2 · Time and place
Zài, yǒu and shì for where things are
location and existence compared
A known thing + zài + place; a place + yǒu + something new; a place + shì + what fills it.
Three sentence patterns say where something is, and they differ in what the listener already knows. With 在 the thing is known and the place is the news: 我的书在桌子上, “my book is on the table”. The thing comes first, as the subject.
With 有 the order turns round: the place comes first, then 有, then something new — usually with a number, or nothing that says which one: 桌子上有一本书, “there is a book on the table”. This is English “there is”. The place needs no 在 in front: its position at the start already makes it the setting.
With 是 the place comes first too, but the sentence says what the place is taken up by: 银行旁边是一家咖啡馆, “next to the bank is a café”. 有 says that something is there, perhaps among other things; 是 says what it is that is there.
English happily starts with something unknown: “a cat is on the chair”. Chinese prefers to put new information at the end, so an unknown thing goes after 有, not before 在. The negatives differ as well: 不在 for a thing that is not there, 没有 for a place that has none.
The form
| known thing + zài + place | 我的书在桌子上。 |
| place + yǒu + new thing | 桌子上有一本书。 |
| place + shì + what is there | 桌子上是我的书。 |
| negative of zài | 我的书不在桌子上。 |
| negative of yǒu | 桌子上没有书。 |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is about
Something known + 在 + place says where the thing is.
你的钥匙在门旁边。Your keys are by the door.
Place + 有 + something new says what is there.
楼下有一个小超市。There is a small supermarket downstairs.
Place + 是 + thing: what the place is taken up by.
我家对面是一个公园。Opposite my home is a park.
A sentence with 有 begins with the place itself and needs no 在.
冰箱里有很多水果。There is a lot of fruit in the fridge.
The negative of 有 is 没有; the negative of 在 is 不在.
教室里没有人。There is nobody in the classroom.
A closer look
New information comes last
Behind the three patterns is one habit of Chinese: what both speakers already know comes early in the sentence, and what is new comes late. “My book” is known, so it opens the sentence and 在 adds the new part, the place. “A book” is new, so the place opens the sentence and the book comes last.
The same habit runs through a group of sentences met later on, in which a place opens the sentence and a verb with 着 says how something is there: 墙上挂着一张画, “on the wall hangs a picture”. 有 is the simplest member of that family.
How to spot it
- 在
- 有
- 是
- 没有
Example sentences
洗手间在楼上。The toilets are upstairs.
我家附近有两个公园。There are two parks near my home.
银行左边是邮局。To the left of the bank is the post office.
你的手机在沙发上。Your phone is on the sofa.
房间里有一张床和一张桌子。There is a bed and a desk in the room.
路两边都是商店。Both sides of the street are lined with shops.
7 more example sentences
他的办公室在楼上。His office is upstairs.
包里有什么？What is in the bag?
前面是火车站。Up ahead is the railway station.
我们学校旁边没有书店。There is no bookshop next to our school.
李老师不在办公室，她在上课。Ms Li is not in her office; she is teaching.
这条街上有很多饭馆。There are a lot of restaurants on this street.
医院对面是一个停车场。Opposite the hospital is a car park.
Worth knowing (1)
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Yǒu or shì?
Asked what lies behind the school, 学校后面是一条河 answers the question: what is there is a river. 学校后面有一条河 only says that a river exists there, and leaves room for other things beside it.
学校后面有一条河。There is a river behind the school.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
“A book is on the table” is good English, and the word-for-word Chinese sounds wrong. A Chinese sentence does not like to start with something the listener does not know yet; the place goes first, and the new thing comes after 有, at the end.
A known thing first with zài; a place first with yǒu for something new, or with shì to say what it is.
Your turn
9 exercises on this topic. Your answers are checked in the browser; none of them leaves your device.