Learn Hardcore Chinese: nǐ shuō zhōngwén de shíhou, shēngdiào hěn zhòngyào. - When you speak Chinese, tones are very important.

时 on its own is more formal/literary and often appears in written Chinese or set phrases, e.g. 学习时 (when studying).
时候 on its own means “(a point in) time; moment”, e.g.
- 什么时候？ – When?
- 有时间的时候来玩。 – Come over when you have time.

But when you want to say “when doing X…”, spoken Chinese strongly prefers:

[verb phrase] + 的时候, not just [verb phrase] + 时候 (although you may hear that informally).

Is the 的 (de) before 时候 necessary? Can I say 你说中文时候?

In natural modern spoken Mandarin, the 的 in this structure is basically required.

你说中文的时候 ✅ (natural)
你说中文时候 ❌ (sounds wrong/unnatural in standard Mandarin)

Think of 的 here as linking the action (你说中文) to the time noun (时候), almost like turning the action into a modifier: “the time *when you speak Chinese.” Without *的, the structure feels incomplete.

What’s the function of 很 (hěn) in 声调很重要? Does it always mean “very”?

In this kind of sentence, 很 often does not strongly mean “very”. It mainly acts as a link between the subject and an adjective.

Pattern: [Subject] + 很 + [adjective]

Here:

声调很重要 → literally “tones very important”, but in everyday usage:
- It can simply mean “Tones are important.”
- The “very” idea is weak unless stressed in speech or context.

If you omit 很:

声调重要。 is grammatically OK but can sound a bit stiff or like a contrastive statement (“Tones are (indeed) important” implying “not unimportant”), depending on intonation.

So:

声调很重要。 → natural, neutral statement: “Tones are important.”
声调非常重要。 → clearly very important.
声调太重要了。 → “Tones are so / extremely important!” (stronger emotion).

Why is there no “to be” verb like 是 (shì) before 很重要?

With adjectives, Mandarin usually does not use 是 as “to be” the way English does.

English: Tones *are important.*
Chinese: 声调很重要。 (no 是)

General rule:

Noun + 很 + adjective → basic way to say “Noun is adjective.”
You don’t say: 声调是很重要。 in neutral speech. It sounds marked, as if you’re emphasizing or contrasting (“Tones *are very important (as opposed to something else)”*).

Use 是 before adjectives only in special emphatic or contrastive situations, not as the default copula like in English.

Can I move 你说中文的时候 to the end, like 声调很重要，你说中文的时候?

Not in that exact way. As written, 声调很重要，你说中文的时候 sounds off; it feels like two disconnected fragments.

For “When you speak Chinese, tones are very important”, the natural orders are:

你说中文的时候，声调很重要。 ✅
声调在你说中文的时候很重要。 ✅ (less common but OK; puts focus on when they’re important)

Time expressions (like …的时候) most commonly appear:

At the beginning of the sentence, or
Immediately before the verb they modify.

Your original sentence already follows the most typical pattern.

What’s the difference between 说中文 (shuō Zhōngwén) and other phrases like 说汉语 (shuō Hànyǔ) or 讲中文 (jiǎng Zhōngwén)?

All of these can appear in real life, but there are nuances:

说中文
- Very common, especially in casual speech.
- Literally “speak Chinese (language).”
说汉语
- Slightly more formal or textbook-ish.
- 汉语 is the standard term for the Chinese language (as a language subject).
讲中文
- 讲 also means “to speak / talk,” and emphasizes the act of talking.
- Common in some regions and contexts (e.g. 讲中文, 讲普通话).

In your sentence, 你说中文的时候 is perfectly natural.
You could also say:

你说汉语的时候，声调很重要。 ✅
你讲中文的时候，声调很重要。 ✅

The meaning is essentially the same: when speaking Chinese, tones are important.

What exactly does 声调 (shēngdiào) mean? How is it different from 声音 (shēngyīn)?

声调
- Tone in a linguistic sense (first, second, third, fourth tone in Mandarin).
- Used when talking about tone marks, tone changes, tone accuracy, etc.
声音
- Sound / voice in a general sense.
- Used for “loud voice”, “beautiful voice”, “a strange sound”, etc.
- Examples:
  - 你的声音很好听。 – Your voice sounds nice.
  - 外面有声音。 – There’s a sound outside.

So:

声调很重要。 → Tones are important. (for meaning)
声音很重要。 → Sound/voice is important. (e.g., for a singer, or audio quality)

Is 时候 (shíhou) always pronounced with a neutral tone on 候?

In modern standard Mandarin, 时候 is usually pronounced:

shíhou (second syllable in neutral tone)

You may occasionally see shíhòu in older or very careful pronunciation guides, but in normal speech:

时候 → shíhou is standard.

So your whole phrase is:

你说中文的时候 (nǐ shuō Zhōngwén de shíhou)

Could I say 当你说中文的时候，声调很重要。? What does 当 (dāng) add?

Yes, you can say:

当你说中文的时候，声调很重要。 ✅

Here, 当 also means “when”. Adding 当 often makes the sentence:

Slightly more formal or written in feel.
Sometimes a bit more emphatic about the time condition.

In everyday spoken Mandarin, 你说中文的时候，… (without 当) is more natural and common.
Use 当…的时候 more in writing, speeches, or when you want a slightly elevated tone.

Why doesn’t the sentence say 你的声调很重要? Does it mean “your tones” are important or just “tones” are important?

The sentence 你说中文的时候，声调很重要。 is general:

It’s like saying: “When speaking Chinese, tones are important.”
It doesn’t necessarily focus on “your tones” personally; it states a fact about speaking Chinese.

If you say:

你说中文的时候，你的声调很重要。
- Grammatically OK.
- Sounds a bit repetitive / slightly awkward; the second 你 and 的 feel unnecessary.
- Shifts focus more explicitly to your tones, but in most contexts that’s already understood from 你说中文的时候.

Mandarin often omits possessives like 的 when ownership is obvious from context.

Could I use something stronger than 很 to emphasize how important tones are?

Yes. To strengthen the emphasis, you can use:

非常重要 – extremely / very important
- 你说中文的时候，声调非常重要。
特别重要 – especially important
- 你说中文的时候，声调特别重要。
太重要了 – so / incredibly important (emotional)
- 你说中文的时候，声调太重要了。

All are natural; choose based on how strong and emotional you want the statement to sound.

Could I add 在 (zài) and say 你在说中文的时候，声调很重要? Does that change the meaning?

You can say:

你在说中文的时候，声调很重要。 ✅

Here:

在说中文 highlights the ongoing action (“while you are in the process of speaking Chinese”).

Difference in nuance:

你说中文的时候 – neutral “when you speak Chinese” (general).
你在说中文的时候 – “when you are in the middle of speaking Chinese” (slightly more process-focused).

In most everyday contexts, the difference is small, and 你说中文的时候 is shorter and more common.