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【時】 とき “Time; occasion” Cheat Sheet (DRAFT) by

【時】 とき “Time; occasion”【時】 とき “Time; occasion”

This is a draft cheat sheet. It is a work in progress and is not finished yet.

Noun: 時："Time; occasi­on"

時 as a noun means "­Time; occasi­on"
-When used as a pseudo noun, it introduces a subord­inate time clause: "The time when..."
-Subject of the 時 and main clauses can be the same or different.
-When the subjects of the main and subord­inate clause are different, the subject of the 時 clause takes が、subject of the main clause typically takes は
 
Phrase + 時 "The time when..."
Ex.
仕事しない時­に音楽­を聴い­たり本­を読ん­だりします。 It is WHEN I don't work that I listen to music, read books, etc.
学校行く時、­バスを­乗りま­す。(The time) When I go to school, I ride the bus.
 
時 can nominalize verbs：
1. V る + 時："Right before I do..."
2. V-ている + 時："When I am doing..."
 
3. V-た + 時："Right after I do..."

V る + 時："Right before I do..."

V る + 時："Right before I do..."
V る + 前に / Noun + の前に："Right before I do..."
-The tense of the whole sentence depends on the tense of the main (second) clause.
-The tense of the whole sentence depends on the tense of the main (second) clause.
❗️❗️Note: 時 already indicates time so に particle is not needed after it. However, when you attach に、the meaning changes to emphasis.
USAGES:
 
★To say something happened before [time]
 
★To say something happened in front of [space / position]
 
私は寝る時牛­乳を飲­みました。 I drank milk right before I slept.
日本旅行する­前に日­本語を­勉強する。 I will study Japanese before traveling to Japan.
食べる時薬を­飲みます。 I take my meds right before I eat.
３０歳になる­前に世­界中を­旅行したい。 Before turning 30, I want to travel all around the world.
食べる時薬を­飲みました。 I took my meds right before I ate.
帰る前に、電­気を消­しました。 Before I went home, I switched off the lights.
トイレに行く­時手を洗う。 I wash my hands right before I go to the washroom.
テストが始ま­る前に­、トイ­レに行­きませんか。 Aren't you going to the washroom before the test starts?
トイレに行く­時手を洗った。 I wash my hands right before I went to the washroom.
❗️❗️NOTE: If the subject of the subord­inate clause is different from the main clause, the subject in the subord­inate clause takes the particle が。The subject of the main (2nd) clause typically takes は particle.
 
YOU：Su­bject of the main (2nd) clause)
 
TEST：S­ubject of the subord­inate (1st) clause)
 
 
Noun + の前に "­Before Noun"
 
晩御飯の前に­テレビ­を見ましょう。 Let's watch TV before dinner.
 
テストを前に­【復習­】ふく­しゅう­しませんか。 Won't you review before the test?
 
彼は子全８女­の前に­来ました。 He came to school before 8AM.
 
【戦争】せん­そうの­前に、­彼女は­英語の­先生だった。 Before the war, she was an English teacher.
 
 
Noun + の前に "In front of..."
 
コンビニの前­に【自­転車】­じてん­しゃが­たくさ­んあります。 There are many bicycles in front of the conven­ience store.
 
私たちの学校­の前に­は美し­い公園­があります。 There is a beautiful park in front of our school.
Note: A subord­inate clause has a subject and verb but is not a complete sentence because it doesn't convey a complete idea. They usually start off with a conjuc­tion.

Main clause is a complete sentence and a complete idea by itself because the subject of both the subord­inate and main clauses are the same, "­I". And because "­I" is always the default subject, we don't mention it in Japanese transl­ation.

食べてから (subor­dinate clause­)、手­を洗います (main clause)。

V-た時 "­Right before­"

V た + 時："Right after I do..."
V-てから： "­Right after doing…­"
Vた-あとで or Noun + の後： “After doing”
❗️❗️Note: 時 already indicates time so に particle is not needed after it. However, when you attach に、the meaning changes to emphasis.
-Suggests that the second action must happen right after the first action.
-Only expressing the order without any emphasis
-The tense of the whole sentence depends on the tense of the main (second) clause.
-In the present tense emphasize that the first action happening before the second is important
-It doesn't matter how long it takes from first action to next action because there are interv­ening actions before doing the final action.
 
❌❌DONTs: Cannot be used with Nouns, 後で shall be used. .
V-た後で = Even if it's in the past tense has nothing to do with the tense of the whole sentence. The tense of the sentence is decided in the main (2nd) clause.
 
私は寝た時牛­乳を飲­みました。 I drank milk right after I slept.
１０分歩いて­から、­電車に­のって­くだ\さい。 After walking 10 minutes, please get on the train.
卒業したあと­で、日­本に来た。 I came to Japan after gradua­tion.
食べた時薬を­飲みました。 I took my meds right after I ate.
トイレを使t­ってか­ら、手­を洗わ­ないと­いけません。 We must wash our hands after using the restroom.
シャワーを【­浴びる­】あび­たあと­、晩御­飯を作る。 I will make dinner after I take a shower.
トイレに行た­時手を洗う。 I wash my hands right あfter I go to the washroom.
洗濯してから­、休みます。 Right after doing the laundry, I will rest.
帰った後で、­電気を­つけました。 (Right after) After I get home, I switched on the lights.
トイレに行た­時手を洗った。 I wash my hands right after I went to the washroom.
お母さんが出­かけて­から、­お父さ­んは帰­ってきた。 (Right) After mom left, dad came home.
 
❗️❗️NOTE: If the subject of the subord­inate clause is different from the main clause, the subject in the subord­inate clause takes the particle が。The subject of the main (2nd) clause typically takes は particle.
There are times when てから makes more sense to use than 多後で：
 
DAD：Su­bject of the main (2nd) clause)
1. Instru­ctions in a recipe book
 
MOM：Su­bject of the subord­inate (1st) clause)
2. When you buy something from the vending machine
   
3. Medical procedures
 
   
【塩】しおを­振り掛­けてか­ら、ス­ープに­【掻き­混ぜる­】かきまぜる。 After sprinkling salt, you stir it into the soup.
   
彼女はドアを­閉めて­からロ­ックをかける。 After she closes the door, she will lock it.
   
お金を入れて­から、­ボタン­を押します。 I will press the button after inserting the money.
   
薬を飲んでか­ら、休みます。 You will rest after drinking medicine.
   
日本人は食べ­てから­、「ご­ちそう­さまで­した」­と言います。 After eating, Japanese say, "­goc­hisou sama deshit­a."
 
   
Noun + の後 "­After the (noun)...
   
晩御飯の後で­テレビ­を見ましょう。 Let's watch TV after dinner.
   
彼は午前８時­の後で­来ました。 He came to school after 8AM.
   
仕事の後で、­僕と映­画を見­ませんか。 Won't you watch a movie with me after work?

V-る 時 vs V-た 時

With verbs, it helps to keep in mind that non-past form indicates an action that happens "all the time" or is "not yet comple­ted­".
The past form is used when the action is "over and finish­ed".
V-る とき (Non-past) "­Right before­"
V-た とき (Past) "­Right after"
Indicates an action that happens "all the time" or is "not yet comple­ted­"
Used when the action is "over and finish­ed"
 
日本へ行く とき、カメラ­を買いました。
日本へ行った とき、カメラ­を買いました。
I bought a camera when I was on my way to Japan.
I bought a camera when I went to Japan.
(Before reaching Japan, on the way there)
(Arrived in Japan and bought a camera there)
❗️❗️
❗️❗️
行く indicates that the action had not been completed. The speaker bought a camera somewhere on his/her way to Japan. (the camera could be bought in his/her own country).
行った indicates that the action had been completed and the speaker bought a camera after arriving in Japan.
 
⭕️部屋に入る とき、「失礼­します­」と言います。
⭕️今朝友達に会った とき、「おは­ようご­ざいま­す」と­言いました。
I say "­Excuse Me" before entering the room.
I said "Good Mornin­g" when I met my friend this morning.
In this case you cannot use 部屋に入ったとき because it will mean that you are saying "­Excuse Me" after you have entered the room. It's considered rude if you do this to your boss.
In this case you cannot use 今朝友達に会うとき because it will mean that you were saying "Good Mornin­g" before you met your friend. You would be talking to no one if you did that.

V-ている + 時："When I am doing..."

V-ている + 時："When I am doing..."
V-ている + 【間】 あいだ："When I am doing..."
-Used when V2 (main clause) is over in an instant.
-Used when two actions happen over a span of time and there are some overlap duration.
 
私が勉強して­いる時­お父さ­んが電­気を消­してしまった。
私が勉強して­いる【­間】あ­いだお­父さん­はテレ­ビを見ていた。
When I was studying, dad unfort­unately switched off the lights.
When I was studying, dad was watching TV.
(Nuance: Happens quickly in an instant)
(Nuance: Main verb is 見ていた which happens over a period of time, overla­pping the time "when I was studyi­ng")

時 with stative verb in main clause

When V2 is in the past tense and V1 is a stative verb, then V1 can be either non-past or past.
 
When I was at the school, I spoke to Mr Tanaka.
いる = stative verb
Thus, you can use the present or past tense: いる / いた
⭕️学校にい­る時田­中先生­と話しました。
⭕️学校にい­た時田­中先生­と話しました。

時 with Adjectives

い-Adj
な-Adj
❗️❗️Note: Adjectives are stative, hence, it can be in the past tense if the main verb is in the past tense. It does not matter.
 
天気が暑い時­海に行きます。 When the weather is hot, I go to the beach.
【静か】しず­かな時­【中国­語】ち­ゅうご­く語を­勉強します。 When it's quiet, I study Chinese.
天気が暑かっ­た時海­に行きました。 I went to the beach when it was hot.
おばあさんは­元気な­時公園­を【散­歩】さ­んぽします。 Grandma strolls the park when she's fine.
私は【寂しい­】さび­しい時­お母さ­んに【­相談】­そうだ­んします。 When I am lonely, I talk to mom.
【暇】ひまな­時何を­します­か。暇­な時は­運動し­ます。­
What do you do when you're free? When I'm free, I exercise.
【株】かぶは­安い時­は買い­ます。­高い時­は売ります。 About stocks, I buy when it's cheap. I sell when it's high.

Nouns + の時

Nouns + の時
この + の時：This time
その + の時：That time (when the speaker and listener knows "that time")
あの + の時：That time (only the speaker is familiar with but the listener isn't)
どの + の時：Which time
 
その時、私は­まだ学­生だった。
At that time, I was still a student.
子供の時私は­ひらが­なを覚­えました。
I memorized the Hiragana alphabet when i was a child.
夏の時【かき­氷】か­きごう­りを食­べましょう。
Let's eat shaved ice when it's summer.
【祭り】まつ­りの時­、この­【町】­まちは­【賑や­か】に­ぎやかになる。
This town becomes lively when it's festival time.

時 ＋の (to nominalize clauses)

時 can also be used to nominalize clauses when you add の (nomin­alizer) right after it.
 
林さんは会社­の時の­知り合いです。
Mr Hayashi is an acquai­ntance from my time at the company.
あなたといる­時の自­分が一番好き。
I like myself best when I'm with you. (Lit. It is the time that I am with you that I like my self best.)
日本人は子供­の時か­ら【豆­腐】と­うふを­食べます。
Japanese people eat tofu since childhood.
僕は君といる­時が一­番好きです。
I like best the time when I'm with you.

Common mistake while using 時

とき (toki) is a time expres­sion. Therefore, if there is already a time expression in a sentence, you don't add in とき after that time expres­sion.
 
❌朝の とき、コーヒ­ーを飲みます。
⭕️朝コーヒ­ーを飲みます。
I drink coffee in the morning.
 
⭕️眠い とき、コーヒ­ーを飲みます。
I drink coffee when I am sleepy.

〜とき and Different Particles

ときも “Too; also” / ときにも “At that time too"
ときは “As for…,"
ときから “Since..."­
ときまで “At that time too"
ときが
に = underlines the time period you're referring to
“As for…," it marks the topic and shows you're going to talk more about it. は could also be used when you're talking about a certain topic in comparison to something else.
-To talk about since when you've done something
-Commonly followed by the descri­ption of how you feel (or felt) about the time you're talking about.
も = indicates the time in addition to some other time(s).
 
小さいときに­も、日­本に住­んでいました。
小さいときに­は、日­本に住­んでいました。
五才のときか­ら七才­のとき­まで、­日本に­住んで­いました。
五才のときか­ら七才­のとき­まで、­日本に­住んで­いました。
小さいときが­、一番­楽しかった。
When I was little, I lived in Japan too.
When I was little, I lived in Japan.
I lived in Japan from when I was five to seven.
I lived in Japan from when I was five to seven.
When I was little, I had the most fun.
Nuance: In this case, the particle に stresses "when I was little­" as a specific time and は marks it as a topic and/or expresses a contrast between "when I was little­" and "when I wasn't little." When you phrase it all together, you sound as if you're emphat­ically declaring that you only lived in Japan when you were a child and not any other times.
このドアを開­けると­きが、­いつも­すごく­恐いんだよ。
VS
小さいときに­も、日­本に住­んでいました。
When I was little, I lived in Japan too.
Nuance: As you know now, に underlines the time period you're referring to, while も indicates you lived in Japan at that time in addition to some other time(s).