"And [the apostles] saw what appeared to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in foreign languages as the Spirit enabled them." - Acts 2:3-4
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Lesson 2.5: Location
Like so many other grammar concepts, describing location in Chinese is different from English, but still straightforward.
Stating location
The simplest way to describe location is to give it as a statement. To do that, use the verb 在 (zài, to be at).
Example:我们在北京。 (wǒ men zài běi jīng, We are in Beijing.)Example:他家在美国。 (tā jiā zài měi guó, His home is in the United States.)Example:你在哪里？ (nǐ zài nǎ lǐ, Where are you?)
Even though the English sentences include some form of “to be,” don’t use 是 or 很 because 在 is already a verb in itself, unlike the English “at.”
To express more specific positions, like “in” or “on,” use one of the following position words along with 在:
上 (shàng, on)
下 (xià, under)
里 (lǐ, inside)
外 (wài, outside)
前面 (qián miàn, in front)
后面 (hòu miàn, behind)
左边 (zuǒ biān, to the left)
右边 (yòu biān, to the right)
中间 (zhōng jiān, in the middle)
旁边 (páng biān, beside)
对面 (duì miàn, across from)
To use one of those words, follow the format [noun 1]在[noun 2][position word].
Example:它在盒子上。 (tā zài hé zi shàng, It is on the box.)Example:它在盒子里。 (tā zài hé zi lǐ, It is in the box.)Example:它在盒子后面。 (tā zài hé zi hòu miàn, It is behind the box.)Example:它在盒子右边。 (tā zài hé zi yòu biān, It is to the right of the box.)
Embedded location
You can also give the location of something without dedicating the whole sentence to that location. To do that, insert a phrase of the following format into a complete sentence: [noun 1][position word]的[noun 2].
Example:我看见 (wǒ kàn jiàn, I saw) + 房子 (fáng zi, house) + 里 (lǐ, inside) + 的 + 人 (rén, person) = 我看见房子里的人 (wǒ kàn jiàn fáng zi lǐ de rén, I saw the person inside the house).Example:桌子 (zhuō zi, table) + 上 (shàng, on) + 的 + 书 (shū, book) + 是 (shì, is) + 她的 (tā de, hers) = 桌子上的书是她的 (zhuō zi shàng de shū shì tā de, The book on the table is hers).Example:我认识 (wǒ rèn shi, I know) + 女人 (nǚ rén, woman) + 旁边 (páng biān, beside) + 的 + 男孩 (nán hái, boy) = 我认识女人旁边的男孩 (wǒ rèn shi nǚ rén páng biān de nán hái, I know the boy beside the woman).Example:去 (qù, to go) + 学校 (xué xiào, school) + 前面 (qián miàn, in front) + 的 + 路 (lù, road) = 去学校前面的路 (qù xué xiào qián miàn de lù, Go to the road in front of the school).
Location of the verb
It’s sometimes helpful to give the location of the verb instead of the location of a noun. You can do that with this format: [subject]在[noun][position word, optional][rest of sentence]
Example:我 (wǒ, I) + 在 + 医院 (yī yuàn, hospital) + 工作 (gōng zuò, work) = 我在医院工作 (wǒ zài yī yuàn gōng zuò, I work at a hospital).Example:他们 (tā men, they) + 在 + 饭馆 (fàn guǎn, restaurant) + 里 (lǐ, inside) + 打架了 (dǎ jià le, got into a fight) = 他们在饭馆里打架了 (tā men zài fàn guǎn lǐ dǎ jià le, They got into a fight in the restaurant).Example:邬家舜 (wū jiā shùn, Wu Jiashun) + 在 + 山 (shān, mountain) + 上 (shàng, on) + 跑步 (pǎo bù, running) = 邬家舜在山上跑步 (wū jiā shùn zài shān shàng pǎo bù, Wu Jiashun is running on the mountain).