Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ xiǎngqǐ wǒmen zài gōngyuán sànbù de shíhou, jiù juéde hěn wēnnuǎn. - When I think of the times we walked in the park, I feel very warm.

想起 literally means “to think and then something comes up in your mind,” so in most contexts it’s closer to “to recall / to be reminded of / to remember (something suddenly)”.

In this sentence, 我想起我们在公园散步的时候 implies:

“When I think back to / recall the time when we walked in the park …”
It’s not just random thinking; it’s recalling a past experience.

Compare:

想 – to think, to miss, to want (broad meaning).
想到 – to think of, to come up with (often more about the idea itself appearing).
想起 – recall something from memory (often with a “suddenly remember” nuance).

Why do we need 的 before 时候 in 在公园散步的时候?

在公园散步的时候 is a modifier + 的 + noun structure, very common in Chinese.

在公园散步 = a clause describing an action: “walking in the park”
的 = links that clause to a noun
时候 = “time; moment”

So together:

在公园散步 + 的 + 时候 = “the time when (we were) walking in the park.”

Pattern:

[Action / situation] + 的 + 时候 = “when [action / situation] happened”

You generally need the 的 here. Saying 在公园散步时候 without 的 is ungrammatical in standard Mandarin.

What is the function of 就 in this sentence? Can we omit it?

Here 就 signals a natural/quick result or emotional response that follows right after the condition:

我想起……，就觉得很温暖。
- “When I think of …, I then feel warm.”

Nuances of 就 here:

Shows a tight link between cause and effect (“as soon as I think of it, I feel warm”).
Makes the sentence sound more fluent and natural.

Can you omit it?

我想起我们在公园散步的时候，觉得很温暖。
- This is grammatically fine, just a bit more neutral.
With 就, it sounds more like “whenever / as soon as I think of it, I (immediately) feel warm.”

Why do we use 很 before 温暖? Does it always mean “very”?

很 indeed can mean “very,” but in sentences where an adjective is used as a predicate, 很 often works as a kind of “linking adverb” that smooths the grammar.

In 觉得很温暖:

觉得温暖 is possible, but can sound slightly abrupt or like a contrast or judgment in some contexts.
觉得很温暖 is the default natural phrasing and often doesn’t strongly emphasize “very.”

So here, 很 is:

Partly a degree adverb (“quite / very warm”).
Partly a grammatical filler that makes 温暖 sound like a normal predicate adjective.

If you truly want to stress degree, you can use stronger words:

非常温暖, 特别温暖, 超级温暖 (informal).

Can 温暖 describe emotions, or is it only for physical warmth?

温暖 can describe both:

Physical warmth:
- 这个房间很温暖。 – The room is warm.
Emotional warmth / warmth of atmosphere (very common):
- 你的话让我觉得很温暖。 – Your words make me feel warm (inside).
- 我想起我们在公园散步的时候，就觉得很温暖。 – It feels emotionally warm when I think of that memory.

Compared:

热 – hot (often too hot).
暖和 – comfortably warm (more physical, casual).
温暖 – can be physical, but often has a gentle, emotional, or poetic feeling.

What’s the difference between 觉得 and 感觉? Could we say 就感觉很温暖 instead?

Both relate to “feeling,” but they’re used a bit differently:

觉得
- Very common, everyday.
- Means “to feel” (subjective impression) or “to think” (opinion).
- 我觉得很温暖。 – I feel very warm (emotionally).
感觉
- Can be a verb (“to feel”) or a noun (“feeling; sensation”).
- As a verb, it’s slightly more formal / descriptive.

In this sentence, you can say:

我想起……的时候，就感觉很温暖。
This is grammatically fine, and the meaning is almost the same.

Subtle nuance:

觉得 is the most natural, neutral pick here.
感觉 may sound a bit more like describing the perceived sensation, whereas 觉得 is the default for both “I feel” and “I think.”

Why is it 在公园散步 and not 在公园里散步? What’s the difference?

Both are correct, and both mean roughly “taking a walk in the park.”

在公园散步
- Neutral, common: “walk at / in the park.”
在公园里散步
- The 里 emphasizes “inside the park,” sometimes giving a slightly more spatial or vivid feeling of being within the park area.

In many contexts, the difference is small, and native speakers use both.
Here, 在公园散步 is already perfectly natural and does not sound incomplete.

Is 散步 a verb or a verb-object phrase? Do I need a measure word like 个?

散步 is a verb-object compound:

散 (to stroll) + 步 (step) → together it’s used like a single verb meaning “to take a walk / go for a walk.”

You usually use it without an extra object or measure word:

我们在公园散步。 – We (are) walk(ing) in the park.

If you add a measure word, you insert it between 散 and 步:

散个步, 散一会儿步 – “take a (short) walk,” “walk for a while.”

You do not say 散步一个 or 散一个散步. The measure word goes between 散 and 步.

Why isn’t there any past tense marker? How do we know this is about the past?

Chinese doesn’t require tense endings like English -ed. Time is usually shown by:

Time words / context – like 的时候 referring to a past situation.
Aspect particles like 了, 过, etc. (not always necessary).

In this sentence, the memory of 在公园散步的时候 is clearly a specific past time, so the meaning “when we walked in the park (in the past)” is naturally understood.

If you wanted to be even more explicit, you could say:

我想起我们以前在公园散步的时候，就觉得很温暖。
- 以前 makes the past reference even clearer.

Could we move the 就 or change the word order, like 一想起……就觉得?

Yes, a very natural variant is:

我一想起我们在公园散步的时候，就觉得很温暖。
- 一……就…… = “as soon as …, (then) …”

Here:

一想起 – “as soon as I think of / every time I think of”
就觉得 – “I then feel”

The original sentence:

我想起……，就觉得很温暖。
already implies a similar “whenever / as soon as” relationship, just without explicitly using 一.

You usually keep 就 before 觉得 in this pattern. Moving 就 to other positions (like before 想起) would change or break the usual pattern and sound unnatural.

Does 我们 here definitely include the listener (“you and I”), or could it be “we” as in “my friends and I”?

我们 simply means “we / us” and does not specify whether the listener is included; it depends on context.

In everyday speech:

If you’re talking to the person who walked with you, 我们 will naturally be understood as “you and I.”
If you’re talking to a third person about an outing with your friends, 我们 will mean “my friends and I.”

If you really want to be clear that the listener is included, you can say:

我想起我们俩在公园散步的时候…… – “When I think of the time the two of us walked in the park …”
- 我们俩 = “the two of us (definitely including you).”

Could we say 我一想起我们在公园散步，就觉得很温暖 without 的时候? Is 的时候 necessary?

You can drop 的时候 here:

我想起我们在公园散步，就觉得很温暖。
我一想起我们在公园散步，就觉得很温暖。

Are both natural? Yes.

Differences:

With 的时候:
- Slightly emphasizes that “that time / those occasions” are being recalled, focusing on the period or moment.
Without 的时候:
- Focuses more directly on the activity itself (“our walking in the park”) as the thing that’s remembered.

Both are fine; the original version with 的时候 is very common and a bit more “complete” or storytelling-like.