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

(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 很 远 ,
  • 你 看 云 很 近 。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books