Common Mistake: Chinese Word Order Is Not English Word Order
Put when and where before the action — the habit that keeps English word order out of your Mandarin.
Quick answer
When something happens and where an activity takes place come before the action: 我明天去, 我在家学中文. Question words stay where the answer would go.
Hear the phrase, then repeat it aloud.
When to use it
Build the sentence in this order: who → when → where → action
, as in 我明天在家学中文. The time can also open the sentence: 明天我在家学中文.
Common mistake
Adding the time or the place at the end, as English does: 我去明天, 我学中文在家. In Mandarin they come before the verb
.
- Not
我学中文在家。- Say
- 我在家学中文。
Practise aloud
You’ve got this!
Make three sentences about your own week in the same order, changing only the time or the place each time.
Two patterns work differently, and you will meet them later: how long something lasts comes after the verb (我学了两年中文), and with verbs like 住 and 放, 在 + place follows the verb (书放在桌子上).