If you need to include the place where an action takes place,
you can use 在 (zài). Just pay close attention to word order, as this is
one case in which Chinese word order is quite different from
English.
Structure
To indicate the location that a verb takes place in, 在 (zài),
followed by a location, comes before the verb.
Subj. + 在 + Place + Verb + Obj.
Notice that the location is placed before the verb in
Chinese, whereas in English it appears afterwards.
Examples
- 我 在 上海 上大学。Wǒ
zài Shànghǎi shàng
dàxué.I went to college in
Shanghai.
- 你 一直 在 这 家 公司 工作 吗？Nǐ yīzhí zài zhè jiā gōngsī
gōngzuò ma? Have you always been working
in this company?
- 我 周末 想 在 家 睡觉。Wǒ
zhōumò xiǎng zài jiā
shuìjiào.On the weekend, I want to sleep
at home.
- 不 要 在 床 上 吃 东西。In addition to "在" you need a "上" to indicate
the location "on the bed." Bù yào
zài chuáng shàng chī
dōngxi.Don't eat food on the
bed.
- 你 想 在 哪儿 开 生日 派对？Nǐ xiǎng zài nǎr kāi shēngrì
pàiduì? Where do you want to have the
birthday party?
- 他 喜欢 在 厕所 里 抽烟。In addition to "在" you need a "里" to indicate
the location "in the bathroom." Tā
xǐhuan zài cèsuǒ lǐ
chōuyān.He likes to smoke in the
bathroom.
- 很 多 人 在 地铁 上 吃 早饭。In addition to "在" you need a "上" to indicate
the location "in the subway." Hěn duō
rén zài dìtiě shàng chī zǎofàn.
Many people eat breakfast on the
subway.
- 现在 我们 在 KTV 唱歌。Xiànzài wǒmen zài KTV
chànggē.Now we're singing songs at
karaoke.
- 老板 在 会议室 见 客户。Lǎobǎn zài huìyìshì jiàn
kèhù.The boss is seeing the client in
the meeting room.
- 你 在 外面 吃 过 晚饭 了 吗？Nǐ zài wàimiàn chī guo wǎnfàn le
ma? Did you eat dinner
outside?
Remember: in English we usually put the location at the end of a
sentence. In Chinese, we put the location after the subject but
before the verb.
Getting More Specific
with Locations
Rather than just using 在 (zài) to mean "at" a location, you
might want to use it to mean "in," "on," or "under" a specific
location. To do this, you'll need to add an extra word after the
location. Learn about expressing location with "zai... shang / xia /
li".
See Also
Sources and further
reading
Books
Category:A2 grammar points