如果在wait()之前没有同步，可能会导致如下问题:

If the 1st thread goes into makeChangeOnX() and checks the while condition, and it is true (x.metCondition() returns false, means x.condition is false) so it will get inside it. Then just before the wait() method, another thread goes to setConditionToTrue() and sets the x.condition to true and notifyAll(). Then only after that, the 1st thread will enter his wait() method (not affected by the notifyAll() that happened few moments before). In this case, the 1st thread will stay waiting for another thread to perform setConditionToTrue(), but that might not happen again.

但是如果你把synchronized放在改变对象状态的方法之前，这就不会发生。

class A {

    private Object X;

    makeChangeOnX(){
        while (! x.getCondition()){
            wait();
            }
        // Do the change
    }

    setConditionToTrue(){
        x.condition = true; 
        notifyAll();

    }
    setConditionToFalse(){
        x.condition = false;
        notifyAll();
    }
    bool getCondition(){
        return x.condition;
    }
}

直接从这个Java oracle教程:

当线程调用d.wait时，它必须拥有d -的内在锁 否则抛出错误。在synchronized中调用等待 方法是一种获取内在锁的简单方法。

Thread wait on the monitoring object (object used by synchronization block), There can be n number of monitoring object in whole journey of a single thread. If Thread wait outside the synchronization block then there is no monitoring object and also other thread notify to access for the monitoring object, so how would the thread outside the synchronization block would know that it has been notified. This is also one of the reason that wait(), notify() and notifyAll() are in object class rather than thread class.

基本上监视对象在这里是所有线程的公共资源，监视对象只能在同步块中可用。

class A {
   int a = 0;
  //something......
  public void add() {
   synchronization(this) {
      //this is your monitoring object and thread has to wait to gain lock on **this**
       }
  }

根据文档:

当前线程必须拥有该对象的监视器。线程释放 这个监视器的所有权。

Wait()方法仅仅意味着它释放对象上的锁。因此，对象只在同步块/方法中被锁定。如果线程在同步块之外意味着它没有被锁定，如果它没有被锁定那么你会释放对象上的什么?

当您在对象t上调用notify()时，Java会通知特定的t.wait()方法。但是，Java如何搜索并通知特定的等待方法呢?

Java只查看被对象t锁定的同步代码块。Java不能搜索整个代码来通知特定的t.wait()。

如果在wait()之前没有同步，可能会导致如下问题:

If the 1st thread goes into makeChangeOnX() and checks the while condition, and it is true (x.metCondition() returns false, means x.condition is false) so it will get inside it. Then just before the wait() method, another thread goes to setConditionToTrue() and sets the x.condition to true and notifyAll(). Then only after that, the 1st thread will enter his wait() method (not affected by the notifyAll() that happened few moments before). In this case, the 1st thread will stay waiting for another thread to perform setConditionToTrue(), but that might not happen again.

但是如果你把synchronized放在改变对象状态的方法之前，这就不会发生。

class A {

    private Object X;

    makeChangeOnX(){
        while (! x.getCondition()){
            wait();
            }
        // Do the change
    }

    setConditionToTrue(){
        x.condition = true; 
        notifyAll();

    }
    setConditionToFalse(){
        x.condition = false;
        notifyAll();
    }
    bool getCondition(){
        return x.condition;
    }
}