Learn Hardcore Chinese: chūmén de shíhou, tā zǒngshì ná zhe bāo, dài zhe yǎnjìng. - When she goes out, she always carries her bag and wears her glasses.

It doesn’t have to be a physical door; it’s just “go out” in the daily-life sense.
It usually implies leaving where you live / stay:
- 我今天不出门。= I’m not going out today.
You can add more information after it:
- 出门上班 = go out to go to work
- 出门旅游 = go out traveling

So here, 出门的时候 means “when she goes out / when she leaves home”, not literally “when she exits the door.”

Why do we say 出门的时候 instead of just 出门? What does 的时候 (de shíhou) add?

的时候 turns “go out” into a time expression: “when (she) goes out”.

出门 = to go out / leave the house
出门的时候 = when (she) goes out / at the time of going out

Structure:

[Verb / Verb-phrase] + 的时候 → “when …”
- 我吃饭的时候 = when I eat / when I’m eating
- 你来的时候 = when you came / when you come

You could sometimes drop 的时候 in very casual speech if the context is super clear, but 出门的时候 is the normal, natural way to say “when (she) goes out.”

Can you also say 出门时 instead of 出门的时候? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say 出门时, and it means the same thing: “when (she) goes out.”

Difference:

出门的时候: more colloquial, very common in speech and writing.
出门时: a bit more concise / formal / written.

For speaking and everyday writing, 出门的时候 is more natural. In more formal or literary texts, 出门时 is also common.

Why is the sentence 出门的时候，她总是拿着包，戴着眼镜 and not 她出门的时候总是拿着包…? Is that word order important?

Both word orders are possible and natural:

出门的时候，她总是拿着包，戴着眼镜。
她出门的时候总是拿着包，戴着眼镜。

They mean the same thing. Differences are tiny:

In (1), the time phrase 出门的时候 is put first, like setting a scene:
“When going out, she always holds a bag and wears glasses.”
In (2), the subject 她 is placed first, which is closer to standard English word order:
“When she goes out, she always holds a bag and wears glasses.”

Chinese often puts time expressions at the beginning of the sentence, but both of these orders are fine and natural.

What does 总是 (zǒngshì) do here? Where does it usually go in a sentence?

总是 means “always”.

Position:

It normally goes before the main verb or verb phrase:
- 她总是迟到。= She is always late.
- 我上课的时候总是很紧张。= I’m always nervous when I have class.

In this sentence:

她总是拿着包，戴着眼镜。
Subject (她) + adverb (总是) + verb phrase (拿着包，戴着眼镜)

You could also say:

她出门的时候，总是拿着包，戴着眼镜。
The 总是 still goes right before the part it modifies (the “holding a bag, wearing glasses” part).

What does the particle 着 (zhe) mean in 拿着包 and 戴着眼镜?

着 after a verb marks a continuous or ongoing state, often something that is just “in that state” at a given time, not necessarily an active ongoing action.

拿着包 = be holding a bag (the bag is in her hand; this state continues)
戴着眼镜 = be wearing glasses (the glasses are on her face; this state continues)

Typical pattern:

Verb + 着 (+ object) = “be in the state of Verb-ing X”:
- 门开着。= The door is (standing) open.
- 他手里拿着一本书。= He is holding a book in his hand.
- 墙上挂着一幅画。= A painting is hanging on the wall.

So here, 着 highlights her state when she goes out: at that time she is in the state of holding a bag and wearing glasses.

What’s the difference between 拿包 and 拿着包?

They both use 拿 (ná) “to take / hold,” but the focus is different:

拿包 (no 着):
- Often heard as an action: “take the bag / pick up the bag / hold the bag (as an action).”
- e.g. 他去拿包了。= He went to get the bag.
拿着包 (with 着):
- Focuses on the ongoing state: “be holding a bag / have a bag in your hand.”
- e.g. 他拿着包站在门口。= He is standing at the door with a bag in his hand.

In your sentence, we describe her typical appearance / state when going out, so 拿着包 is more natural than 拿包.

Why is there no measure word in 拿着包 (why not 拿着一个包)?

Chinese doesn’t always need a measure word after a verb. A bare noun can often mean “some / a / that kind of thing” in a generic or unspecific way.

拿着包 = “be holding a bag / holding her bag” (no need to specify which or how many)
If you want to be more specific:
- 拿着一个包 = holding one bag
- 拿着她的包 = holding her bag
- 拿着一个红色的包 = holding a red bag

In this sentence we don’t care about which bag, just the habitual state “she has a bag with her”, so 包 without a measure word is completely natural.

What’s the difference between 拿 (ná) and 带 (dài) here? Could we say 带着包 instead of 拿着包?

Yes, you can say 带着包; it’s also correct, but the nuance is slightly different:

拿 = to hold / take in your hand
- 拿着包: suggests the bag is in her hand.
带 = to take / bring along (with you), not necessarily in your hand
- 带着包: she has a bag with her (maybe in her hand, on her shoulder, in a backpack, etc.)

So:

出门的时候，她总是拿着包
Focus: when she goes out, she is (typically) holding the bag.
出门的时候，她总是带着包
Focus: she always takes a bag along when she goes out.

Both are grammatical and natural; 拿着包 paints a more specific picture of her holding it.

Why is it 戴着眼镜 and not something like 穿着眼镜? And what is the difference between 眼镜 and 眼睛?

Two parts to this:

Verb choice: 戴 vs 穿
- 戴 (dài) is used for things you wear on your head, face, neck, hands, etc.:
  - 戴帽子 = wear a hat
  - 戴手套 = wear gloves
  - 戴口罩 = wear a mask
  - 戴眼镜 = wear glasses
- 穿 (chuān) is used for clothes and shoes:
  - 穿衣服 = wear clothes
  - 穿裤子 = wear pants
  - 穿鞋 = wear shoes
So for glasses, you must use 戴, not 穿.
眼镜 vs 眼睛
- 眼镜 (yǎnjìng) = glasses (the object)
- 眼睛 (yǎnjing) = eyes (your body part)
So:
- 戴着眼镜 = wearing glasses
- 眼睛 = your eyes themselves; you don’t wear 眼睛.

Therefore 戴着眼镜 is the correct form: “be wearing glasses.”

Could we say 戴眼镜 instead of 戴着眼镜? Is there any difference?

Both are possible, but there is a nuance:

戴眼镜:
- Can describe a habit or characteristic in general:
  - 她戴眼镜。= She wears glasses / She is a glasses-wearer.
- Can also be used in specific situations:
  今天他戴眼镜了。= Today he is wearing glasses.
戴着眼镜:
- Focuses more clearly on the current, continuous state at that time:
  - 他现在戴着眼镜。= He is (currently) wearing glasses.

In your sentence:

出门的时候，她总是戴着眼镜。
Very natural, clearly describes her typical state at that time (whenever she goes out, she has glasses on).

Using 戴眼镜 here would still be correct, but 戴着眼镜 matches the pattern 拿着包 and emphasizes the ongoing state more strongly.

Why is there a comma between 拿着包 and 戴着眼镜 instead of 和 (hé) “and”? Could we say 拿着包和戴着眼镜?

Both are possible:

Comma / pause:
- 拿着包，戴着眼镜
  This is like listing two separate but parallel states:
- She is holding a bag, (and) wearing glasses.
In writing, people might even use 、 instead of ，:
- 拿着包、戴着眼镜
Using 和:
- 拿着包和戴着眼镜
  Also grammatical; it joins the two into a closer “A and B as one unit” meaning.

The difference is minimal in everyday speech. The comma style is very common when you are simply describing multiple aspects of someone’s appearance or state.

Why is it 拿着包, not 拿包着? Where exactly does 着 go?

着 is a verb suffix. It must come right after the verb, not after the object.

Correct pattern:

Verb + 着 (+ object):
- 拿着包
- 戴着眼镜
- 看着我
- 穿着衣服

Incorrect:

✗ 拿包着
✗ 戴眼镜着

So the structure is:

她 拿着包, 戴着眼镜。
Verb + 着 + object for both verbs.