Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ zài ānjìng de gōngyuán lǐ pǎobù de shíhou, gǎnjué kōngqì hé huánjìng dōu hěn hǎo. - When I run in a quiet park, I feel the air and the environment are both very good.

安静的公园
- Here 的 links an adjective to a noun.
- 安静的公园 = a quiet park (literally “quiet de park”).
- Pattern: Adj + 的 + Noun
跑步的时候
- Here 的 links a verb phrase to a time word (时候 “time, moment, when”).
- 跑步的时候 = the time (when I am) running / when (I) run.
- Pattern: Verb / Verb phrase + 的 + 时候

So:

安静的公园 = “quiet park” (adjective → noun)
跑步的时候 = “when (I) run” (verb phrase → “when/time” word)

What exactly does 在安静的公园里跑步的时候 mean? Is it “when I am running” or “while I run” or “when I ran”?

在安静的公园里跑步的时候 literally means:

在安静的公园里 – in the quiet park
跑步的时候 – when (I am) running / when I run

Taken together: “when (I) run in the quiet park” / “while (I’m) running in the quiet park.”

About tense:

Chinese doesn’t mark tense the same way as English.
的时候 is neutral about past/present/future.
The actual time is understood from context.

So depending on context, it could mean:

When I run in the quiet park, I feel… (habitual, general)
When I was running in the quiet park, I felt… (past event)
When I run in the quiet park (in the future), I’ll feel… (future, with extra markers)

If you clearly want past, you might add things like 以前 (before), or describe the past in surrounding sentences.

Why do we need 里 after 公园? What’s the difference between 在公园跑步 and 在公园里跑步?

Both are correct, but there’s a nuance:

在公园跑步 – run in the park (more general; just says the location is “park”)
在公园里跑步 – run inside the park (slightly stronger sense of being inside the space)

里 literally means “inside, within.”
Often:

With open spaces like 公园, both forms are very common.
里 can feel a bit more specific or vivid, like you are within the environment of the park, surrounded by it.

In everyday speech, you’ll hear both. The sentence here emphasizes being inside that quiet park environment.

What is the role of 都 in 空气和环境都很好? Why do we need it?

都 (dōu) means “all / both” and applies to everything that comes before it in the same clause.

In this sentence:

空气和环境 – the air and the environment (two items)
都很好 – are both very good

So:

空气和环境都很好 = The air and the environment are both very good.

Without 都, it’s still understandable, but 都:

Makes it explicit that both items share the same description.
Sounds more natural when you have a list (A 和 B 都… is a very common pattern).

Pattern to remember:

A 和 B 都 + Verb / Adj
- 我和他都喜欢跑步。 – He and I both like running.
- 北京和上海都很大。 – Beijing and Shanghai are both big.

Does 很 in 很好 really mean “very”? Or is it just a linking word?

In spoken everyday Chinese, 很 before adjectives often doesn’t strongly mean “very”; it can function more like a neutral linker.

空气和环境很好。
- Natural translation: The air and environment are good.
- Literal: The air and environment are very good.

If you remove 很:

空气和环境好。 is grammatically possible, but:
- With simple adjectives like 好, 大, 高, etc., no 很 can sound a bit abrupt or contrastive, like “(They’re not bad, they’re) good.”

So:

好 alone can feel like a bare quality or sometimes a contrast.
很好 is the standard, neutral “are good” in most descriptive sentences.

If you really want to emphasize very, you rely on context, intonation, or stronger adverbs like:

非常好, 特别好, 真好, etc.

Why is there no 是 in 空气和环境都很好? Why isn’t it 空气和环境都是很好?

In Chinese, adjectives can function directly as predicates without 是:

(X) 很好 = “X is good.”

是 is not required in adjective-predicate sentences. So:

✅ 空气和环境都很好。 – correct and natural.

You can say 都是很好, but:

都是很好 usually implies some contrast or emphasis, like “(Despite something), they are all still very good,” or “as for them, they’re all very good.”
In a neutral descriptive sentence, 都很好 is more common and natural.

Basic pattern:

Noun + (都) + 很 + Adj
- 天气很好。 – The weather is good.
- 学生都很努力。 – The students are all hardworking.

What is the difference between 感觉 and 觉得? Why use 感觉 here?

Both 感觉 (gǎnjué) and 觉得 (juéde) are used to talk about feelings or opinions, but there is a nuance:

觉得

Often “think / feel (opinion).”
Common for subjective judgments:
- 我觉得这个电影很好看。 – I think this movie is good.

感觉

Can mean “to feel” (physically or emotionally) or “feeling, sensation.”
Slightly more tied to sensation or overall feeling, not just a rational opinion:
- 我感觉有点冷。 – I feel a bit cold.
- 我感觉这里的气氛很好。 – I feel the atmosphere here is very good.

In this sentence:

感觉空气和环境都很好 — “(I) feel that the air and environment are both very good.”
It fits well because you’re describing a felt experience while running, not just an abstract opinion.

Grammatically, both 我觉得空气和环境都很好 and 我感觉空气和环境都很好 are correct; the choice adds a small nuance.

How is 感觉 used grammatically here? Is it like “I feel that…” with a whole clause after it?

Yes. In this sentence, 感觉 is used as a verb that takes a clause as its object:

(我) – subject (often omitted in context)
感觉 – verb “feel”
空气和环境都很好 – clause as the “thing you feel”

Structure:

我感觉 + [clause]
- 我感觉今天人很多。 – I feel (that) there are a lot of people today.
- 我感觉这个地方很安静。 – I feel (that) this place is quiet.

You can also use 感觉 in other patterns:

有一种……的感觉 – have a … feeling
- 我有一种被注视的感觉。 – I have a feeling I’m being watched.
感觉到 + N / Clause – to sense, to perceive
- 我感觉到风变大了。 – I feel that the wind has gotten stronger.

Why does the sentence start with the “when…” part (我在安静的公园里跑步的时候) instead of starting with 我感觉?

Both orders are possible, but Chinese often prefers to set the context (time/place/condition) first.

Current sentence:

我在安静的公园里跑步的时候，感觉空气和环境都很好。
– When I run in the quiet park, I feel the air and environment are both very good.

Alternative:

我感觉在安静的公园里跑步的时候，空气和环境都很好。

Both are grammatical, but:

Putting 在安静的公园里跑步的时候 first foregrounds the situation and then gives the resulting feeling.
Starting with 我感觉 foregrounds your feeling/opinion first.

So it’s mostly about emphasis and flow. The original order is very typical in narration: “When X happens, (I) feel Y.”

Does 的时候 always mean “when”? Can I just use 时 instead, like 跑步时?

的时候 and 时 are related but not always interchangeable in tone and style.

的时候 (de shíhou)
- Very common in spoken and written Chinese.
- Neutral, natural, and slightly informal.
- Example: 我吃饭的时候喜欢看电视。
时 (shí)
- Shorter, more formal/literary.
- More common in written or formal contexts; can sound bookish in everyday speech.
- Example: 我吃饭时喜欢看电视。

So:

跑步的时候 – most natural in everyday speech.
跑步时 – concise, a bit more formal or written-style.

In this sentence, using 的时候 is exactly what a native speaker would normally say in conversation.

Could we say 在安静的公园跑步 without 里 and still be correct? Would it change the meaning much?

Yes, you can say:

我在安静的公园跑步的时候，感觉空气和环境都很好。

This is still correct and natural. The difference is small:

在安静的公园跑步 – just says “run in the quiet park.”
在安静的公园里跑步 – emphasizes “run inside the quiet park” (a touch more sense of being within the space).

In most real-life situations, there is no important difference in meaning; both are acceptable. 里 simply adds a slightly stronger “inside/within” feel.

Why is it 安静的公园 and not 公园很安静? What’s the difference?

These two patterns do different jobs:

安静的公园
- Adj + 的 + Noun = “a(n) Adj Noun”
- Describes the type of park.
- Focus: what kind of park? → a quiet one.
公园很安静
- Noun + 很 + Adj = “The Noun is Adj.”
- Makes a statement about the park.
- Focus: what is the park like? → it is quiet.

So:

在安静的公园里跑步的时候 – “when (I) run in a quiet park.” (quiet is an attribute of the park)
If you said: 在公园里跑步的时候，公园很安静, you’d be saying: “When I was running in the park, the park was very quiet.” (quiet is a separate fact you assert, not just a characteristic in a noun phrase)

The original sentence just needs “a quiet park” as a setting, so 安静的公园 is the right form.

Is 空气和环境 a natural pairing in Chinese? Why not just say “the air is good”?

Yes, 空气和环境 is natural and common:

空气 (kōngqì) – air
环境 (huánjìng) – environment (includes surroundings, atmosphere, overall feel)

People often talk about:

空气质量 – air quality
环境很好 – the environment / surroundings are good

By saying 空气和环境都很好, the speaker emphasizes:

Not only the air (e.g., clean, fresh)
But also the overall environment (e.g., scenery, noise level, cleanliness, atmosphere)

It’s like saying “the air is good and the surroundings are nice” in English. You could say just 感觉空气很好, but then you would lose that broader “environment” feeling.