Chinese for English speakers Cafe · Lesson 2

Preposition + verb structure

Chinese preposition + verb — 我在医院工作 (I work in the hospital) — note the order: 'I AT hospital work'.

Conversation

  1. Magicat Magicat

    你在哪里工作？

    nǐ zài nǎ lǐ gōng zuò?

    Where do you work?

    Tip: 在+place + verb <zài> = to do something somewhere literally "to be in one place to do something"

  2. Bolin Bolin

    我在医院工作。

    wǒ zài yī yuàn gōng zuò.

    I work in the hospital.

  3. Bolin Bolin

    你呢？

    nǐ ne?

    What about you?

  4. Magicat Magicat

    我在学校工作。

    wǒ zài xué xiào gōng zuò.

    I work at school.

Common questions

Quick answers about this lesson's grammar and vocabulary.

How does 在 work for actions in Chinese?

在 + place + verb: 在医院工作 = 'work in the hospital'. Different from English — place comes before verb.

Common Chinese workplace vocabulary?

医院 (hospital), 学校 (school), 公司 (company), 商店 (shop), 餐厅 (restaurant), 工厂 (factory).

What does 工作 mean?

'Work' (noun and verb). 我工作 = I work. 我的工作 = my work/job.

Test yourself

Pick the English translation for each line from this lesson. Wrong answers are pulled from other Chinese lessons.

4 quick questions on what you just heard.

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