EXPRESSING SIMULTANEOUS SITUATIONS

39

Expressing simultaneous situations

39.1Indicating that one situation is the background for another situation

To indicate that one situation is the background for another situation, say:

S1 S2/S1 S2

S1 de shíhou S2 while, when S1, S2

S1 and S2 can be actions or states.

S1 and S2 are states

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'(

Wn xiko de shíhou, shqnghuó hln ko.

When I was young, life was very hard (bitter).

S1 and S2 are actions

!"#$%&'()!"#$%&'()

Wn kàn sht de shíhou, cháng trng yrnyuè.

When I read, I often listen to music.

/ de shíhou can be used when one situation overlaps with the start of another one.

!"#$%&'()*!"#$%&'()*

Nm lái de shíhou, wnmen zhèngzài shàng kè.

When you arrived, we were in class.

However, / de shíhou cannot be used when the relationship between S1 and S2 is that of sequence. When S1 and S2 are related in terms of sequence, use /

ymhòu.

Í38.2

268

Indicating that two actions occur in the same time frame

39.3

The events in the following sentence are related in terms of sequence. Therefore, they should be connected by / ymhòu ‘after’ and not / de shíhou ‘when.’ Notice that in English, ‘when’ can be used with sequential situations or with simultaneous situations.

Say this	Not this
( ) !"#$%&'()	G !"#$%&'()*+,-
( ) !"#$%&'()	!"#$%&'()*+,-
Nm chr(wán) le wknfàn ymhòu	Nm chrwán le wán fàn de shíhou
qmng gli wn dk diànhuà.	qmng gli wn dk diànhuà.
After (when) you arrive home,
please call me.

39.2Indicating that two actions occur at the same time

39.2.1Focusing on each action separately

(subject) / VP1 / VP2 (subject) yrbipn VP1 yrbipn VP2

subject does both VP1 and VP2 at the same time/ yrbipn must occur before each verb phrase:

!"#$%&!"'()*!"#$%&!"'()*

Wn érzi yìbipn trng yrnyuè, yìbipn zuò gsngkè.

My son listens to music and does homework at the same time.

39.2.2Focusing on the shared time

(subject) / VP1 VP2 (subject) tóngshí VP1 VP2

subject simultaneously does VP1 and VP2

/ tóngshí occurs before the list of actions that occur at the same time:

!"#$%&'()*!"#$%&'()*

Nm wèi shénme tóngshí trng yrnyuè zuò gsngkè?

Why do you listen to music and do your homework at the same time?

39.3Indicating that two actions occur in the same time frame

To indicate that two actions occur in the same time frame, though not necessarily at the same time, say:

action VP1 action VP2 yòu VP1 yòu VP2

(subject) does both VP1 and VP2

!"#$%"#&'(

Tp tèbié máng, yòu niàn sht, yòu zuò shì.

He is really busy. He both studies and has a job.

269

EXPRESSING SIMULTANEOUS SITUATIONS

39.4

39.4Describing a subject in terms of two qualities that exist at the same time

(subject) AV/SV1 AV/SV2 (subject) yòu AV/SV1 yòu AV/SV2 (subject) is both AV/SV1 and AV/SV2

!"#"$%!"#"$%

Nàge nán de yòu gpo yòu dà.

That guy is both tall and big.

Í10.8, 36.9

39.5Indicating that a situation is reached at a specific point in time

dào + time phrase/S1, S2

when/by that time that time phrase/S1, S2

!"#$%&'()*+,(-!"#$%&'()*+,(-

Dào liù yuè, wn jiù zài zhèr jiào le shíwo nián sht le.

In June, I will have been teaching here for fifteen years.

!"# $%&'!"# $%&'

Dào spnyuè, wn jiù spnshí suì le.

When March comes I will be 30.

dlng + S1, S2

when/by that time that S1, S2

!"#$% & '()*+',!"#$% & '()*+',

Dlng nm xuéwán zhè bln sht, nm jiù xué le hln dus Zhsngwén le.

By the time you finish this book, you will have studied a lot of Chinese.

!"#$%&!'!"#$%&!'

Dlng cài lái le wnmen dsu è sm le.

By the time the food arrived we were all starving to death.

dlngdào + S1, S2 when/by that time that S1, S2

!"# $%&'()*+,-./!"# $%&'()*+,-./

Dlngdào nm bìyè, nm de Zhsngguó huà yrdìng huì shus de hln hko.

By the time you graduate, your spoken Chinese will be very good.

!"#$%&'()#*!"#$%&'()#*

Dlngdào bàba huí jip le, háizi dsu shuìjiào le.

By the time that dad returned home, the children were already asleep.

270

Presenting simultaneous situations

39.6

39.6Presenting simultaneous situations

To present two parallel circumstances that exist at the same time and describe the same situation, say:

S1 S2

yr fpngmiàn S1 yr fpngmiàn S2

on the one hand S1, on the other hand S2

!"#$%& '( )*+, '( )-.&!"#$%& '( )*+, '( )-.&

Tp yrdìng kkodeshàng dàxué. Yrfpngmiàn tp hln csngming, yrfpngmiàn tp hln yònggsng.

She will certainly pass the college entrance exam. On the one hand, she is very smart, on the other hand, she is very hardworking.

!"#$%&'()* +,-.*'() "/012&!"#$%&'()* +,-.*'() "/012&

Tp de tmzhòng bù huì jiknqrng. Yrfpngmiàn, tp chr de tài dus, yrfpngmiàn tp bù yuànyi yùndòng.

He can’t lose weight. On the one hand, he eats too much. On the other hand, he isn’t willing to exercise.

271