还不知道什么时候能回来呢
“not sure when she'll be back.”
THE DIALOGUE REEL
阿姨刚才给妈妈打电话 妈妈说今天要工作到很晚
“I just called your mom. She said she'll be working late today,”
还 不知道什么时候 能 回来 呢
“not sure when she'll be back.”
你看这样好不好 你今晚跟阿姨回家 行吗
“How about this, come home with me tonight, okay?”
“Your mom definitely cannot come home anytime soon, so you cannot wait up for her.”
In Chinese society, close neighbors, family friends, or hired helpers often step in naturally to look after children when parents work overtime.
LEARNING CHUNKS & PARTICLES
it is still unknown / not yet clear
Use this spoken phrase to hedge or indicate that details about a future event remain unresolved.
when [one] will be able to
A very common pattern to express doubt or inquiry about the feasibility of an upcoming schedule.
Softens the assertion while drawing attention to the sustained state of uncertainty.
VOCABULARY & EXPRESSIONS
Parallel Spoken Cinema Scenes (语义近邻切片)
“I figured it was about time you got back.”
“I don't know when he'll be back.”
“Do you know when will he be back?”
“Who knows when she'll be back next time.”
“I don't know when he'll be back.”
“I wonder if they're back yet.”
“And I don't know when I'll sing it right.”
“when you'll be back next time. Who goes hiking nowadays, Dad?”
“Then I don't know all the more. He should be back very soon.”
“It's not certain yet when he'll be back.”
“But there's no guarantee it will come back.”