Learn Hardcore Chinese: Gāng lái zhè gè chéngshì de shíhou, wǒ bú tài shìyìng zhèlǐ de shēnghuó. - When I first came to this city, I wasn’t very used to the life here.

刚: goes directly before a verb to show the action happened not long ago.
- 我刚到家。= I just got home.
刚才: is a time word (“a moment ago / just now”), often used like an adverbial time phrase.
- 刚才我在吃饭。= I was eating just now.
刚刚: in modern Mandarin is very close to 刚, a bit more colloquial/emphatic in some regions.
- 我刚刚来。≈ 我刚来。= I just came.

In this sentence you can also say:

刚到这个城市的时候 or 刚刚来这个城市的时候 – the meaning is very similar.

Why is there a 的 (de) before 时候 (shíhou)? What is 刚来这个城市的时候 doing grammatically?

刚来这个城市的时候 is a time clause meaning:

when (I) had just come to this city

Structure:

刚来这个城市 = (I) just came to this city
的 turns that whole mini‑sentence into a modifier for 时候 (time, moment).

So:

[刚来这个城市] 的 [时候]
= the time when (I) had just come to this city

This 的 is the usual “clause + 的 + noun” pattern:

我出生的地方 = the place where I was born
他来的那天 = the day when he came

Could I put 我 earlier and say: 我刚来这个城市的时候，不太适应这里的生活。 Is that better?

Yes, that word order is very natural and probably more common:

我刚来这个城市的时候，不太适应这里的生活。

Meaning is the same as in:

刚来这个城市的时候，我不太适应这里的生活。

In Chinese, time expressions (like “when I had just come…”) usually go before the main clause, but whether you put 我 before or after that time expression is flexible here. Both are correct and natural.

Can I leave out 的时候 and just say: 刚来这个城市，我不太适应这里的生活。?

You can say:

刚来这个城市，我不太适应这里的生活。

This is understandable and not wrong, especially in spoken Chinese. It sounds a bit more casual and slightly less smooth than with 的时候.

Adding 的时候:

makes it explicit that this is a time frame: “at the time when…”
sounds a bit more complete and natural in standard written Chinese.

So:

With 的时候 → more standard, clear: When I’d just come to this city…
Without 的时候 → more colloquial, slightly abbreviated.

Why do we need both 这 (zhè) and 个 (gè) in 这个城市? Why not just 这城市?

Chinese normally needs a measure word (classifier) between a demonstrative like 这 (this) and a noun:

这 + 个 + 城市 = this + (general classifier) + city

So the default form is:

这个城市 = this city

You can say 这城市, but:

it’s much less common, and
feels more informal / literary / stylistic.

Other correct options:

这座城市 – using 座 (zuò), a classifier often used for cities and large buildings.
- 有名的这座城市 = this famous city
这个城市 is still the most neutral, everyday choice.

Could we use 到 (dào) instead of 来 (lái), as in 刚到这个城市的时候? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say:

刚到这个城市的时候，我不太适应这里的生活。

Both are natural:

刚来这个城市的时候
刚到这个城市的时候

Nuance:

来: “come (to here)” – often implies movement toward the speaker’s current location.
到: “arrive at / reach” – emphasizes the arrival at a place, more neutral about viewpoint.

In this sentence, the difference is very small; both are acceptable in practice.

What is the difference between 不太适应 and 不适应 or 很不适应?

These express different degrees:

不太适应: not very used to; not quite adapted
- soft, moderate negative; suggests some discomfort but not extreme.
不适应: not used to; not adapted
- stronger and more direct; sounds like a clear mismatch.
很不适应: really not used to it; very unadapted
- emphasizes strong discomfort.

So in the sentence:

我不太适应这里的生活。
= I wasn’t really used to life here (but maybe I’m adjusting).

Is 适应 (shìyìng) a verb or an adjective here? How do I use it?

In this sentence, 适应 behaves like a verb:

适应 + object
- 适应这里的生活 = adapt to life here / get used to life here

Common patterns:

我不太适应这里的生活。= I’m not very used to life here.
你适应了吗？= Have you adapted?
他很快就适应了新工作。= He adapted quickly to the new job.

Compare with 习惯 (xíguàn):

适应: to adapt to (often the process)
习惯: to be used to / to be accustomed to (more about the state)

They overlap, but 适应 is often used for adjusting to a new environment, rules, schedule, etc.

Why is 不 (bù) written as bú in 不太 (bú tài)?

This is about tone sandhi.

Rule: 不 (bù) becomes bú (second tone) when followed by a fourth‑tone syllable.

太 (tài) is fourth tone → 不 changes:
- bù tài → bú tài

Other examples:

不对 → bú duì
不错 → bú cuò
不知道 → bù zhīdào (here 知 is first tone, so 不 stays fourth tone)

In writing pinyin, people often mark this correctly as bú tài.

Why use 这里 (zhèlǐ) and not 这儿 (zhèr) or 这边 (zhèbiān)? Are they the same?

All three can mean roughly “here / this place”, but there are nuances:

这里: standard, works well in both written and spoken Mandarin.
这儿: more colloquial, common in Northern Mandarin (e.g., Beijing).
这边: literally “this side / this area”; can be slightly more vague or polite, sometimes used for regions or situations.

In this sentence:

这里的生活 = the life here (in this city)

You could also hear 这儿的生活 or 这边的生活, especially in speech, with only slight style differences. 这里 is a safe default.

What does the 的 (de) do in 这里的生活? Why not just 这里生活?

Here 的 is the possessive / attributive particle linking a modifier to a noun:

这里 (here) + 的
- 生活 (life)
  → 这里的生活 = the life here / life in this place

This is the common X 的 Y pattern:

中国的文化 = Chinese culture
我的朋友 = my friend
城市的空气 = the air of the city

You can sometimes drop 的 in very fixed expressions (like 中国人, 北京话), but 这里生活 is not natural here. You need 的: 这里的生活.

How is past tense shown in this sentence, since there is no explicit past tense verb form?

Chinese does not change the verb form for tense. Instead it uses time words/adverbs and sometimes aspect particles.

Here, “this happened in the past” is shown by:

刚来这个城市的时候 – “when (I) had just come to this city”
- 刚 implies a recently completed action relative to that time.
- 的时候 marks it as a time frame in the past.

So even without something like “-ed”, the whole structure makes it clear we’re talking about a past situation.

Can I move 刚 to the end or somewhere else, like 来这个城市的时候刚? Where can 刚 go?

No, you cannot put 刚 at the end like that. 刚 must go before the verb it modifies:

✅ 刚来这个城市的时候
✅ 我刚到这个城市的时候……
❌ 来这个城市的时候刚……

Correct positions:

刚 + verb
- 我刚到。= I just arrived.
- 他刚开始工作。= He just started working.

So in this sentence, 刚 correctly modifies 来:

刚来这个城市的时候 = when (I) had just come to this city.