Difference between revisions of "Time words and word order"

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* <em>昨天</em> 我 去 了 酒吧。<span class="trans">Yesterday I went to the bar.</span>
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* <em>昨天</em> 我 去 了 酒吧 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Zuótiān</em> wǒ qù le jiǔbā.</span> <span class="trans">Yesterday I went to the bar.</span>
* 我 <em>昨天</em> 去 了 酒吧。<span class="trans">I went to the bar yesterday.</span>
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* 我 <em>昨天</em> 去 了 酒吧 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>zuótiān</em> qù le jiǔbā.</span> <span class="trans">I went to the bar yesterday.</span>
* <em>下 个 星期</em> 他 要 回国。<span class="trans">Next week he is going back to his country.</span>
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* <em>下 个 星期</em> 他 要 回国 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Xià gè xīngqī</em> tā yào huíguó.</span> <span class="trans">Next week he is going back to his country.</span>
* 他 <em>下 个 星期</em> 要 回国。<span class="trans">He is going back to his country next week.</span>
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* 他 <em>下 个 星期</em> 要 回国 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>xià gè xīngqī</em> yào huíguó.</span> <span class="trans">He is going back to his country next week.</span>
*<em>明年</em> 我 要 开 一 个 公司。<span class="trans">Next year I want to open a company.</span>
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* <em>明年</em> 我 要 开 一 个 公司 。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Míngnián</em> wǒ yào kāi yī gè gōngsī.</span> <span class="trans">Next year I want to open a company.</span>
*我 <em>明年</em> 要 开 一 个 公司。<span class="trans">I want to open a company next year.</span>
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*我 <em>明年</em> 要 开 一 个 公司 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>míngnián</em> yào kāi yī gè gōngsī.</span> <span class="trans">I want to open a company next year.</span>
*<em>下 个 月</em> 我们 结婚 吧?<span class="trans">Next month shall we get married?</span>
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* <em>下 个 月</em> 我们 结婚 吧 ? <span class="pinyin"><em>Xià gè yuè</em> wǒmen jiéhūn bā?</span> <span class="trans">Next month shall we get married?</span>
*我们 <em>下 个 月</em> 结婚 吧?<span class="trans">Shall we get married next month?</span>
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*我们 <em>下 个 月</em> 结婚 吧 ? <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>xià gè yuè</em> jiéhūn bā?</span> <span class="trans">Shall we get married next month?</span>
*<em>现在</em> 你 能 来 我 办公室 吗?<span class="trans">Now you can come to my office?</span>
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* <em>现在</em> 你 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ? <span class="pinyin"><em>Xiànzài</em> nǐ néng lái wǒ bàngōngshì ma?</span> <span class="trans">Now you can come to my office?</span>
*你 <em>现在</em> 能 来 我 办公室 吗?<span class="trans">Can you come to my office now?</span>
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*你 <em>现在</em> 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>xiànzài</em> néng lái wǒ bàngōngshì ma?</span> <span class="trans">Can you come to my office now?</span>
 
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Revision as of 08:56, 23 October 2014

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 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 end of the sentence, you can be pretty sure that it doesn't sound at all natural to your Chinese audience.

Examples

  • 昨天 我 去 了 酒吧 。 Zuótiān wǒ qù le jiǔbā. Yesterday I went to the bar.
  • 昨天 去 了 酒吧 。 zuótiān qù le jiǔbā. I went to the bar yesterday.
  • 下 个 星期 他 要 回国 。 Xià gè xīngqī tā yào huíguó. Next week he is going back to his country.
  • 下 个 星期 要 回国 。 xià gè xīngqī yào huíguó. He is going back to his country next week.
  • 明年 我 要 开 一 个 公司 。 Míngnián wǒ yào kāi yī gè gōngsī. Next year I want to open a company.
  • 明年 要 开 一 个 公司 。 míngnián yào kāi yī gè gōngsī. I want to open a company next year.
  • 下 个 月 我们 结婚 吧 ? Xià gè yuè wǒmen jiéhūn bā? Next month shall we get married?
  • 我们 下 个 月 结婚 吧 ? Wǒmen xià gè yuè jiéhūn bā? Shall we get married next month?
  • 现在 你 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ? Xiànzài nǐ néng lái wǒ bàngōngshì ma? Now you can come to my office?
  • 现在 能 来 我 办公室 吗 ? xiànzài néng lái wǒ bàngōngshì ma? Can you come to my office now?

See also

Sources and further reading

Books