Kapı açılınca insanlar sessizce içeri giriyor.

the person

Breakdown of Kapı açılınca insanlar sessizce içeri giriyor.

• kapı: the door
• sessizce: quietly
• girmek: to enter

Questions & Answers about Kapı açılınca insanlar sessizce içeri giriyor.

What does açılınca mean, and how is it formed?

Açılınca means when it opens / when it is opened.

It is built from:

• aç- = to open
• -ıl- = passive/intransitive marker
• -ınca / -ince = when / once

So:

• açmak = to open something
• açılmak = to open / to be opened
• açılınca = when it opens / when it is opened

The ending -ınca/-ince attaches to verbs to make a time clause:

• gelince = when he/she comes
• bitince = when it finishes
• açılınca = when it opens

This structure is very common in Turkish.

Why is it açılınca and not açınca?

Because açmak is usually transitive: it means to open something.

• Kapıyı açınca = when someone opens the door
• Kapı açılınca = when the door opens / when the door is opened

In your sentence, kapı is the thing being opened, not the person doing the action. That is why Turkish uses açıl-.

So the contrast is:

• Kapıyı açınca insanlar içeri giriyor.
  = When someone opens the door, people go inside.

• Kapı açılınca insanlar içeri giriyor.
  = When the door opens / is opened, people go inside.

Does Kapı açılınca mean when the door opens or when the door is opened?