Time words and word order

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

• Word order
• Using "zai" with verbs
• Wanting to do something with yao
• Expressing completion with le

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