  • endişe = worry (noun)
  • -lenendişelen- = “to become worried / to worry” (verb)
  • -meendişelenme = “worrying” (verbal noun / infinitive: to worry / worrying)
  • -nendişelenmen = “your worrying” (2nd person singular possessive: your)
  • -iendişelenmeni = “your worrying” as a direct object (accusative)

So the structure is:

  • [endişelenmeni] istemiyorum
    = “I don’t want your worrying
    = “I don’t want you to worry.”

This is a very common pattern in Turkish:
(someone’s) + V-me(si/ni/…) + istemek/sevmek/beklemek to express things like:

  • Gelmeni istiyorum. → “I want you to come.”
  • Gitmeni istemiyorum. → “I don’t want you to go.”
  • Beni aramanı bekliyorum. → “I’m expecting you to call me.”

Is “istemiyorum” here negative because of -me- in “endişelenme-” or because of the verb ending?

The negation comes from istemiyorum, not from endişelenme.

  • istemek = to want
  • istemiyorum = “I do not want” (negative)

In endişelenme-, the -me is not a negative; it is a verbal noun / infinitive suffix:

  • endişelenmek = to worry (dictionary form)
  • endişelenme = worrying / to worry (as a noun-like form)

So:

  • endişelenmeni istemiyorum =
    • endişelenme (worrying) + -n (your) + -i (object)
    • istemiyorum (I don’t want)

Result: “I don’t want your worrying” → “I don’t want you to worry.”


Could I say “çünkü sen endişelenmeni istemiyorum” or “çünkü senin endişelenme istemiyorum”?

No, those are ungrammatical or very unnatural. The correct versions would be:

  • Çünkü senin endişelenmeni istemiyorum.
  • Çünkü senin endişelenmeni istemem. (slightly more formal)

Key points:

  1. You can optionally add senin:

    • endişelenmeni istemiyorum
    • senin endişelenmeni istemiyorum
      Both mean “I don’t want you to worry.”
      Adding senin just emphasizes “your” (you in particular).
  2. You cannot say:

    • “sen endişelenmeni istemiyorum” → clashes grammatically
    • “senin endişelenme istemiyorum” → missing required endings

The natural pattern is:
(senin) + endişelenme-n-i + istemiyorum


Why is the tense “haber veriyorum” (present continuous) and not “haber vereceğim” (future)? In English we’d often say “I’ll let you know.”

Turkish present continuous (-iyor) is used more broadly than English “am doing.” It often covers:

  • current ongoing actions, and
  • general habits / regular behavior (where English uses simple present).

In this sentence:

  • Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum
    → “When(ever) I am late, I let you know immediately.”

Here veriyorum describes something you normally do / always do, like a rule or habit. In English we say “I let you know,” but Turkish still uses -iyor.

You could also say:

  • Geç kalırsam sana hemen haber vereceğim.
    → “If I’m late, I’ll let you know (that time, in the future).”

-iyor = general habit / established behavior
-ecek = a particular future event or decision


Could the word order “sana hemen haber veriyorum” be changed? For example: “hemen sana haber veriyorum”?

Yes, Turkish word order is relatively flexible, and all of these are possible:

  • Sana hemen haber veriyorum.
  • Hemen sana haber veriyorum.
  • Sana haber veriyorum hemen. (more colloquial / emphatic)

All keep the basic meaning: “I let you know right away.”

Nuances:

  • Placing hemen earlier (Hemen sana…) can slightly emphasize how quickly you inform the person.
  • Placing sana earlier (Sana hemen…) can slightly emphasize whom you inform.

But in normal conversation, sana hemen haber veriyorum and hemen sana haber veriyorum both sound natural and very similar.


Is the comma before “çünkü” necessary? And how does “çünkü” work in Turkish?

In writing, it is standard and recommended to put a comma before “çünkü” when it connects two clauses:

  • Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum, çünkü endişelenmeni istemiyorum.

Çünkü means “because” and it introduces the reason:

  • Main clause: Geç kalınca sana hemen haber veriyorum
  • Reason clause: çünkü endişelenmeni istemiyorum

In spoken language, you simply pause slightly before çünkü, just like before “because” in English. The comma reflects that pause.


Is this sentence formal or informal? How would I say it more politely to someone I address as “siz”?

As written, it’s informal, because:

  • It uses sana (“to you,” singular, informal).
  • The verb endişelenmeni is also 2nd person singular.

A more polite / formal version (addressing someone as siz) would be:

  • Geç kalınca size hemen haber veriyorum, çünkü endişelenmenizi istemiyorum.
    or slightly more “promise-like”:
  • Gecikirsem size hemen haber veririm, çünkü endişelenmenizi istemiyorum.

Changes:

  • sana → size (dative plural/formal “to you”)
  • endişelenmeni → endişelenmenizi (your-[formal] worrying)
  • optionally geç kalınca → gecikirsem to sound more like “if I am late (in the future).”