Expressing "when" with "shi"

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

(Subj. +) Verb / Adj. + 时⋯⋯

As time words can appear before or after the subject, you can also place the Time + 时 (shí) after the subject.

There are two great examples of this pattern in the poem below.

你

一会儿看我

一会儿看云

你看我时很远

你看云时很近

参加面试时，要穿得正式一点。Cānjiā miànshì shí, yào chuān de zhèngshì yīdiǎn.When you go to the interview, you have to dress a little more formally.
会议结束时老板才来。Huìyì jiéshù shí lǎobǎn cái lái.The boss showed up when the meeting was over.
大学毕业时，他们分手了。Dàxué bìyè shí, tāmen fēnshǒu le.When they graduated, they broke up.
飞机起飞时，他关了手机和电脑。Fēijī qǐfēi shí, tā guān le shǒujī hé diànnǎo.When the plane took off, he turned off his cell phone and computer.
考试时不要说话。Kǎoshì shí bùyào shuōhuà.When you take a test, don't talk.
他去世时儿女都不在身边。Tā qùshì shí érnǚ dōu bù zài shēnbiān.His parents weren't home when he passed away.
我生气时不想说话。I don't want to talk when I'm angry.
我们公司成立时只有三个人。Wǒmen gōngsī chénglì shí zhǐyǒu sān gè rén.There were only three people when this company was founded.
他们结婚时什么都没有。Tāmen jiéhūn shí shénme dōu méiyǒu.They've got nothing when they got married.
跟父母说话时不要玩手机。Gēn fùmǔ shuōhuà shí bùyào wán shǒujī.Stop playing with your cell phone when you talk with your parents.