The structures "now..., then..."
The structure 一会儿…一会儿…
The structure is used to indicate alternating actions or situations. For example: "now it's cold, before it was hot". It can be used to relate words, phrases and sentences.
Pay attention
You can also use the structure without erization .
Scheme
(subject)
一会儿
A
一会儿
B
Examples
一会儿冷一会儿热
Now it's cold, before it was hot
yí huìr lěng yí huìr rè
一会说可以,一会说不行
One moment she says yes, and the next she says no
tā yí huì shuō kěyǐ, yí huì shuō bù xíng
我平时不太努力,一会学习一会玩儿
I don't usually work hard. Sometimes I study, sometimes I play
wǒ píngshí bú tài nǔlì, yí huì xuéxí yí huì wánr
The structure 一时…一时…
The structure has a similar meaning. It emphasizes that two actions or situations come one after another or are periodically repeated. In this structure, adjectives, verbs, or phrases can be placed after 一时.
Scheme
(subject)
一时
A
一时
B
Examples
我生病的时候有了一时冷一时热的感觉
When I was sick, one moment I felt cold and the next moment I felt hot
wǒ shēngbìng de shíhòu yǒu le yì shí lěng yì shí rè de gǎnjué
他的脾气我真不懂,一时高兴,一时忧郁
I really don't understand his tempermant. Sometimes he's happy, sometimes he's melancholy
tā de píqì wǒ zhēn bù dǒng, yì shí gāoxìng, yì shí yōuyù
我们的项目一时成功,一时失败,很正常的
It's normal that our projects sometimes succeed, and sometimes fail
wǒmen de xiàngmù yì shí chénggōng, yì shí shībài, hěn zhèngcháng de
一时 can be used independently. It is placed before the predicate.
Examples
一时断了思路,接着又重新想起来了
He lost his train of thought for a moment, but then he recovered it
tā yīshí duàn le sīlù, jiēzhe yòu chóngxīn xiǎngqǐlái le
一时拿不出这么多钱来,能宽限几天吗?
I don't have that much money now. Can I have a few days of grace?
wǒ yìshí nábuchū zhème duō qián lái, néng kuānxiàn jǐ tiān ma
The structure 时而…,时而…
The structure also has the same meaning.
Examples
这儿的天气变来变去,时而晴天,时而下雨
The weather here is very unusual — sometimes it's sunny, and sometimes it's raining
zhèr de tiānqì biàn lái biàn qù, shí‘ér qíngtiān, shí‘ér xià yǔ
生活就是这样,时而让人失望,时而让人充满信心
That's life! Sometimes it’s frustrating, and sometimes it works out great
shēnghuó jiù shì zhèyàng, shí‘ér ràng rén shīwàng, shí‘ér ràng rén chōngmǎn xìnxīn
她的情绪很不稳定,时而积极,时而消极
Her mood is very fickle — sometimes positive and sometimes negative
tā de qíngxù hěn bù wěndìng, shí‘ér jījí, shí‘ér xiāojí
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