When
The word “when” Means «when» in English, and can be used both in questions and to refer to a certain period of time or when an event occurs. It can refer to both the past and the present or the future.
Question «wh»
In English there are a series of adverbs that begin with the letters wh: que, which, where, quien, whom, whose Y when. All these adverbs in English, when used to ask questions, form Open questionsIn other words, they cannot be answered with only «yes» or «no».
The questions «wh”(And therefore the questions with when) have a nucleus, which is the verb that is located immediately after the adverb. This verb is conjugated according to time and person.
When and While
Since the translation of while it can also be «when», May exist confusion between when and while. There is a radical difference between both expressions: while refers to an action that is sustained over a period of time, while when refers to specific actions.
However, when can also be used to refer to long periods of time (for example, «when he was a child» or «when he lived in the city»). Therefore, it is easier to distinguish whether to use when or while, because while can be translated as
«While».
See also: Examples of Wh Questions (Wh Questions)
Examples of affirmative sentences with when
Present:
- When I get home I always turn on the television. (When I get home I always turn on the TV.)
- When the dog barks the baby gets scared. (When the dog barks the baby he freaks out.)
- I only play videogames when my mother isn’t home. (I only play video games when my mother is not at home.)
- You always call me when I’m at work. (You always call me when I’m at work.)
Past:
- When I arrived at the supermarket, it was closed. (When I got to the supermarket, he was closed.)
- When he started driving he made a lot of mistakes. (When he started driving, he made a lot of mistakes.)
- When you were a child, you loved to play. (When you were a kid you loved to play.)
Future:
- When I see him again, I will pay him. (When I see him again, I’ll pay him.)
- I will pick you up when you leave the office. (I’ll pick you up when you leave the office.)
Examples of when questions
Present:
- When do you go to the gym? (When do you go to the gym?)
- When do you see your cousins? (When do you see your cousins?)
- When do they study? (When they study?)
- When does she wake up? (When does he wake up?)
- When does he finish school? (When does school end?)
- When does it end? (When does it end?)
Past:
- When did you get here? (When you came?)
- When did she break her leg? (When did you break your leg?)
- When was he born? (When was born?)
Future:
- When will you buy a new car? (When are you going to buy a new car?)
- When will she come back? (When will you return?)
They can serve you:
Andrea is a language teacher, and in her instagram account offers private lessons by video call so that you learn to speak English.
[M] [T] I was going out, when the telephone rang. [M] [T] She got married when she was twenty-five. [M] [T] She surprised him when she arrived early. [M] [T] She was surprised when she saw the ghost.
Contents
- 1 What are 5 examples of simple sentences?
- 2 How can you use the word in a sentence?
- 3 What is 10 examples of sentences?
- 4 What are 10 examples of simple sentences?
- 5 What are sentence types?
- 6 What is a sentence for kids?
- 7 How do you write 5 sentences?
- 8 How many words is 5’7 sentences?
- 9 What are the 4 types of simple sentences?
- 10 What are 5 examples of complex sentences?
- 11 What are 5 compound sentences?
- 12 Can sentences example?
- 13 What are the 7 types of sentences?
- 14 What are the 7 sentence patterns?
- 15 How many sentences are in English?
- 16 What are the 12 types of sentences?
- 17 What is a sentence Grade 5?
- 18 What is good sentence?
- 19 What are some good sentences?
- 20 How do you make a simple sentence?
What are 5 examples of simple sentences?
Examples of simple sentences include the following:
- Joe waited for the train. “Joe” = subject, “waited” = verb.
- The train was late.
- Mary and Samantha took the bus.
- I looked for Mary and Samantha at the bus station.
- Mary and Samantha arrived at the bus station early but waited until noon for the bus.
How can you use the word in a sentence?
Used sentence example
- He used to be a pretty good mechanic.
- He is selling a used vehicle that is five years old.
- I’ll just have to get used to being idle.
- I used to trust Dad.
- We are so used to being with the big boys.
- Frank is a very nervous dog who isn’t used to being left alone.
- We used to be so close.
What is 10 examples of sentences?
Examples of Complete Sentences
- I ate dinner.
- We had a three-course meal.
- Brad came to dinner with us.
- He loves fish tacos.
- In the end, we all felt like we ate too much.
- We all agreed; it was a magnificent evening.
What are 10 examples of simple sentences?
50 examples of simple sentences
- She doesn’t study German on Monday.
- Does she live in Paris?
- He doesn’t teach math.
- Cats hate water.
- Every child likes an ice cream.
- 6.My brother takes out the trash.
- The course starts next Sunday.
- She swims every morning.
What are sentence types?
There are four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex. Each sentence is defined by the use of independent and dependent clauses, conjunctions, and subordinators.Complex sentences: A complex sentence contains one independent clause and at least one dependent clause.
What is a sentence for kids?
A sentence is a set of words which makes up a complete thought. It achieves this by following a set of grammatical rules to convey a statement, question, exclamation, or command. A sentence starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark.
How do you write 5 sentences?
A five sentence paragraph consists of a main idea sentence, three sentences that explain the main idea with reasons, details or facts and a concluding sentence.
How many words is 5’7 sentences?
The word length for children novels is not set in stone, but even so, its likely to be around 20,000 to 40,000 words.
What are the 4 types of simple sentences?
There are four types of sentences: simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex.
What are 5 examples of complex sentences?
5 Examples of Complex Sentences
- When he handed in his homework, he forgot to hand the teacher the last stage.
- The human brain never stops working until you stand up to speak in public.
- Even though she suffered from arthritis, she studied hard because she wanted to go to medical school in London.
What are 5 compound sentences?
5 Examples of Compound Sentences
- I want to lose weight, yet I eat chocolate daily.
- Michael did not like to read. She was not very good at it.
- Dr. Mark said I could come to his office on Friday or Saturday of next week.
- My favorite sport is skiing. I am vacationing in Hawaii this winter.
Can sentences example?
Could sentence example
- I wish you could hear yourself talking.
- What could he do about it but lose more sleep?
- How could she blame him?
- How could he find out?
- I never thought I could do it.
- I had let so much gas out of my balloon that I could not rise again, and in a few minutes the earth closed over my head.
What are the 7 types of sentences?
The other way is based on a sentence’s structure (simple, compound, complex, and compound-complex).
- Statements/Declarative Sentences. These are the most common type of sentence.
- Questions/Interrogative Sentences.
- Exclamations/Exclamatory Sentences.
- Commands/Imperative Sentences.
What are the 7 sentence patterns?
Sentence structure can be categorized into seven patterns: one simple, three compound, two complex, and one compound-complex.
How many sentences are in English?
There are four types of English sentence, classified by their purpose: declarative sentence (statement) interrogative sentence (question) imperative sentence (command)
What are the 12 types of sentences?
12 Types of Tenses With Examples Pdf
Tense | Affirmative | Negative |
---|---|---|
Present simple | I have a car. | I don’t have a car. |
Present continuous | You are playing football now. | You are not playing football now. |
Present perfect | They have been there. | They haven’t been there. |
Present perfect cont. | I have been living here. | I haven’t been living here. |
What is a sentence Grade 5?
A sentence is a group of words that conveys a complete idea.A sentence always starts with capital letter and end with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. 4. A sentence must have at least one doing word i.e. verb.
What is good sentence?
A good sentence is a complete sentence.
A complete sentence requires a subject and a verb and expresses a complete thought—also known as an independent clause. This element of sentence structure can stand on its own, expressing an idea without the need for additional information.
What are some good sentences?
Good sentence example
- It felt so good to be home. 790.
- You have a good family. 446.
- She is such a good seamstress. 485.
- It was a good thing they were going home tomorrow.
- It was all just good clean fun.
- It meant a good deal to him to secure a home like this.
- It would do no good to ask him why.
- He had done one good deed.
How do you make a simple sentence?
A simple sentence is typically made up of a subject, verb, and object, or SVO, and creates a complete thought; however, since a simple predicate is a verb or verb phrase only, a simple sentence can also be made up of only a subject and verb (SV).
Examples of how to use the word “when” in a sentence. How to connect “when” with other words to make correct English sentences.
when (adv, pron, conj): at what time; at the time at which; what/which time;considering the fact that
Use “when” in a sentence
She was shocked when she heard my story. |
I need absolute silence when I’m working. |
When I hear that song, I remember my younger days. |
She was very surprised when she heard the news. |
My throat hurts when I swallow. |
Do you know when they will arrive? |
The thief ran away when he saw a policeman. |
I used to be very thin when I was young. |
She still sucks her thumb when she’s worried. |
I’m training her to take over my job when I retire. |
Do you know when he will come? |
When did you buy it? |
When will we arrive?
Back to “3000 Most Common Words in English” |
Adverb
When did the American Civil War begin?
The detective asked me when I last saw her.
When is the next performance?
It was a time when people didn’t have to lock their doors.
the happy days when we were together
We’re still waiting for the test results, when we’ll decide our next move.
Conjunction
When he finally showed up, he was drunk.
When I was in school, we didn’t have computers.
You can go when the bell rings.
Call me when you get home.
Things were better when he got a job.
When he watches television, he falls asleep.
She quit politics when she might have had a great career in it.
Pronoun
He retired in 1998, since when he has been devoting his time to gardening.
You need the report by when?
See More
Recent Examples on the Web
In the audience, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) beamed when Mr. Biden referred to him as the longest-serving Senate leader; that was an important personal milestone for Mr. McConnell.
—Siobhan Hughes, WSJ, 8 Feb. 2023
What isn’t known for certain is when the family was killed.
—Jim Salter, ajc, 8 Feb. 2023
Denis McCarville, 70, was arrested on Jan. 29 when the flight landed in Anchorage.
—Tess Williams, Anchorage Daily News, 8 Feb. 2023
As when a little kid gets to run herself ragged to make her sleep better, there’s value in working the energy out.
—Vulture, 8 Feb. 2023
The president is taking the House rostrum at a time when just a quarter of U.S. adults say things in the country are headed in the right direction, according to a new poll by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research.
—Zeke Miller And, BostonGlobe.com, 7 Feb. 2023
Russell and his Black teammates also took a stand when the Celtics journeyed South, sitting out a game in Kentucky after a Whites-only hotel denied them service.
—Brian Lowry, CNN, 7 Feb. 2023
However, the rumor was quickly put to rest when Lizzo shared a video on February 6 of the moment Harry won, including a shot of Adele cheering him on before realizing she was being recorded.
—Amanda Curran, Glamour, 7 Feb. 2023
Seven of the final eight teams this year featured an offensive-minded head coach, and the one that didn’t was the Bills with Sean McDermott, whose offense fell off when Brian Daboll left for the Giants.
—Nate Atkins, The Indianapolis Star, 7 Feb. 2023
Ordinarily, sussing out the who-knows-what-and-when of damaging revelations is a Beltway parlor game.
—Alex Shephard, The New Republic, 26 Apr. 2022
Bumblefest and normalcy are not words that often appear in the same sentence, but the Sept. 17 return of Steve Rullman’s modern-rock hootenanny in downtown West Palm Beach now feels like a comforting symbol of back-when.
—Ben Crandell, sun-sentinel.com, 6 Aug. 2021
Frankly, the question was never an if, but a when and a how.
—Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 30 Mar. 2021
How about a streaming product versus a must-see-when-and-where-cable-event?
—Ars Staff, Ars Technica, 26 Dec. 2020
Williams, in short, paired all her how-to with a when-to wherewithal sometimes absent in her first two seasons.
—Mike Anthony, courant.com, 20 Dec. 2020
Dan Marino lost his first game as a rookie starter way-back-when to Buffalo in overtime 38-35.
—Dave Hyde, sun-sentinel.com, 22 Oct. 2020
These squishable-when-they’re-not-spitting camelids hold antibodies that could hold the key to treating COVID-19, scientists suggested in a study published Tuesday in the journal Cell.
—TheWeek, 6 May 2020
Saturday’s 38-31 win at Nebraska put to bed a lot of since-whens and last-times in Bloomington.
—Zach Osterman, Indianapolis Star, 28 Oct. 2019
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These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word ‘when.’ Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
If you start a sentence with the conjunction «when», add a comma after the first clause. The comma is generally unnecessary if the when-clause is the second clause of the sentence.
If you start a sentence with the conjunction «when«, add a comma after the first clause.
When I play video games with my friends, I feel more excited.
When I play video games with my friends I feel more excited.
The comma is generally unnecessary if the when-clause is the second clause of the sentence.
I feel more romantic when I play the guitar.
I feel more romantic, when I play the guitar.
Contents
- 1. Starting a Sentence With ‘When’
- 2. Starting a sentence with the Independent Clause
- 3. Parenthetic Expressions Starting With ‘When’
- 4. More Examples
- 5. Conclusion
- 6. References
1. Starting a Sentence With ‘When’
Subordinating conjunctions, such as «when«, always join an independent clause and a dependent clause.
When the weather is gloomy, some people feel miserable.
As a general rule, if the when-clause (dependent clause) comes first, we need a comma after it.
When the sky is clear and blue, we go to the beach.
When the sky is clear and blue we go to the beach.
Instead of introducing a clause, we can use «when» to introduce a phrase. Phrases, unlike clauses, do not have a subject and a verb. In this situation, if the introductory phrase is brief (less than five words) and the sentence is clear, the comma is optional.(1)
When in town we go to a fancy restaurant.
2. Starting a sentence with the Independent Clause
Look at this sentence:
I enjoy visiting Buddhist temples when I travel to Japan.
The first clause («I enjoy visiting Buddhist temples») is the independent or main clause; it expresses a complete thought and can stand alone.
If the when-clause follows the main clause, the comma before «when» is generally unnecessary.
You exchange incoming oxygen with outgoing carbon dioxide when you take a deep breath.
3. Parenthetic Expressions Starting With ‘When’
We can also use «when» to introduce a parenthetic phrase or clause; that is, a part of a sentence that does not define or limit. Parenthetic expressions just provide additional information, which can be safely omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence.
In 1879, when Albert Einstein was born, Russia and the United Kingdom signed the Treaty of Gandamak.
Note that the clause «when Albert Einstein was born» is parenthetic; it can be easily omitted without changing the meaning of the sentence. Parenthetic clauses should be placed between commas.
In 1962, when Marilyn Monroe died, the Soviet Union began to install nuclear missiles in Cuba.
In 1962 when Marilyn Monroe died the Soviet Union began to install nuclear missiles in Cuba.
4. More Examples
- I experience heartburn when eating spicy food.
- When going out with my friends, I enjoy eating pizza.
- Call me when you are ready.
- When you are hungry, you can eat healthy food (e.g., salads, fruits, or smoothies).
- You never know when you may need to call her.
- When stock prices go up, interest rates go down.
- Will Rebecca stop me when I kiss her?
- There were many people when I arrived at the party.
- When you buy a property in Spain, you will have to pay some taxes.
5. Conclusion
Follow these simple guidelines to decide whether to use commas in a «when» sentence:
- If a sentence starts with a when-clause, include a comma after the first clause.
- If the when-clause comes at the end of the sentence, a comma is often unnecessary.
6. References
(1) Kaufman, Lester; Straus, Jane. The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation. Chapter 2 (punctuation).