一边……一边…… — doing two things at once

Music while you study

• Your friend always listens to music when doing homework. You want to describe both actions at once.
• he / him他tāwhile一边yìbiānto listen to听tīngmusic音乐yīn yuè，while一边yìbiān做作业zuò zuò yè。 — "He does his homework while listening to music."

while一边yìbiān + verb1，while一边yìbiān + verb2

• while一边yìbiān……while一边yìbiān…… means two actions happen at the same time: while一边yìbiāneat吃饭chī fànwhile一边yìbiān看电视kàn diàn shì, eat while watching TV.
• Both actions are done by the same person, and each while一边yìbiān goes straight before its verb.

we我们wǒmenwhile一边yìbiāneat吃饭chī fàn，while一边yìbiānchat聊天liáotiān。

Where the subject goes

• The subject comes once, at the start: mum妈妈māmawhile一边yìbiāncook做饭zuò fàn，while一边yìbiānsing唱歌chàng gē。 — "Mum sings while she cooks."
• Ask with (yes/no ?)吗ma: you你nǐto like喜欢xǐ huanwhile一边yìbiānto walk走路zǒu lùwhile一边yìbiānto listen to听tīngmusic音乐yīn yuè(yes/no ?)吗ma？, Do you like listening to music while you walk?

mum妈妈māmawhile一边yìbiāncook做饭zuò fàn，while一边yìbiānsing唱歌chàng gē。

Short form in speech

• In quick speech, suffix of a noun of locality边biān……suffix of a noun of locality边biān…… is also possible: suffix of a noun of locality边biānto walk走zǒusuffix of a noun of locality边biānvariant of 说说shuō, talk while walking. The full while一边yìbiān……while一边yìbiān is safer in writing.

Watch out

Recap