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Lesson 8, Pattern 1: Time-when Expressions
last revised January 9, 2004

Time-when expressions tell when an action occurred or will occur.  The basic rule is that they go before the verb.  They may appear before or after the subject, depending on other elements in the sentence and the desired emphasis.  Time-when expressions can be constructed in several ways.  In the examples below, the entire time-when expression is bolded and in red.
 

Type Pattern Examples
At a point or period in time
before or after the subject
TW
 他三點半要來。
He's coming at 3:30.
昨天晚上他沒復習課文。
Last evening he didn't review the text.
After/before now
After/before a point in time
usually before the subject

After/before an action
always before the subject
(unless the time-when expression and the main clause share the same subject)

以後/前
TW-以後/前
(S)-V-O-以後/前
 以後我幫助你練習說中文。
Later on I'll help you practice Chinese.
半夜一點以後我才睡覺。
I only got to bed after 1:00 am.
他給我寫信以前, 我已經知道他要來。
Before he wrote me the letter, I already knew he was coming.
At the point when an action occurs
always before the subject
(S)-V-O-的時候
 他來的時候﹐我正在吃早飯。
I was eating breakfast when he came.

The 的時候 pattern is often found in combination with another expression introduced in this lesson, the adverb 正在.  This pattern is used when one action (V2) is on-going at the point in time when (V1) occurs.  It can also be used when both actions are on-going.  The entire first clause becomes a time-when expression, and since it is long, it usually goes before the subject of always goes first.the main clause.  Note that, as an adverb, 正在 goes between the subject and the verb.  The emphasis is on the on-going action in the second half.  Whereas in English, the time-when expression can go before or after the main clause, in Chinese it has to come before the verb.
 

On-going Action:  ...的時候﹐S-正在...
Time-when expression Main clause English
他來的時候, 我正在吃飯。 I was eating when he came.
我給他打電話的時候, 他正在練習中文發音。 When I called him, he was practicing Chinese pronunciation.
他進來的時候, 我正在洗澡! When he walked in, I was taking a bath!
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