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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>Remembering where to put the time words, such as "yesterday,"
"tomorrow," "this week," 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="jiegou">
<p><strong>Time</strong> + Subj. + Verb + Obj.</p>
</div>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + <strong>Time</strong> + Verb + Obj.</p>
</div>
<p>So if you start speaking with "time first" English word order,
you can carry on and get away with it. If, however, you're saving
the time word for the <em>end</em> of the sentence, 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="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>昨天</em> <strong>我</strong> 去 了 酒吧 。 <span class=
"pinyin"><em>Zuótiān</em> <strong>wǒ</strong> qù le
jiǔbā.</span><span class="trans">Yesterday I went to the
bar.</span></li>
<li><strong>我</strong> <em>昨天</em> 去 了 酒吧 。 <span class=
"pinyin"><strong>Wǒ</strong> <em>zuótiān</em> qù le
jiǔbā.</span><span class="trans">I went to the bar
yesterday.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>下 个 星期</em> <strong>他</strong> 要 回 国 。 <span class=
"pinyin"><em>Xià gè xīngqī</em> <strong>tā</strong> yào huí
guó.</span><span class="trans">Next week he is going back to his
country.</span></li>
<li><strong>他</strong> <em>下 个 星期</em> 要 回 国 。 <span class=
"pinyin"><strong>Tā</strong> <em>xià gè xīngqī</em> yào huí
guó.</span><span class="trans">He is going back to his country next
week.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>明年</em> <strong>我</strong> 要 开 一 个 公司 。 <span class=
"pinyin"><em>Míngnián</em> <strong>wǒ</strong> yào kāi yī gè
gōngsī.</span><span class="trans">Next year I want to open a
company.</span></li>
<li><strong>我</strong> <em>明年</em> 要 开 一 个 公司 。 <span class=
"pinyin"><strong>Wǒ</strong> <em>míngnián</em> yào kāi yī gè
gōngsī.</span><span class="trans">I want to open a company next
year.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>下 个 月</em> <strong>我们</strong> 结婚 吧 ？ <span class=
"pinyin"><em>Xià gè yuè</em> <strong>wǒmen</strong> jiéhūn
ba?</span><span class="trans">Next month shall we get
married?</span></li>
<li><strong>我们</strong> <em>下 个 月</em> 结婚 吧 ？ <span class=
"pinyin"><strong>Wǒmen</strong> <em>xià gè yuè</em> jiéhūn
ba?</span><span class="trans">Shall we get married next
month?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>现在</em> <strong>你</strong> 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ？ <span class=
"pinyin"><em>Xiànzài</em> <strong>nǐ</strong> néng lái wǒ
bàngōngshì ma?</span><span class="trans">Now you can come to my
office?</span></li>
<li><strong>你</strong> <em>现在</em> 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ？ <span class=
"pinyin"><strong>Nǐ</strong> <em>xiànzài</em> néng lái wǒ
bàngōngshì ma?</span><span class="trans">Can you come to my office
now?</span></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><a href="Chinese:_An_Essential_Grammar,_Second_Edition" title=
"wikilink">Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition</a> (pp.
75-7) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415372615/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0415372615">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (pp.
205-6) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276385">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"40_Lessons_for_Basic_Chinese_Course_(%E5%9F%BA%E7%A1%80%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD40%E8%AF%BE%E4%B8%8A%E5%86%8C%EF%BC%89"
title="wikilink">40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course
(基础汉语40课上册）</a> (p. 98)<a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001FTL8D8/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;camp=1789&amp;creative=390957&amp;creativeASIN=B001FTL8D8&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;tag=allset-20">→buy</a></li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p>
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