Learn Hardcore Chinese: Zǎoshang zài shítáng mǎi zǎofàn de shíhou, dàjiā dōu páiduì děng. - In the morning when buying breakfast in the cafeteria, everyone lines up to wait.

早上在食堂买早饭的时候… = In the morning, when (we) buy breakfast in the cafeteria…
You could also say:
- 在早上，在食堂买早饭的时候… – grammatically OK, but the extra 在 before 早上 is usually unnecessary and sounds a bit heavier.
- 早上的时候，在食堂买早饭，大家都排队等。 – also OK; now 早上的时候 is one chunk: “at the time of morning”.

Everyday speech usually just uses 早上 directly without 在 before it, unless you really need to stress “during the morning” in contrast to some other time.

What is the function of 在 in 在食堂买早饭的时候?

Here, 在 marks the location of the action:

在食堂 = at the cafeteria

The basic pattern is:

在 + place + Verb + Object

Examples:

在教室上课 – have class in the classroom
在家吃饭 – eat at home

In this sentence, 在食堂买早饭 = “buy breakfast in the cafeteria.”

How does the …的时候 structure work in 买早饭的时候?

…的时候 literally means “the time when …” or “when …”.

Structure:

[Clause] + 的时候

买早饭的时候 = the time when (someone) buys breakfast → when (someone) is buying breakfast
The subject is understood from context; here it’s something like “we / people”.

You can use this pattern with many verbs:

我回家的时候，给你打电话。 – When I go home, I’ll call you.
他来中国的时候，不会说汉语。 – When he came to China, he couldn’t speak Chinese.

So 早上在食堂买早饭的时候 is one long time-expression:
“When (we) buy breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning…”

Why is there a 的 before 时候? Can I say 买早饭时候 without 的?

The 的 here turns the verb phrase into a noun-like phrase that can be followed by 时候.

买早饭 – to buy breakfast (verb phrase)
买早饭的时候 – the time of buying breakfast / when (we) buy breakfast

In this pattern:

[Verb / verb phrase] + 的时候

the 的 is required.
So ✗ 买早饭时候 is incorrect; you must say 买早饭的时候.

What does 大家都 mean, and why do we need 都 if we already have 大家?

大家 = everybody / everyone
都 = all / both; it marks that something is true for every member of the group mentioned.

大家都排队等 literally:
“Everybody all lines up and waits.”

In English we don’t say “everybody all,” but in Chinese:

Saying 大家都 is very natural and strongly emphasizes that it’s true for everyone.
You could say 大家排队等 and be understood, but it sounds weaker and less natural in many contexts.

More examples:

他们都很忙。 – They are all very busy.
我们班的同学都来了。 – All the classmates in our class have come.

Why is 都 placed before 排队等? Where does 都 usually go in a sentence?

都 usually comes after the subject and before the verb:

Subject + 都 + Verb + (Object)

Here:

Subject: 大家
都: adverb “all”
Verbs: 排队等

So: 大家都排队等。

Other examples:

我们都喜欢喝茶。 – We all like to drink tea.
他们都去了北京。 – They all went to Beijing.
学生们都在教室里。 – The students are all in the classroom.

If you put 都 somewhere else, it usually sounds unnatural or changes focus.

What is the difference between 排队 and 等? Why are they used together as 排队等?

排队 = to line up / to queue
等 = to wait

So 排队等 literally means “line up and wait.”

They describe two related actions:

First, people form a line (排队),
then they wait (等) in that line.

You could use just one, but the meaning shifts:

大家都排队。 – Everyone lines up (focus on forming a line).
大家都等。 – Everyone is waiting (no information about lining up).
大家都排队等。 – Everyone is standing in line, waiting.

Why doesn’t 等 have an object here? Shouldn’t it be 等早饭 or 等买到早饭?

In Chinese, 等 often appears without an explicit object when the thing you’re waiting for is obvious from context.

Here, context makes it clear they are waiting for their turn / for their breakfast, so just 等 is fine.

Other examples:

你在等吗？ – Are you waiting? (for the bus, someone, etc.)
我们等一会儿。 – We’ll wait a moment.

If you want to be explicit, you can say:

排队等买早饭。 – line up and wait to buy breakfast
排队等着拿早饭。 – line up and wait to take/get the breakfast

Why is it 买早饭 (buy breakfast) instead of 吃早饭 (eat breakfast)? Which is more natural?

Both are natural, but they highlight different actions:

买早饭 – focuses on buying breakfast (in a cafeteria/shop)
吃早饭 – focuses on eating breakfast

In a cafeteria context where the issue is that there is a queue at the purchase point, 买早饭 is more precise.

Compare:

早上在食堂吃早饭的时候，大家都聊天。
When (we) eat breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning, everyone chats.
→ Focus on the eating time.
早上在食堂买早饭的时候，大家都排队等。
When (we) buy breakfast in the cafeteria in the morning, everyone lines up and waits.
→ Focus on the buying process.

What’s the difference between 早饭 and 早餐? Could the sentence use 早餐 instead?

Both generally mean “breakfast,” but:

早饭 – very common in spoken Mandarin; casual, everyday.
早餐 – a bit more formal or written; used in menus, ads, more “standard” style.

In this sentence:

早上在食堂买早饭的时候… – sounds very natural and conversational.
You could say 买早餐, and it’s not wrong, but it sounds slightly more formal or “proper.”

For everyday speech about school/office cafeterias, 早饭 is more typical.

Why is there no explicit subject like 我们 or 人们 in the clause 在食堂买早饭的时候?

Chinese often omits the subject when it’s obvious from context or not important.

The full underlying idea could be:

早上我们在食堂买早饭的时候，大家都排队等。

But since it’s clear that “we/people” are the ones buying breakfast, the subject can be dropped.

Omitting such obvious subjects is very common and makes sentences shorter and more natural in Chinese.

Is the word order 早上在食堂买早饭的时候 fixed, or can I rearrange it?

The general pattern of Chinese word order is:

[Time] + [Place] + [Verb Phrase]

So here:

Time: 早上
Place: 在食堂
Verb phrase: 买早饭的时候

早上在食堂买早饭的时候 follows that pattern and sounds very natural.

You could change it a little, but not all changes sound equally natural:

在食堂早上买早饭的时候 – grammatical but unnatural; people don’t usually put 在食堂 before 早上 in this way.
早上买早饭的时候，在食堂，大家都排队等。 – acceptable, but now you’re separating the place out as an extra detail. It sounds more like written or slightly “broken up” style.

Sticking with 早上在食堂买早饭的时候 is best in normal speech.

How do we know the sentence is in the past? There is no tense marking like in English.

Chinese does not mark tense by changing the verb the way English does.
Instead, it relies on:

Time words: like 早上 (in the morning), 昨天, 明天, etc.
Context and sometimes aspect markers like 了, 过, 着.

Here, 早上 and the whole description are enough to set the time frame. This sentence could be:

A general statement:
“In the mornings, when (people) buy breakfast in the cafeteria, everyone lines up and waits.”
Or describing a specific morning, depending on context.

If you really want to emphasize a completed past event, you could add 了:

早上在食堂买早饭的时候，大家都排队等了很久。
In the morning, when (we) bought breakfast in the cafeteria, everyone waited in line for a long time.