Learn Hardcore Chinese: hánjià hé shǔjià de shíhou, hěn duō dàxuéshēng huí jiā gēn yéye nǎinai yìqǐ guò jié. - During winter and summer vacation, many college students go home to spend the holidays with their grandparents.

Word

寒假　和　暑假　的　时候，　很　多　大学生　回　家　跟　爷爷　奶奶　一起　过　节。hánjià hé shǔjià de shíhou, hěn duō dàxuéshēng huí jiā gēn yéye nǎinai yìqǐ guò jié.

Meaning

During winter and summer vacation, many college students go home to spend the holidays with their grandparents.

Part of speech

sentence

Pronunciation

Course

Lesson

Breakdown of hánjià hé shǔjià de shíhou, hěn duō dàxuéshēng huí jiā gēn yéye nǎinai yìqǐ guò jié.

Why is there a 的 before 时候? Can I say 寒假和暑假时候 without 的?

时候 (shíhou) is a noun meaning “time” or “moment.” When another word or phrase modifies a noun in Chinese, you almost always need 的 between them.

Structure: (modifier) + 的 + (noun)

So here:

寒假和暑假的时候 ≈ “when it is winter and summer vacation” / “during winter and summer vacation.”

Without 的 (寒假和暑假时候) is generally considered incorrect or at least very unnatural in standard Mandarin. You should keep 的.

What does 时候 add? Could I just say 在寒假和暑假，很多大学生… instead?

时候 turns the phrase into something like “when…” or “the time when…,” making it feel like a general time period.

寒假和暑假的时候 = “when it’s winter and summer vacation / during winter and summer vacation”

You can say:

This is also grammatical and natural. The difference is subtle:

With 的时候: feels more like “whenever it’s winter or summer break, (habitually)…”
With 在: more like “during winter and summer break, (at that time)…”

Both are fine here; 的时候 is very common in “when/during (time)” expressions.

Why isn’t there a 在 (zài) before 寒假和暑假的时候?