1 · Time and place
Being somewhere and doing something there with zài
the verb and preposition of location
Zài says where something is, and before another verb it says where the action happens.
在 is first of all a verb: “to be at, to be in”. 我在家 is a complete sentence, “I am at home”. There is no 是 in it: 是 links two nouns, and “I am at home” does not say that I am a home. English speakers who start from “I am” tend to say 我是在家; the 是 has to go.
The same 在 + place can stand in front of another verb, and then it says where that action happens: 我在银行工作, “I work at a bank”. English puts “at a bank” after the verb; Chinese puts it before, because the place is part of the scene — the same reason the time comes first.
The negative goes in front of 在, not in front of the main verb: 他不在家, “he is not at home”, and 我不在家吃饭, “I don’t eat at home”. The question word for place is 哪儿: 你在哪儿, “where are you?”.
When a sentence has a time as well, the order is subject, time, 在 + place, verb: 我明天在家休息. A few verbs — 住, 坐, 放 — can also take 在 after them; that is explained below.
The form
| be at (verb) | 我在家。 |
| not there | 他不在家。 |
| where? | 你在哪儿？ |
| the place of an action | 我在银行工作。 |
| with a time | 我明天在家吃饭。 |
| question | 你爸爸在家吗？ |
The rules one by one
The form this topic is aboutThe word that calls for it
在 on its own is the verb “to be at”, and it needs no 是.
我朋友在学校。My friend is at school.
Before another verb, 在 + place says where the action happens, and it comes before that verb.
她在医院工作。She works at a hospital.
To negate, put 不 before 在, not before the main verb.
我不在家吃午饭。I don’t have lunch at home.
Time comes before place: subject, time, 在 + place, verb.
我们晚上在饭馆见。We are meeting at the restaurant this evening.
A closer look
Zài after the verb
With a handful of verbs 在 + place follows the verb instead: 请坐在这儿, “please sit here”, 名字写在这儿, “write your name here”. These are verbs after which somebody or something ends up somewhere: you sit and are then on the chair, you write and the name is then on the form.
So the two positions say two different things. Before the verb, 在 + place is where the action takes place; after it, the place where the person or thing comes to rest as a result. For most verbs — work, eat, study, read — only the first position is possible.
Exceptions and special cases (1)
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the verb is 住, “to live”
both orders are common: 我住在上海 and 我在上海住.
我住在学校旁边。I live next to the school.
Living is both something you do in a place and a place where you stay, so it fits either pattern.
How to spot it
- 在
- 在哪儿
- 不在
- 在家
Example sentences
老师在教室。The teacher is in the classroom.
你现在在哪儿？Where are you now?
我哥哥在北京上大学。My older brother is at university in Beijing.
我们在图书馆看书。We read in the library.
王老师今天不在。Teacher Wang is not in today.
孩子们在外面玩儿。The children are playing outside.
7 more example sentences
你爸爸在家吗？Is your father at home?
我的手机在包里。My phone is in my bag.
他每天在公园跑步。He runs in the park every day.
我不在这儿工作。I don’t work here.
你在哪儿学汉语？Where do you study Chinese?
我妈妈在厨房做饭。My mother is cooking in the kitchen.
我们明天在学校门口见。We’ll meet at the school gate tomorrow.
Worth knowing (1)
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The same word for “in the middle of”
Before a verb with no place after it, 在 says that an action is going on right now: 他在吃饭, “he is eating”. That is the progressive, a topic of its own; here it is enough to see that a place word after 在 decides which meaning is meant.
妈妈在睡觉。Mum is asleep.
The trap English speakers fall into
Watch out
English needs “am” in “I am at home”, so learners add 是. But 在 is already the verb — it means “to be at” — and a second verb for “be” has nothing left to do.
Zài is the verb for where you are, and zài plus a place goes before what you do there.
Your turn
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