In English, if we are reflecting on a past time, we often say, "when I was a child" or "when I was in school." In Chinese, this can also be expressed by using 的时候 (de shíhou).

Structure

To talk about events that happened at or during a particular time, 的时候 (de shíhou) is often used. This is simply attached to the word or phrase indicating the time:

As time words can appear before or after the subject, you can also place the "Time + 的时候 (de shíhou)" after the subject:

Examples

你 不在 的时候，我会想你。Nǐ bù zài de shíhou, wǒ huì xiǎng nǐ.When you are not here, I'll miss you.
我 上大学 的时候，有很多朋友。 Wǒ shàng dàxué de shíhou, yǒu hěn duō péngyou.When I was in college, I had a lot of friends.
上课 的时候 不要吃东西。Shàngkè de shíhou bùyào chī dōngxi.Don't eat when you are in class.
老板工作 的时候 喜欢喝咖啡。Lǎobǎn gōngzuò de shíhou xǐhuan hē kāfēi.When the boss works, he likes to drink coffee.
我生气 的时候，请你不要笑。Wǒ shēngqì de shíhou, qǐng nǐ bùyào xiào.Please don't laugh when I'm angry.
妈妈 不在家 的时候，我自己做饭。Māma bù zài jiā de shíhou, wǒ zìjǐ zuòfàn.When mom is not home, I cook for myself.
开会 的时候 不要聊天。Kāihuì de shíhou bùyào liáotiān.Don't chat when you are in a meeting.
吃东西 的时候 不要说话。Chī dōngxi de shíhou bùyào shuōhuà.Don't talk when eating.
你开车 的时候 会打电话吗？Nǐ kāichē de shíhou huì dǎ diànhuà ma? Do you talk on the phone when you're driving?
走路 的时候 不要玩手机。 Zǒulù de shíhou bùyào wán shǒujī.Don't play with your phone while walking.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Similar to talking about things in the past, talking about things in the future is very straight forward. You can use the simple but useful 以后 (yǐhòu), which also means "later."

Structure

To talk about things happening at some unspecified time in the future, you can use 以后 (yǐhòu). The structure is:

You can also move 以后 (yǐhòu) to right after the subject, and it's also correct.

This can be used to talk about actions in the future, or to talk about events that happened after other events in a story.

Examples

In the examples below, the translation "in the future" is used, because using "later" for 以后 (yǐhòu) either sounds weird, or makes it sound like it's going to happen really soon (just a little later), rather than at some indefinite point in the future, which is what is meant.

以后你们会想我吗？ Yǐhòu nǐmen huì xiǎng wǒ ma? In the future, will you miss me?
以后你想来中国吗？ Yǐhòu nǐ xiǎng lái Zhōngguó ma? In the future, do you want to come to China?
我以后不喝酒了。 Wǒ yǐhòu bù hējiǔ le.I will not drink alcohol in the future.
我们以后不在这里工作了。Wǒmen yǐhòu bù zài zhèlǐ gōngzuò le.We will not work here in the future.
你儿子以后想做什么？Nǐ érzi yǐhòu xiǎng zuò shénme? In the future, what does your son want to do?
以后你们想去哪儿工作？ Yǐhòu nǐmen xiǎng qù nǎr gōngzuò? In the future, where would you like to work?
以后我们会有一些新的同事。Yǐhòu wǒmen huì yǒu yīxiē xīn de tóngshì.We will have some new co-workers in the future.
以后你可以住在这里。Yǐhòu nǐ kěyǐ zhù zài zhèlǐ.In the future, you can live here.
他们以后会结婚吗？Tāmen yǐhòu huì jiéhūn ma? Will they get married in the future?
你以后不要跟他见面了。Nǐ yǐhòu bùyào gēn tā jiànmiàn le.In the future, stop seeing him.