wǎnshang kàn diànyǐng de shíhou, wǒmen xiān bǎ chuānglián lāshàng, zài bǎ dēng guān le.

的时候 means when or at the time of.

So 看电影的时候 means:

• when watching a movie
• at movie-watching time
• more naturally: when we watch a movie

It turns 看电影 into a time expression.

Structure:

• Verb phrase + 的时候
• 看电影 + 的时候 → when watching a movie

This is a very common pattern in Mandarin:

• 吃饭的时候 = when eating
• 下雨的时候 = when it rains
• 回家的时候 = when going home

The 的 connects the action 看电影 with 时候.

You can think of it as making the phrase before it describe 时候:

• 看电影的时候 = the time when watching a movie

Without 的, this phrase would not sound natural in standard Mandarin.

A useful way to remember it:

• A 的时候 = when A happens

Examples:

• 睡觉的时候 = when sleeping
• 工作的时候 = when working

Yes, 看电影时 is possible, but it is a bit more concise and slightly more formal or written.

Compare:

• 看电影的时候 = very common in speech and writing
• 看电影时 = shorter, more formal, more written

In everyday conversation, 的时候 is usually the safer choice for learners.

So:

• 晚上看电影的时候，我们... sounds very natural in speech
• 晚上看电影时，我们... is also correct, but a little more compact

Time words in Mandarin often do not need a preposition like at or in.

So 晚上 by itself can mean:

• in the evening
• at night

That is why 晚上看电影的时候 is perfectly natural.

You can sometimes say 在晚上, but in many ordinary sentences it is unnecessary and can sound less natural.

Compare:

• 我晚上学习。 = I study at night.
• 我们明天见。 = We’ll meet tomorrow.
• 他周末工作。 = He works on weekends.

Mandarin often places time words directly before the main part of the sentence.

把 marks the object as something being handled, changed, moved, affected, or disposed of by the action.

In this sentence:

• 把窗帘拉上 = pull the curtains closed
• 把灯关了 = turn off the light

The pattern is usually:

• Subject + 把 + object + verb + result/complement

Here:

• 我们先把窗帘拉上
• 再把灯关了

Why use 把? Because the sentence focuses on what is done to the curtains and to the light.

Without getting too technical, 把 is common when:

1. the object is specific
2. the action changes its state
3. the verb is followed by something that shows the result

That is exactly what happens here.

Yes, but the wording would usually change.

For example:

• 我们先拉上窗帘，再关灯。

This is also natural and probably feels simpler to many learners.

The 把 version:

• 我们先把窗帘拉上，再把灯关了。

The non-把 version:

• 我们先拉上窗帘，再关灯。

Both are correct. The 把 version puts more attention on the objects and the result of the actions.

Because curtains are typically pulled closed, not shut in the same way as lights, doors, or windows.

• 拉 = pull
• 上 here indicates the action reaches a resulting state

So 拉上窗帘 means:

• pull the curtains closed
• draw the curtains

By contrast:

• 关灯 = turn off the light
• 关门 = close the door

So the verbs match the kind of object:

• curtains → 拉上
• lights → 关

In 拉上, 上 is not literally up here. It acts as a result complement, showing that the action is completed and reaches the intended result.

So:

• 拉 = pull
• 拉上 = pull closed / pull into place

This kind of verb-complement combination is very common in Chinese.

Examples:

• 关上门 = close the door
• 穿上衣服 = put on clothes
• 戴上帽子 = put on a hat

In many of these, 上 suggests that the object ends up in the proper position or state.

先...再... is a very common pattern meaning:

• first..., then...
• do A before doing B

In the sentence:

• 先把窗帘拉上 = first pull the curtains closed
• 再把灯关了 = then turn off the light

It clearly shows sequence.

This is one of the easiest and most useful sequencing patterns in Mandarin:

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

No. Here 再 means then / after that / next, not again.

This is a very common learner question because 再 can sometimes relate to repetition, but in many sentences it mainly marks the next step.

In this sentence:

• 先...再... = first... then...

So 再把灯关了 means:

• then turn off the light

not:

• turn off the light again

Context is very important with 再.

This is a great question. In a sequence of actions, Mandarin does not always mark every verb with 了, even if all the actions are completed.

Here:

• 先把窗帘拉上
• 再把灯关了

The final 了 helps show completion of the later action, and often the sequence as a whole is clearly understood as completed. It is not necessary to put 了 after both verbs.

You could also hear:

• 先把窗帘拉上，再把灯关上。
• 先把窗帘拉上，再把灯关了。

Both are natural.

A key idea: Mandarin often uses grammar economically. If completion is already clear from the sentence, speakers do not always mark every action individually.

Here 了 is mainly the verb-completion 了, showing that the action is carried out or completed.

So:

• 关灯 = turn off the light
• 关了灯 or 把灯关了 = turned off the light / got the light turned off

In this sentence, 了 helps show that the action of turning off the light is completed as part of the sequence.

It is not the same as English past tense exactly. Chinese 了 does not simply mean past. It usually points more to completion, change, or a new situation.

Yes, both are possible, but they feel slightly different.

• 关上灯 often emphasizes the result: the light is turned off
• 关了灯 marks the action as completed

In many everyday situations, the difference is small, and both are natural.

Compare:

• 把灯关上。 = Turn the light off.
• 把灯关了。 = Turned the light off / get the light turned off.

In this sentence, 关了 works very naturally because it is part of a sequence of completed actions.

Yes. 我们 is the subject for both actions.

The sentence is understood as:

• 我们先把窗帘拉上
• 我们再把灯关了

Chinese often avoids repeating things that are already clear. Since the same subject does both actions, it only needs to be stated once.

This makes the sentence more natural and efficient.

In practice, it sets the time for the whole situation.

So the sentence means that in the evening / at night, when we watch a movie, we first close the curtains and then turn off the light.

You can think of it as:

• time background: 晚上
• situation: 看电影的时候
• main actions: 我们先...再...

Chinese often stacks time expressions from larger to smaller:

• 晚上 = at night
• 看电影的时候 = when watching a movie

This layering is very typical.

Because Mandarin very often puts time first, then the subject, then the action.

A common order is:

• Time + Subject + Verb phrase

Here it is slightly expanded:

• 晚上看电影的时候，我们先...再...

This is extremely natural in Chinese. It gives the listener the time/background first, and then the main event.

Examples:

• 明天我去北京。 = Tomorrow I’m going to Beijing.
• 吃饭的时候，他不说话。 = When eating, he doesn’t talk.

English can also do this, but Chinese uses this pattern even more regularly.

Yes. 时候 is normally pronounced:

• shíhou

The second syllable hou is usually neutral tone in normal speech.

So it is not usually said as a full hòu here.

This is very common with certain everyday words in Mandarin:

• 时候 → shíhou
• 东西 → dōngxi
• 事情 → shìqing

For learners, pronouncing 时候 as shíhou will sound more natural.

电影 is one word meaning movie or film.

Literally:

• 电 = electricity
• 影 = shadow / image

Historically, the word reflects the idea of projected moving images, but in modern Chinese it simply means movie.

So:

• 看电影 = watch a movie / go to the movies

This is a fixed everyday expression.

Yes. A simpler but natural version would be:

• 晚上看电影的时候，我们先拉上窗帘，再关灯。

This removes the two 把 constructions, which many beginners find hard.

It keeps the same basic meaning:

• At night when we watch a movie, we first close the curtains, then turn off the light.

The original sentence is very natural, but the simplified version is excellent for early learners.

Here 灯 is just light / the light(s), depending on context.

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

So 灯 can mean:

• the light
• a light
• lights

depending on the situation.

Also, 们 is generally used with pronouns and some nouns referring to people, not ordinary objects like 灯.

So:

• 我们 = we
• but not 灯们

In this sentence, 把灯关了 naturally means turn off the light or turn off the lights, depending on the real situation.

The part before the comma is a background or time clause:

• 晚上看电影的时候

Then the main clause follows:

• 我们先把窗帘拉上，再把灯关了。

The comma helps separate:

1. the when/background part
2. the main action part

In Chinese punctuation, this is very normal and helps readability.

You could use 然后, but it is not exactly the same pattern.

Compare:

• 我们先把窗帘拉上，再把灯关了。
• 我们先把窗帘拉上，然后把灯关了。

Both are natural.

Difference:

• 先...再... strongly emphasizes order: first A, then B
• 然后 simply means then / after that

So in this sentence, 先...再... is especially appropriate because it clearly presents a two-step routine.