Expressing existence in a place with "zai"

The verb 在 is used to express existence in a place. English does not have a verb that covers this, and instead uses "to be" with a preposition. In Chinese, 在 covers both of these. The structure is:

Subject + 在 + Place

Remember that you don't need another verb in this construction. It can be tempting to try use 是, as this matches the English structure, but this is not correct. 在 is the only verb needed. Some examples:

• 我在上海。
• 他们在英国。
• 他在超市。
• 她在邮局。