Difference between revisions of "Expressing "when" with "shi""

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*  你 去 面试 <em>时</em>,要 穿 得 正式 一点。<span class="trans"> <em>When you go to the meeting, you have to dress a little more formally.</em>  </span>
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*  你 去 面试 <em>时</em>,要 穿 得 正式 一点。<span class="trans"> When you go to the meeting, you have to dress a little more formally. </span>
*  他们 结婚 <em>时</em>,只 请 了 几 个 最 好 的 朋友。<span class="trans"> <em>When they got married, they only invited a few of their best friends.</em>  </span>
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*  他们 结婚 <em>时</em>,只 请 了 几 个 最 好 的 朋友。<span class="trans"> When they got married, they only invited a few of their best friends. </span>
*  大学 毕业 <em>时</em>,他们 分手 了。<span class="trans"> <em>When they graduated, they broke up.</em>  </span>
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*  大学 毕业 <em>时</em>,他们 分手 了。<span class="trans"> When they graduated, they broke up.</span>
*  飞机 起飞 <em>时</em>,他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。<span class="trans"> <em>When the plane took off, he turned off his phone and computer.</em>  </span>
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*  飞机 起飞 <em>时</em>,他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。<span class="trans"> When the plane took off, he turned off his phone and computer. </span>
*  你 出门 <em>时</em> 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 <span class="trans"><em>When you leave, don't forget to bring your keys.</em>  </span>
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*  你 出门 <em>时</em> 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 <span class="trans"> When you leave, don't forget to bring your keys. </span>
*  我们 考试 <em>时</em> 不 能 看 手机。<span class="trans"> <em>When we take a test, we're not allowed to look at our phones.</em> </span>
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*  我们 考试 <em>时</em> 不 能 看 手机。<span class="trans"> When we take a test, we're not allowed to look at our phones. </span>
 
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Revision as of 08:00, 2 March 2016

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 below.

一会儿看我

一会儿看云

你看我时很远

你看云时很近

  • 你 去 面试 ,要 穿 得 正式 一点。 When you go to the meeting, you have to dress a little more formally.
  • 他们 结婚 ,只 请 了 几 个 最 好 的 朋友。 When they got married, they only invited a few of their best friends.
  • 大学 毕业 ,他们 分手 了。 When they graduated, they broke up.
  • 飞机 起飞 ,他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。 When the plane took off, he turned off his phone and computer.
  • 你 出门 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 When you leave, don't forget to bring your keys.
  • 我们 考试 不 能 看 手机。 When we take a test, we're not allowed to look at our phones.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books