"Cherry Picking" Joke (With Grammar Notes)

樱桃什么时候摘最适合啊？ 
yīng táo shén me shí hòu zhāi zuì shì hé a 
When is best time to pick cherries? 

没人的时候。。。 
méi rén de shíhòu... 
When there is nobody around… 

Grammar Points

1. 什么时候 – at what time, when 

As was already mentioned in the Question Words in Chinese article, in Chinese sentences “when” is generally placed between the subject and the predicate: 

她什么时候结婚了? – tā shén me shí hòu jié hūn le – When did she get married? 

你什么时候来了? – nǐ shén me shí hòu lái le – When did you come? 

火车什么时候到了? – huǒ chē shén me shí hòu dào le – When does the train arrive? 

2. If you need to specify the time when something happens, 的时候 (de shí hou) is often used. 

The pattern is as follows: 

Subject + Verb + 的时候 

In this case 的时候 means that two conscious actions happen. 

小的时候，我喜欢吃糖。 

xiǎo de shí hòu wǒ xǐ huān chī táng 

When I was little, I liked to eat candies. 

去散步的时候， 看见一只小狗。

qù sàn bù de shí hòu kàn jiàn yī zhǐ xiǎo gǒu 

When I was going for a walk, I saw a puppy. 

NOTE: When talking about completed actions in the past, it is better to use 以后 instead of 的时候.