Expressing "when" with "shi"
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By now you should now how to express "when" using "的时候" (de shíhou). But there's also a slightly shorter, more formal way to do it: simply use 时 (shí) all by itself. (No 的!)
Structure
(Subject) + Verb / Adj. + 时……
As time words can appear before or after the subject, you can also place the Time + 时 (shí) after the subject.
Examples
There are two great examples of this pattern in the poem 远和近 by 顾城:
- 你，
- 一会 看 我 ，
- 一会 看 云 。
- 我 觉得 ，
- 你 看 我 时 很 远 ，
- 你 看 云 时 很 近 。
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 24-5) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 293-4) →buy
