Çayı dökünce masa örtüsüne biraz çay bulaştı.

When I spilled the tea, some tea got onto the tablecloth.

Breakdown of Çayı dökünce masa örtüsüne biraz çay bulaştı.

• çay: the tea
• biraz: some
• dökmek: to spill
• masa örtüsü: the tablecloth

Questions & Answers about Çayı dökünce masa örtüsüne biraz çay bulaştı.

Why is çay written as çayı in Çayı dökünce?

Because çayı is çay + the definite/direct object ending.

• çay = tea
• çayı = the tea (as the thing being spilled)

In Turkish, when a direct object is specific/definite, it usually takes the accusative ending. Here, the speaker means a particular tea that got spilled, not tea in general.

Also notice the buffer consonant -y-:

• çay + ı would be awkward, so Turkish uses çay + y + ı = çayı

So Çayı dökünce means something like when/after spilling the tea.

What does -ince/-ınca/-ünce/-unca mean in dökünce?

This ending often means when, once, or after doing something, depending on context.

• dökmek = to spill / to pour
• dök-ünce = when/after (someone) spilled it

So:

• Çayı dökünce... = When/After spilling the tea...

The form changes by vowel harmony:

• -ınca
• -ince
• -unca
• -ünce

Since the verb stem here has ö / ü-type vowels, you get -ünce.

Why is it dökünce, not dökünce from a different stem or dökünce with a visible person ending?