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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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  <h1>Time words and word order</h1>

  <p>Remembering where to put the time words, such as "<b>yesterday</b>," "<b>tomorrow</b>," "<b>this week,</b>" etc. in a sentence is really important in order to speak Chinese correctly. In Chinese you get two equally correct choices.</p>

  <h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>

  <p>Time words can appear in one of two positions in the sentence in Chinese: either at the beginning of the sentence (before the subject), or directly after the subject. The structures are:</p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Time + Subj. + Verb + Obj.</p>
  </div>

  <p></p>

  <div class="deux">
    <p>Subj. + Time + Verb + Obj.</p>
  </div>

  <p>So if you start speaking with "<b>time first</b>" English word order, you can carry on and get away with it. If, however, you're saving the time word for<span class="rouge"> <strike>the end of the sentence</strike></span>, you can be pretty sure that it doesn't sound at all natural to your Chinese audience.</p>

  <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">昨天</span> <span class="fondvert">我</span> 去 了 酒吧 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin">Zuótiān <span class="fondvert">wǒ</span> qù le jiǔbā.</span><br/> Yesterday I went to the bar.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondvert">我</span> <span class="fondjaune">昨天</span> 去 了 酒吧 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondvert">Wǒ</span> zuótiān qù le jiǔbā.</span><br/> I went to the bar yesterday.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">下 个 星期</span> <span class="fondvert">他</span> 要 回 国 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Xià gè xīngqī</span> <span class="fondvert">tā</span> yào huí guó.</span><br/> Next week he is going back to his country.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondvert">他</span> <span class="fondjaune">下 个 星期</span> 要 回 国 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondvert">Tā</span> <span class="fondjaune">xià gè xīngqī</span> yào huí guó.</span><br/> He is going back to his country next week.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">明年</span> <span class="fondvert">我</span> 要 开 一 个 公司 。</span><br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Míngnián</span> <span class="fondvert">wǒ</span> yào kāi yī gè gōngsī.</span><br/> Next year I want to open a company.</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondvert">我</span> <span class="fondjaune">明年</span> 要 开 一 个 公司 。</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondvert">Wǒ</span> <span class="fondjaune">míngnián</span> yào kāi yī gè gōngsī.</span> <br/>I want to open a company next year.</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">下 个 月</span> <span class="fondvert">我们</span> 结婚 吧 ？</span><br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Xià gè yuè</span> <span class="fondvert">wǒmen</span> jiéhūn ba?</span><br/> Next month shall we get married?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondvert">我们</span> <span class="fondjaune">下 个 月</span> 结婚 吧 ？</span><br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondvert">Wǒmen</span> <span class="fondjaune">xià gè yuè</span> jiéhūn ba?</span> <br/>Shall we get married next month?</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <div class="exemple">
    <ul>
      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondjaune">现在</span> <span class="fondvert">你</span> 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ？</span> <br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondjaune">Xiànzài</span> <span class="fondvert">nǐ</span> néng lái wǒ bàngōngshì ma?</span><br/> Now you can come to my office?</li>

      <li><span class="hanzi"><span class="fondvert">你</span> <span class="fondjaune">现在</span> 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ？</span><br/><span class="pinyin"><span class="fondvert">Nǐ</span> <span class="fondjaune">xiànzài</span> néng lái wǒ bàngōngshì ma?</span> <br/>Can you come to my office now?</li>
    </ul>
  </div>

  <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>

  <ul>
    <li><a href="Word_order" title="wikilink">Word order</a></li>

    <li><a href="Using_&quot;zai&quot;_with_verbs" title="wikilink">Using "zai" with verbs</a></li>

    <li><a href="Wanting_to_do_something_with_yao" title="wikilink">Wanting to do something with yao</a></li>

    <li><a href="Expressing_completion_with_le" title="wikilink">Expressing completion with le</a></li>
  </ul>

  <h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further reading</h2>

  <h3 id="books">Books</h3>

  <ul>
    <li>Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 75-7)</li>

    <li>Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 205-6)</li>

    <li>40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (<span class="hanzi">基础汉语40课上册</span>） (p. 98)</li>
  </ul>
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