when....when....

[niucaoyuan]

Please explain the following sentence:

When we change the leader when the fight is hard,it's not a good idea.


Thanks a lot.

[Pete]

Please explain the following sentence:

When we change the leader when the fight is hard, it's not a good idea.


Thanks a lot.
The main clause of the sentence is: "it's not a good idea." What is the antecedent of the pronoun it? That is, what isn't a good idea? The whole idea of the introductory clause tells us what isn't a good idea. The basic thought is the situation of some group (a country, a team, a military force) changing leaders at the same time that they are in a difficult battle. The sentence says that the situation when that happens is bad, i.e. not a good idea.

I'd say that it would be better to re-phrase this sentence. With its multiple uses of "when", it is easy to get confused when trying to figure out what it means. Also, it sounds as if the first "when" is introducing a noun clause; I'm not certain that is even possible, but I know it certainly isn't at all common. You might try,
- It isn't a good idea to change leaders when the fight is hard.