Tā mǎi xiézi de shíhou, yìbān xiān kàn jiàgé, zài kàn zhìliàng.

A natural way to break it down is:

• 她 = she
• 买鞋子的时候 = when buying shoes / when she buys shoes
• 一般 = generally / usually
• 先看价格，再看质量 = first looks at the price, then looks at the quality

So the sentence follows this pattern:

subject + when-clause + frequency word + first action + then action

That is a very common Chinese structure.

的时候 means when or at the time when.

So:

• 买鞋子 = buy shoes
• 买鞋子的时候 = when buying shoes / when she buys shoes

By itself, 时候 means time or moment.
When you put a verb phrase before it, it creates a time expression.

Here, 的 links the action 买鞋子 to 时候.

You can think of it as turning buy shoes into something like the time of buying shoes. In smoother English, that becomes when buying shoes.

This pattern is very common:

• 吃饭的时候 = when eating
• 下雨的时候 = when it rains
• 上课的时候 = during class / when in class

Yes. A common shorter version is:

• 她买鞋子时，一般先看价格，再看质量。

Here, 时 is a shorter form meaning when.

In general:

• 的时候 = very common in everyday speech
• 时 = shorter, a little more concise, sometimes slightly more formal or written

Both are correct.

Here, 一般 means generally, usually, or as a rule.

It does not mean ordinary here.

For example:

• 她一般七点起床。 = She usually gets up at seven.
• 我一般不喝咖啡。 = I generally do not drink coffee.

So in this sentence, 一般 shows that this is her usual habit when buying shoes.

Together, 先...再... means first... then....

In this sentence:

• 先看价格 = first look at the price
• 再看质量 = then look at the quality

This is a very common sequence pattern in Chinese.

Examples:

• 先吃饭，再学习。 = Eat first, then study.
• 先洗手，再吃。 = Wash your hands first, then eat.

In other contexts, 再 can also mean again, but here it clearly means then/after that.

In Chinese, 看 often has a broader meaning than just look with your eyes. It can also mean:

• check
• inspect
• consider
• look over

So:

• 看价格 = check the price
• 看质量 = check the quality

This is very natural Chinese, especially in shopping contexts.

Chinese nouns usually do not change form for singular and plural the way English nouns do.

So 鞋子 can mean:

• a shoe
• shoes
• footwear

The exact number is understood from context.

Here, 买鞋子 naturally means buy shoes in a general sense.

Yes. Both are natural.

• 买鞋 = buy shoes
• 买鞋子 = buy shoes

Sometimes 子 makes the noun sound a little more complete or colloquial, but in many cases the meaning is basically the same.

Chinese verbs do not change form for tense the way English verbs do.

The sentence does not mark tense directly on 买 or 看. Instead, time and aspect are understood from context and other words.

Here, 一般 tells us this is a habitual action, so the meaning is:

• When she buys shoes, she generally first checks the price, then the quality.

So the idea of habit comes mainly from 一般, not from a special verb ending.

Because the subject stays the same, Chinese often mentions it once and then lists the actions.

So:

• 她...先看价格，再看质量。

already clearly means that she does both actions.

Repeating 她 would usually be unnecessary unless you wanted special emphasis.

No. In standard Mandarin:

• 她 = tā
• 他 = tā
• 它 = tā

They are pronounced the same. The difference appears only in writing.

So when listening, you understand which one is meant from context.

The commas show natural pauses and help separate the parts of the sentence:

• 买鞋子的时候
• 一般先看价格
• 再看质量

Chinese often uses commas quite freely to mark rhythm and structure, sometimes more often than English would.