University of Cambridge Language Centre Chinese Intermediate

Sentence order

Reference

Duration and Location

Duration – for a certain period of time: verb + duration

Location – at/in/on… somewhere: location + verb

Remember that location is put before the verb* and duration is always put after the verb.

I worked for two years.

工作了两年

I worked for two years in Beijing.

在北京工作了两年

He waited for a long time.

等了很久

He waited for a long time at the airport.

在机场等了很久

I slept for a short while.

睡了一会儿

I slept for a short while on the plane.

在飞机上睡了一会儿

* Except for the verb :

When there is no duration, put location after :

e.g. I live in London. →我在伦敦

When there is duration, location is put before the verb as usual:

e.g. I lived in London for three years. → 我在伦敦住了三年

Complement of manner

Complement of manner – Commenting on how someone does something:

verb+object+verb++adjective

  • 足球

    (English people) play football well

  • 中文

    (You) speak Chinese well

Making sentences

These sentences have been jumbled up. Put the words into the correct order so that the sentences make sense again. The first click on the help button shows the first two words of the sentence. The second click shows the first four words of the sentence. The third click shows the full answer. Use the audios to check your answers.

hint 1

  • 北京

  • 一个

  • 星期

我在北京待了一个星期。

hint 2

  • 家人

  • 一起

  • 伦敦

我和家人一起住在伦敦。

hint 3

  • 英文

你英文说得真好。

check Answers