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<h1>Expressing "when" with "shi"
</h1>


<p>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!)</p>

<h2>Contents</h2>

  
<div class="contents">1 Structure
2 Examples
3 See also
4 Sources and further reading
4.1 Books</div>

<h3>Structure</h3>

<div class="deux">Verb-Obj. + 时 ，Subj. ⋯⋯</div>

<p>As time words can appear before or after the subject, you can also place the Verb-Obj. + 时 after the subject.</p>

<p>There are two great examples of this pattern in the poem below:</p>


你

一会儿看我

一会儿看云

你看我时很远

你看云时很近

<h3>Examples</h3>

<div class="exemple"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">考试 时 不要 说话 。
Kǎoshì shí bùyào shuōhuà.
Don't talk when you take a test.
我 面试 时 经常 会 问 这个 问题 。
Wǒ miànshì shí jīngcháng huì wèn zhège wèntí.
I often ask this question in a job interview.
会议 结束 时 老板 才 来 。
Huìyì jiéshù shí lǎobǎn cái lái.
The boss didn't show up until the meeting was over.
我 生气 时 不 想 说话 。
Wǒ shēngqì shí bù xiǎng shuōhuà.
I don't want to talk when I'm angry.
他们 大学 毕业 时 就 分手 了 。
Tāmen dàxué bìyè shí jiù fēnshǒu le.
They broke up when they graduated from college.
飞机 起飞 时 ，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 cell phone and computer.
他 太太 提出 离婚 时 ，他 很 惊讶 。
Tā tàitai tíchū líhūn shí, tā hěn jīngyà.
He was very surprised when his wife asked for a divorce.
他 去世 时 ，他 的 孩子 都 不 在 身边 。
Tā qùshì shí, tā de háizi dōu bù zài shēnbiān.
His children weren't with him when he passed away.
我们 公司 成立 时 只有 三 个 人 。
Wǒmen gōngsī chénglì shí zhǐyǒu sān gè rén.
There were only three people when this company was founded.
跟 别人 说话 时 不要 玩 手机 。
Gēn biérén shuōhuà shí bùyào wán shǒujī.
Don't play with your cell phone when you talk with other people.</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>

<h3>See also</h3>

<div class="See-also"><ul><li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Before a specific time
In the future in general </span></li>
<li><span style="font-size: 20px;">Comparing "yihou" and "de shihou"</span><br/></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h3>Sources and further reading
</h3>
<h4>Books</h4>

<div class="See-also">Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 24-5) →buy </div>
<div class="See-also">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 293-4) →buy</div>
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