去英国 / 去的英国

[johnmck]

What is the difference between:

你什么时候去英国?

and

你什么时候去的英国?

I translate them as:

When did/will you go to England?

When was/will-be your English trip?

But from the usage I have seen it appears that one is to do with the future and the other the past. What is the difference between these two sentences?

John

[trevelyan]

你什么时候去的英国

Where did you find this written down? I've never run into this usage.

[geraldc]

Isn't it the good old 是的 construction again minus the 是

[HashiriKata]

You're right, geraldc!

你什么时候去的英国

is a version of :

你是什么时候去的英国

which in turn is a version of :

你是什么时候去英国的

which means: When did you go to England?

Cheers,

[elina]

你什么时候去英国?

(问将来的事情)

When will you go to England?

你什么时候去的英国?

(问以前的事情)

When did you go to England?

[nipponman]

I think the second one is asking for a question . That is why it is translated as past tense. Just thought I'd point that out.

[adam1024]

你什么时候去英国?

When will you go to U.K.?

你什么时候去的英国?

When have you been U.K.?

[johnmck]

I always understood that the 是...的 constuct was used to emphasis one point in a sentence with the 是 being put before the object that is to be emphasised and 的 at the end of the sentence.

I found the examples at the following website:

http://en.chinabroadcast.cn/2432/2005-1-14/68@177721.htm