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 below。
你 一会儿看我 一会看云 你看我时很远 你看云时很近
- 你 看 我 时 很 远，看 云 时 很 近。 when
- 你 去 面试 时，要 穿 得 正式 一点。 when
- 他们 结婚 时，只 请 了 几 个 最 好 的 朋友。 when
- 大学 毕业 时，他们 分手 了。 when
- 飞机 起飞 时，他 关 了 手机 和 电脑。 when
- 你 出门 时 不 要 忘 了 带 钥匙。 when
- 我们 考试 时 不 能 看 手机。 when
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
