Level 3 · Intermediate
When: …的时候
Clause + 的时候 / 以前 / 以后 · Traditional: Clause + 的時候 / 以前 / 以後
的时候 hangs on the END of a clause to mean "when …": 我吃饭的时候 "when I eat". The whole time-clause then comes early in the sentence, before the main action: 我吃饭的时候不看手机 "I don't look at my phone when I eat".
以前 (before) and 以后 (after) work exactly the same way: 睡觉以前 "before going to bed", 下课以后 "after class". English puts "when/before/after" at the START of the clause — Chinese puts these words at the END of it, and the clause itself comes first.
Examples
我吃饭的时候不看手机。
我吃飯的時候不看手機。
wǒ chī fàn de shí hou bù kàn shǒu jī
I don't look at my phone when I'm eating.
他小的时候住在北京。
他小的時候住在北京。
tā xiǎo de shí hou zhù zài běi jīng
He lived in Beijing when he was little.
睡觉以前，我喜欢看书。
睡覺以前，我喜歡看書。
shuì jiào yǐ qián wǒ xǐ huan kàn shū
Before going to bed, I like to read.
下课以后，我们一起去打球吧。
下課以後，我們一起去打球吧。
xià kè yǐ hòu wǒ men yī qǐ qù dǎ qiú ba
After class, let's go play ball together.
Common mistakes
✗ 我不看手机的时候我吃饭。
✓ 我吃饭的时候不看手机。
的时候 attaches to the time clause (吃饭), and that clause comes first.
Related grammar points
See it in a story
Read this pattern in context: Cleaning the room · Fox Borrows Tiger's Might — free graded stories with tap-to-reveal pinyin and translations.
