Expressing "when" with "shi"

Revision as of 08:45, 11 September 2017 by ChenShishuang (talk | contribs)

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.

一会儿看我

一会儿看云

你看我时很远

你看云时很近

Examples

  • 参加 面试 ,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 老板 才 来 。Huìyì jiéshù shí lǎobǎn cái lái.The boss showed up when the meeting was over.
  • 大学 毕业 ,他们 分手 了。Dàxué bìyè shí, tāmen fēnshǒu le.When they graduated, they broke up.
  • 飞机 起飞 ,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 phone and computer.
  • 考试 不要 说话 。Kǎoshì shí bù yào shuōhuà.When you take a test, don't talk.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books