Time / Verb + 时 (when …)
IntroducedAttach an event to a time
- You reached a friend's home when the friend was out.
- I我come来when时，he他not不be in在。 — when时 ties the absence to the time of your arrival.
You reached a friend's home when the friend was out. What does 我来时，他不在。 communicate?
时 ties the absence to the time of your arrival. 时 is a shorter, often more formal version of 的时候. It can also occur in a future instruction, as in 你来时告诉我; it does not itself supply past tense.
Build the form
- The pattern in this lesson is Time / Verb + when时 (when …). Locate it in the original interlinear examples below.
- Keep the words in their demonstrated positions; the pattern must fit the intended situation as well as the sentence form.
I我come来when时，he他not不be in在。
Using the lesson pattern in this demonstrated example: When I came, he wasn't in: 我来 ____，他不在。
Verb + 时 = when that happens: 我来时,他不在.
Read examples in context
- In the opening example, I我come来when时，he他not不be in在。: when时 ties the absence to the time of your arrival.
- Explain who acts, what is described and which time or group is relevant before choosing an English paraphrase.
…时 is a shorter, more formal version of which phrase?
…时 = the compact form of …的时候 (when).
Build: “When I came, he wasn't in.”
[Verb + 时]，Subj + Predicate: 我来时 + 他 + 不在.
Know the boundary
- when时 is a shorter, often more formal version of (modifier / structural particle)的time时候.
- It can also occur in a future instruction, as in you你come来when时to tell告诉I我; it does not itself supply past tense.
…时 means “after”, like 以后.
…时 = “when / at the time of”, not “after”.
时 always makes the event past tense.
时 is a shorter, often more formal version of 的时候. It can also occur in a future instruction, as in 你来时告诉我; it does not itself supply past tense. 时 ties the absence to the time of your arrival.
Use the distinction
- when时 ties the absence to the time of your arrival.
- when时 is a shorter, often more formal version of (modifier / structural particle)的time时候. It can also occur in a future instruction, as in you你come来when时to tell告诉I我; it does not itself supply past tense.
Read the full reference: HSK 3 grammar — Nouns.
You reached a friend's home when the friend was out. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.
This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.