HSK 7–9 grammar · pattern
时A时B
时A时B — sometimes A, sometimes B
Pattern
+ + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
时A时B reports alternation over a stretch of time: 时好时坏 "sometimes better, sometimes worse". It is calmer and more descriptive than 忽A忽B, which stresses how abrupt the swings are.
Examples
他的病情时好时坏。
Tā de bìngqíng shí hǎo shí huài.
His condition gets better and worse by turns.
山路上，人影时隐时现。
Shānlù shàng, rényǐng shí yǐn shí xiàn.
On the mountain path, figures appeared and vanished by turns.
Related
See it in a story
In the app, 时A时B is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.