g1-25.md 1.4 KB

Placement of time-words

A time-word or -expression is normally placed either after the subject or at the beginning of a sentence:

我們十點半上中文課
十點半我們上中文課

Some notes:

  1. A time-word does not take a preposition:

    我三點下課
    but not 我在三點下課
    
  2. A time-word should not be placed at the end of a sentence:

    她晚上來
        She came in the evening.
    or 晚上她來
    but not 她來晚上
    
  3. If you have more than one time-word, the bigger unit goes before the smaller:

    今天晚上八點
        at 8 o'clock this evening
    
  4. If you have both time-word and place-word, usually the time-word goes first:

    我晚上八點在圖書館等你
    你哥哥現在在哪兒工作﹖
    明天你幾點在哪兒上課﹖
        When and where are you going to have your class tomorrow?
    
  5. Time-word + 的 + noun (time-words modifying nouns)

    A: 你想看幾點的電影﹖
        What show do you want to see? /literally/ What time's film
        do you want to see?
    B: 我想看中午十二點半的(電影)。
        I want to see the film at 12:30 at noon.
    
    A: 這是今天的報嗎﹖
        Is this today's paper?
    B: 不是今天的報﹐是昨天的。
        It isn't today's paper, it's yesterday's.