Difference between revisions of "Time words and word order"
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[[Category:A2 grammar points]] | [[Category:A2 grammar points]] | ||
{{Used for|Expressing time and date}} | {{Used for|Expressing time and date}} | ||
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{{Basic Grammar|none|A2|Subj. + Time… / Time + Subj….|我 <em>明天</em> 有 空。/ <em>明天</em> 我 有 空。|grammar point|ASG5RWKO}} | {{Basic Grammar|none|A2|Subj. + Time… / Time + Subj….|我 <em>明天</em> 有 空。/ <em>明天</em> 我 有 空。|grammar point|ASG5RWKO}} | ||
{{Similar|Word order}} | {{Similar|Word order}} | ||
Revision as of 08:23, 31 May 2013
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Level
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Used for
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Keywords
Remembering where to put the time words, such as "yesterday", "tomorrow", "this week" etc., in a sentence is really important to speaking Chinese correctly. Luckily, it's similar to English, so it's easy to master.
Structure
In Chinese, time words can appear in one of two positions in the sentence: either at the beginning of the sentence (before the subject), or directly after the subject. The structures are:
Time + Subject + Verb + Object
Subject + Time + Verb + Object
So this is one of the rare occasions where if you start speaking with English word order (time first), you can carry on and get away with it.
Examples
- 昨天 我 去 了 酒吧。
- 我 昨天 去 了 酒吧。
- 下 个 星期 他 要 回国。
- 他 下 个 星期 要 回国。
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 75-7) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 205-6) →buy
