Learn Hardcore Chinese: nà gè niánqīng de huàjiā dìyīcì kāi zhǎnlǎn de shíhou yòu xīngfèn yòu jǐnzhāng, jìngrán yí wǎnshang dōu méi shuì. - That young painter was both excited and nervous at her first exhibition and unexpectedly didn’t sleep the whole night.

You can sometimes see 那年轻的画家 in colloquial or written styles to sound a bit more vivid or casual, but the standard, neutral form is 那个年轻的画家. In ordinary learner Chinese, always include the measure word after 这 / 那:

这
- 个
  - 学生 → 这个学生 (this student)
那
- 个
  - 画家 → 那个画家 (that painter)

What does 的 do after 年轻 and after 展览? Are those two 的 the same?

Both 的 are the same basic particle, used to connect an attributive phrase to a noun.

年轻的画家
- 年轻 (young) is describing 画家 (painter).
- 年轻
  - 的
    - 画家 → the painter who is young → the young painter.
开展览的时候
- The whole phrase 开展览 (hold an exhibition) is describing a time.
- 开展览
  - 的
    - 时候 → the time when (he) held an exhibition.

So the pattern is:

[describing part] + 的 + [noun being described]

Examples:

我喜欢的画家 = the painter that I like
我们第一次见面的时候 = the time when we first met

How does 第一次开展览的时候 work grammatically? Why is 的时候 used, and do we need 在?

第一次开展览的时候 literally means “the time when (he) held an exhibition for the first time”.

Breakdown:

第一次 – the first time
开展览 – to hold an exhibition
…的时候 – the time when …

So:

第一次开展览的时候 = when he held an exhibition for the first time

You do not need 在 here:

✔ 第一次开展览的时候，他又兴奋又紧张…
✘ 在第一次开展览的时候，他又兴奋又紧张… (understandable, but 在 is unnecessary and less natural here)

的时候 is the standard way to turn a clause into a “when…” time phrase:

我上大学的时候 = when I was in college
他回家的时候 = when he went home / when he comes home

What exactly does the pattern 又…又… mean here? Can it be used with negative emotions too?

又…又… links two qualities or states that both apply at the same time.

In this sentence:

又兴奋又紧张 = both excited and nervous

Structure:

又 + adjective + 又 + adjective

You can use it with positive, negative, or mixed emotions:

又高又帅 – tall and handsome
又冷又下雨 – cold and rainy
又生气又难过 – angry and sad

It often sounds more natural if the two adjectives are compatible and describe the same thing or moment, as they do here (his emotional state).

What nuance does 竟然 add? Could we just say 一晚上都没睡 without 竟然?

竟然 adds a sense of surprise or unexpectedness. It’s like saying “actually / to one’s surprise / unexpectedly”.

竟然一晚上都没睡 ≈ He actually didn’t sleep the whole night! (implying: surprising, more than we would have thought)

If you remove 竟然:

一晚上都没睡 = didn’t sleep the whole night (a factual statement, more neutral)

So both are grammatically correct, but:

With 竟然: you highlight that this fact is surprising.
Without 竟然: you simply state what happened.

Why is it 一晚上都没睡 and not 一晚上没睡? What is 都 doing here?

Here 都 emphasizes the extent or completeness of the time period. It’s like saying “the whole…” or “not even once during…”.

一晚上没睡 – didn’t sleep (for) one night
一晚上都没睡 – didn’t sleep the entire night, not at all

In negative sentences, 都 often reinforces “not even one” / “none at all”:

我一本书都没带。 – I didn’t bring even one book.
他一天水都没喝。 – He didn’t drink water all day / not even once.

So 一晚上都没睡 strongly suggests he stayed up the whole night without sleeping at all.

Why is it 没睡 and not 不睡 or 没睡觉?

没睡 vs 不睡

没 usually negates past or completed actions (or existence).
不 usually negates habitual, general, or future actions, or expresses unwillingness.

Here we’re talking about something that (didn’t) happen last night, so 没 is appropriate:

一晚上都没睡。 – He didn’t sleep the whole night.
我昨天没去。 – I didn’t go yesterday.

不睡 would sound like a general decision or refusal:

我今晚不睡。 – I’m not (going to) sleep tonight. (more like a plan or will)

没睡 vs 没睡觉

Both are fine:

一晚上都没睡。
一晚上都没睡觉。

They have basically the same meaning here. 睡觉 is a common verb-object pair “sleep + sleep (noun)”, but in modern spoken Chinese, 睡 alone is very natural in this context.

Why is there no subject like 他 in the second part 竟然一晚上都没睡? How do we know who didn’t sleep?

Chinese often omits pronouns when they are clear from context.

In this sentence, the subject of the first part is:

那个年轻的画家 – that young painter

The second clause continues talking about the same person, so it is understood that he is the subject:

（他）竟然一晚上都没睡。

In English, we must repeat he, but in Chinese repetition is often unnecessary and would sound heavy:

✔ 那个年轻的画家……竟然一晚上都没睡。
✘ 那个年轻的画家……他竟然一晚上都没睡。 (possible, but can sound redundant here unless you want extra emphasis)

Could we say 年轻画家 instead of 年轻的画家? Is there any difference?

Yes, 年轻画家 is also correct, and both forms are common:

年轻画家
年轻的画家

With simple, usually monosyllabic adjectives like 大, 小, 新, 老, 年轻, Chinese often drops 的 before a noun, especially in written or somewhat formal style:

老朋友 / 老的朋友 – old friend
新手机 / 新的手机 – new phone

Differences are subtle:

年轻画家 can sound a bit more compact, like a “type” or “category” (young painters as a group).
年轻的画家 sounds a bit more like “the painter, who is young” as an attribute in a sentence.

In this specific sentence, both are fine and very natural.

What is the function of 开 in 开展览? Why not just 展览 on its own?

Here 开 means to open / to hold / to launch (an event).

开展览 ≈ to hold an exhibition
(literally: open an exhibition)

Common similar uses of 开:

开会 – hold a meeting
开演唱会 – hold a concert
开运动会 – hold a sports meet

Just 展览 on its own is a noun (exhibition), or in some contexts a verb (to exhibit), but 开展览 is a very natural way to say “to put on / hold an exhibition” for the first time or at a certain time.

You could also say:

举办展览 – hold an exhibition (slightly more formal)
办展览 – hold an exhibition (colloquial)

What is the difference between 时候 and 时间? Why is it 第一次开展览的时候 and not 第一次开展览的时间?

Both relate to time, but they’re used differently.

时候 – “moment / when…”, used with clauses to form “when” phrases.
时间 – “time” in a more abstract, measurable sense (duration, available time).

With clauses, 的时候 is the normal way to say “when …”:

我上班的时候 – when I’m at work
她来的时候 – when she came / comes

If you said 第一次开展览的时间, it would mean “the time (date) of the first exhibition” (like something you could write on a poster), not “when he first held an exhibition” in a narrative sense.

So:

第一次开展览的时候 – when he held an exhibition for the first time (storytelling, background time)
第一次开展览的时间是五月一号。 – The time/date of his first exhibition is May 1st.

Why does 一 in 一晚上 read as yí instead of yī?

This is a regular tone-change rule for 一:

Before a fourth tone syllable (falling tone), 一 (yī) usually changes to yí (second tone).
Before a first, second, or third tone, it usually changes to yì (fourth tone).

晚 in 晚上 is third tone, so in isolation we might expect yì wǎnshang, but in practice in common phrases like 一晚上, you will often hear yí wǎnshang as a smoother sandhi pattern in real speech. Learner materials sometimes still mark it as yì, but dictionaries and teachers may accept yí for fluency.

More clear, textbook examples:

一个 → yí gè (个 = 4th tone)
一杯 → yì bēi (杯 = 1st tone)
一条 → yì tiáo (条 = 2nd tone)

The key point: the written 一 is the same word; the tone shifts in connected speech for ease of pronunciation.

Could the time clause 第一次开展览的时候 be moved to the end of the sentence?

Yes, Chinese time (and other) clauses are fairly flexible in position.

Original:

那个年轻的画家第一次开展览的时候又兴奋又紧张，竟然一晚上都没睡。

You could also say:

那个年轻的画家又兴奋又紧张，第一次开展览的时候竟然一晚上都没睡。

Both are grammatical. The difference is what you foreground:

At the very beginning, 第一次开展览的时候 sets the time frame first.
Later in the sentence, it sounds a bit more like extra information or explanation of the situation.

Putting time expressions before the main clause is very common and often feels more natural in Chinese:

昨天他很忙。 – Yesterday he was busy.
上大学的时候，我认识了他。 – When I was in college, I met him.