whenadverb, conjunction
uk/wen/us/wen/A1 at what time; at the time at which:
"I did tell you about it." "When? I don't remember."
When are you going?
When's the baby due?
We'll go when you're ready.
Tell me when to start.
Ask him when he's next coming home.
When do you expect to have the project completed (by)?
She was only 20 when she had her first baby.
He was shocked when I told him.
I hate it when there's no one in the office.
I went there when I was a child.
I was just getting into the bath when the phone rang.
More examples
- I rang them yesterday to check when they were arriving.
- So when did you start collecting antique glass?
- She was 74 years of age when she wrote her first novel.
- What did you miss most about England when you were living in France?
- Who will be in charge of the department when Sophie leaves?
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: question words & expressions
- come
- devil
- extent
- how about...? idiom
- how, what, why, etc. on earth... idiom
- in God's/heaven's name idiom
- interrogative
- shall
- what the blazes...? idiom
- what's that (all) about (then)? idiom
- what's the score? idiom
- what/where/how/why the devil idiom
- whenever
- where
- which
- whither
- whose
- why
- world
- would you like...? idiom
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whenpronoun
uk/wen/us/wen/what/which time:
"Did you know Lucy was back in England?" "Is she - since when?"
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: question words & expressions
- come
- devil
- extent
- how about...? idiom
- how, what, why, etc. on earth... idiom
- in God's/heaven's name idiom
- interrogative
- shall
- what the blazes...? idiom
- what's that (all) about (then)? idiom
- what's the score? idiom
- what/where/how/why the devil idiom
- whenever
- where
- which
- whither
- whose
- why
- world
- would you like...? idiom
See more results »
Idiom(s)
since when
whenconjunction
uk/wen/us/wen/when conjunction (CONSIDERING THAT)
B2 considering the fact that:
How can you say you don't like something when you've never even tried it!
You can't complain about being lonely when you don't make any effort to meet people.
Why is she training to be a teacher when she doesn't even like children?
I don't suppose I can really call myself a vegetarian when I eat fish.
More examples
- It's pointless to invite him when you know he won't come.
- Why did you buy a fishing rod when you could have borrowed mine?
- Why should I do the exam when I know I've failed the course already?
- You shouldn't judge them when you don't know the full story.
- I shouldn't get upset by his comments when I know he's only joking.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: connecting words which express a contrast
- after
- again
- any way you slice it idiom
- at any rate idiom
- at least idiom
- best
- but
- disjunctive
- given
- however
- least
- might
- never
- nevertheless
- no thanks to sb idiom
- rate
- seeing (that)
- slice
- though
- tooth
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when conjunction (ALTHOUGH)
B2 despite the fact that:
He says he doesn't have any money when in fact he has thousands of dollars in his account.
I don't understand how he can say that everything's fine when it's so obvious that it's not.
More examples
- He placed a bet on his team when he knows they're likely to lose.
- They claimed to know each other when in fact they've never met before.
- It was good of you to offer me a lift when I know you don't like driving at night.
- It was thoughtless of you to cook steak when you know I'm a vegetarian.
- She says she enjoys watching horror films when in fact she gets really scared by them.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Linguistics: connecting words which express a contrast
- after
- again
- any way you slice it idiom
- at any rate idiom
- at least idiom
- best
- but
- disjunctive
- given
- however
- least
- might
- never
- nevertheless
- no thanks to sb idiom
- rate
- seeing (that)
- slice
- though
- tooth
See more results »