39524
私はローマに住んでいた時に子供でした。

I didn't understand "住んでいた時". I would like a explanation about this structure
and a translation.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-26T23:53:05.313
39508
2016-09-27T14:01:24.473
17380
question
syntax
I couldn't understand this structure 住んでいた時
> 私はローマに住んでいた時に子供でした。  
>  When I was in Rome, I was a child.

とき(に) means "when ～". See [this article](http://www.learn-japanese-
adventure.com/toki-in-japanese.html).

As you can see in the link, とき here is just a noun that means "time". So once
you have learned how to modify a noun (e.g., using an adjective or a relative
clause), you can use various ways to say "when ～".

As pointed out in the comment section, this sentence is a bit unnatural
because the main subject (私は) and the main predicate (子供でした) are far apart.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-27T10:10:41.043
39524
2016-09-27T10:10:41.043
5010
39508
answer
As others have pointed out, the sentence sounds weird. To answer your
question:

住む is the verb "to live".

= > 住んで is the "te" form of the verb — a verb form used in many ways.

= > 住んでいる is the "te-iru" form of the verb. This means "living".

= > 住んでいた is the past tense of the "te-iru" form of the verb. This means "was
living".

時 is simply "time".

Therefore 住んでいた時 means "the time when I was living".
CC BY-SA 3.0
2016-09-27T14:01:24.473
39525
2016-09-27T14:01:24.473
18041
39508
answer