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ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
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<p>If you need to include the place where an action takes place,
you can use 在 (zài). Just pay close attention to <a href=
"Basic_sentence_order" title="wikilink">word order</a>, as this is
one case in which Chinese word order is quite different from
English.</p>
<h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
<p>To indicate the location that a verb takes place in, 在 (zài),
followed by a location, comes before the verb.</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>Subj. + 在 + Place + Verb + Obj.</p>
</div>
<p>Notice that the location is placed <em>before</em> the verb in
Chinese, whereas in English it appears <em>afterwards</em>.</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>我 <em>在</em> <strong>上海</strong> 上大学。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
<em>zài</em> <strong>Shànghǎi</strong> shàng
dàxué.</span><span class="trans">I went to college in
Shanghai.</span></li>
<li>你 一直 <em>在</em> <strong>这 家 公司</strong> 工作 吗？<span class=
"pinyin">Nǐ yīzhí <em>zài</em> <strong>zhè jiā gōngsī</strong>
gōngzuò ma?</span> <span class="trans">Have you always been working
in this company?</span></li>
<li>我 周末 想 <em>在</em> <strong>家</strong> 睡觉。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ
zhōumò xiǎng <em>zài</em> <strong>jiā</strong>
shuìjiào.</span><span class="trans">On the weekend, I want to sleep
at home.</span></li>
<li>不 要 <em>在</em> <strong>床 上</strong> 吃 东西。<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">In addition to "在" you need a "上" to indicate
the location "on the bed."</span> <span class="pinyin">Bù yào
<em>zài</em> <strong>chuáng shàng</strong> chī
dōngxi.</span><span class="trans">Don't eat food on the
bed.</span></li>
<li>你 想 <em>在</em> <strong>哪儿</strong> 开 生日 派对？<span class=
"pinyin">Nǐ xiǎng <em>zài</em> <strong>nǎr</strong> kāi shēngrì
pàiduì?</span> <span class="trans">Where do you want to have the
birthday party?</span></li>
<li>他 喜欢 <em>在</em> <strong>厕所 里</strong> 抽烟。<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">In addition to "在" you need a "里" to indicate
the location "in the bathroom."</span> <span class="pinyin">Tā
xǐhuan <em>zài</em> <strong>cèsuǒ lǐ</strong>
chōuyān.</span><span class="trans">He likes to smoke in the
bathroom.</span></li>
<li>很 多 人 <em>在</em> <strong>地铁 上</strong> 吃 早饭。<span class=
"expl pdf-long-expl">In addition to "在" you need a "上" to indicate
the location "in the subway."</span> <span class="pinyin">Hěn duō
rén <em>zài</em> <strong>dìtiě shàng</strong> chī zǎofàn.</span>
<span class="trans">Many people eat breakfast on the
subway.</span></li>
<li>现在 我们 <em>在</em> <strong>KTV</strong> 唱歌。<span class=
"pinyin">Xiànzài wǒmen <em>zài</em> <strong>KTV</strong>
chànggē.</span><span class="trans">Now we're singing songs at
karaoke.</span></li>
<li>老板 <em>在</em> <strong>会议室</strong> 见 客户。<span class=
"pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>zài</em> <strong>huìyìshì</strong> jiàn
kèhù.</span><span class="trans">The boss is seeing the client in
the meeting room.</span></li>
<li>你 <em>在</em> <strong>外面</strong> 吃 过 晚饭 了 吗？<span class=
"pinyin">Nǐ <em>zài</em> <strong>wàimiàn</strong> chī guo wǎnfàn le
ma?</span> <span class="trans">Did you eat dinner
outside?</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>Remember: in English we usually put the location at the end of a
sentence. In Chinese, we put the location after the subject but
<em>before</em> the verb.</p>
<h2 id="getting-more-specific-with-locations">Getting More Specific
with Locations</h2>
<p>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 <a href=
"expressing_location_with_&quot;zai..._shang_/_xia_/_li&quot;"
title="wikilink">expressing location with "zai... shang / xia /
li"</a>.</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See Also</h2>
<ul>
<li><a href="Expressing_existence_in_a_place_with_&quot;zai&quot;"
title="wikilink">Expressing existence in a place with
"zai"</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Expressing_location_with_&quot;zai..._shang_/_xia_/_li&quot;"
title="wikilink">Expressing location with "zai... shang / xia /
li"</a></li>
<li><a href="Special_cases_of_&quot;zai&quot;_following_verbs"
title="wikilink">Special cases of "zai" following verbs</a></li>
<li><a href=
"Complements_with_&quot;dao,&quot;_&quot;gei,&quot;_and_&quot;zai&quot;"
title="wikilink">Complements with "dao," "gei," and "zai"</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_1_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)</a> (p.
128) <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>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:A2_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:A2 grammar points</a></p>
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