Apartman girişine gelince kapıcıyı gördüm.

Gelince comes from the verb gelmek (to come) plus the suffix -ince/-ınca, which often means when, once, or upon doing something.

So gelince here means something like:

• when I came
• when I arrived
• upon arriving

In this sentence, Apartman girişine gelince means when I got to the apartment entrance.

This is because apartman girişi is a Turkish noun compound.

• apartman = apartment building
• giriş = entrance
• apartman girişi = the apartment building’s entrance / apartment entrance

In these compounds, the second noun usually takes the 3rd person possessive ending:

• giriş → girişi

Then, because the sentence needs to the entrance, the dative ending is added:

• girişi
  • -ne → girişine

That -n- is a buffer consonant used before case endings after this kind of possessive form.

So:

• apartman girişi = apartment entrance
• apartman girişine = to the apartment entrance

The dative case often expresses movement toward something, and the ending is usually -e/-a.

Here, the idea is coming to the entrance:

• giriş = entrance
• girişine = to its entrance / to the entrance

Because gelmek often works with a destination, Turkish marks that destination with the dative.

So the phrase means when I came to the apartment entrance.

Kapıcıyı is the direct object of gördüm (I saw), and it is marked with the accusative because it refers to a specific person.

• kapıcı = doorman / janitor / building caretaker
• kapıcıyı = the doorman / the janitor (as a specific object)

Compare:

• Kapıcı gördüm. = I saw a doorman/janitor.
• Kapıcıyı gördüm. = I saw the / that specific doorman/janitor.

So the accusative here shows that the speaker saw a particular person.

Kapıcı is a cultural vocabulary item that does not map perfectly onto just one English word.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• janitor
• doorman
• building caretaker
• sometimes something close to superintendent

In apartment-building contexts in Turkey, kapıcı often refers to the person who takes care of the building, cleaning, maintenance, deliveries, and similar tasks.

So in this sentence, kapıcıyı gördüm could be translated in different ways depending on context, even though the Turkish word is the same.

Turkish often leaves out subject pronouns when the verb ending already shows who the subject is.

Here:

• gördüm = I saw

The ending -üm/-um/-ım/-im tells you the subject is I, so ben is not necessary.

Similarly, in gelince, the subject is understood from context. In this sentence, the natural reading is:

• When I came to the apartment entrance, I saw the doorman.

Turkish does this all the time, so omitted subjects are very normal.

Very often, yes, but its exact sense depends on context.

It can mean:

• when
• once
• upon
• sometimes something close to whenever

In this sentence, it clearly means a past-time when:

• Apartman girişine gelince kapıcıyı gördüm.
• When I got to the apartment entrance, I saw the doorman.

So gelince does not itself mark tense in the same way English does; the full sentence and main verb help determine the time reference.

Both can often be translated as when I came/arrived, but they are built differently.

• gelince = from gelmek
  • -ince
• geldiğimde = literally something like at the time when I came

In many contexts, they can be very similar:

• Apartman girişine gelince kapıcıyı gördüm.
• Apartman girişine geldiğimde kapıcıyı gördüm.

Both can mean When I came to the apartment entrance, I saw the doorman.

A rough difference:

• -ince often feels a bit more like when / once / upon doing
• -diğinde / -diğimde can feel a bit more like at the time when

But in everyday Turkish, overlap is common.

In Turkish, apartman usually means apartment building, not a single apartment unit.

So:

• English apartment = usually one flat/unit
• Turkish apartman = the whole building

That is why apartman girişi means the entrance of the apartment building, not the entrance of one apartment.

This is a very common false-friend point for English speakers.

Yes, but the meaning and style shift slightly.

• apartman girişine uses an indefinite noun compound and is very common
• apartmanın girişine uses a genitive + possessed structure: to the entrance of the apartment building

In many everyday situations, both can be understandable. But apartman girişi is a standard compact way to say apartment entrance / apartment-building entrance.

So the sentence as given sounds natural and idiomatic.

The sentence is:

• Apartman girişine gelince kapıcıyı gördüm.

A natural breakdown is:

• Apartman girişine gelince = when I came to the apartment entrance
• kapıcıyı gördüm = I saw the doorman

So the structure is:

time/background clause + main clause

This is very common in Turkish. The subordinate clause comes first to set the scene, and the main action comes after it.

Yes, Turkish word order is flexible, though some versions sound more natural than others.

The given sentence is very natural because it presents events in a logical order:

1. I arrived at the entrance
2. I saw the doorman

You could move parts around for emphasis, but the original version is the most straightforward.

Turkish often uses word order to highlight what is important, but for learners, the current order is a good neutral model.

By itself, gelince does not clearly mark person the way a fully conjugated verb like geldim does.

Its subject is usually understood from context.

In this sentence, the natural interpretation is that the subject of gelince is the same as the subject of gördüm:

• I arrived
• I saw

So the sentence is understood as:

• When I came to the apartment entrance, I saw the doorman.

This kind of shared-subject reading is very common in Turkish subordinate clauses.

Gördüm comes from görmek (to see).

Its parts are:

• gör- = see
• -dü- = past tense
• -m = I

So:

• gördüm = I saw

This is why the subject pronoun ben is unnecessary.

Yes. The sentence sounds like a single completed past event:

• I came to the apartment entrance
• I saw the doorman

The main verb gördüm is in the simple past, and gelince gives the time/background for that event.

So the overall feeling is narrative and complete, like something in a story or recollection.