Expressing "within" a period of time using "zai... nei" (Redirected from ASG5A494) This article is a stub. Editors can help the Chinese Grammar Wiki by expanding it. "在 (a period of time) 内" may sound a bit redundant, since 在 means "in" and 内 means "within" or "inside," but it is a commonly used "sandwich pattern" which means "within (a period of time)." Contents 1 Structure 2 See Also 3 Sources and further reading 3.1 Books Structure 在 + (a period of time) + 内 The period of time in this structure can be a clear-cut indicator of time (days, months, years) or it can be a more vague indicator of time (short amount of time, a lifetime). See Also Expressing existence in a place with "zai" Expressing location with "zai... shang / xia / li" Indicating location with "zai" before verbs Sources and further reading Books Anything Goes (无所不谈) (pp. 117) →buy