when

«when» in Mova's school dictionary: When asks at what time something happens: «When is lunch?» — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

conjunction, adverb; pronoun

meaning for a pupil

1) When asks at what time something happens: «When is lunch?». tree →

2) When tells the time or the case in which something happens: «When it rains, we stay in». tree →

3) When can mean «as soon as»: «Call me when you get home». tree →

4) When can mean «although» or «since»: «Why walk when you can ride?» tree →

5) (casual) «Say when» means tell me when to stop pouring; «since when?» shows surprise or doubt. tree →

6) (formal) Exams say «at which time», «upon», «in the event that», «whereupon» and «at what point». tree →

sense in the lessons

stating a rule or a moment in the story; in maths «when» often begins a rule: «When we put two groups together, we add»; «When does it end» asks for a time; phrases: «since when», «when I was little», «say when», «when it comes to»; in casual talk «when's the bus?», «say when», «since when do you like maths?»; in rough talk «when I get my hands on you…» (an angry threat), «when are you gonna shut up?»; in the exam voice «in the event that», «upon receipt», «at what point in time»

examples

• When we put two groups together, we add. tree →
• When Tom came home, he had 3 cards left. tree →
• When does the film end? tree →
• When water freezes, it turns into ice. tree →
• Call Mum when you get to school. tree →
• When is your birthday? tree →
• Wash your hands when you come in from outside. tree →
• when's the bus, 8:40? its 8:25 now tree →
• Say when… stop, that's 3 spoonfuls! tree →
• When I get my hands on whoever took my last 2 biscuits… tree →
• Upon the subsequent arrival of 5 passengers, ascertain the total number on board. tree →
• Why walk when you can take the bus? tree →
• But when was that to be? tree →

note

Introduces a rule or a time; carries no operation clue. «When does it end» asks for a time. «upon» and «in the event that» in an exam mean when. Trap: «when» asks about time, «where» about place. «when I get my hands on you» is an angry threat, not a time.

In the corpora

• When a parent seems frazzled after work, it is usually the workload, not anything the child did.
• At the other end of working life comes retirement, when people stop paid work for good.
• Living in a home costs money every single month, even when nobody buys anything new.
• Rent is often a family's biggest bill, so when it goes up, other spending has to shrink.
• It moves as numbers when a card is tapped, a bill goes out or pay comes in.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «when» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.