Chinese Grammar: Lesson Part 1: 在 to talk about where you are

Lupishu is still learning his way around the Nincha village, and 在 is, therefore, an important word to learn. 在 is very common in Chinese and can be used to express several things: where something is and the fact that something exists.

在: to be located in/at/on

在 is one of the keywords in Chinese to indicate location. It means “to be in”; “to be on”; “to be at”. It is usually placed directly after the subject.

Structure

Subject + 在 + Place

Unlike in English, where we say “to be + somewhere”, 在 expresses a location on its own and does not require a verb like “是(shì)”in front of it.

Examples

他 在 上海。
He is in Shanghai.

我 在 学校。
I am at school.

我们 在 中国。
We are in China.

Not somewhere

To say something isn’t there, add a negation such as 不 in front of 在.

Examples

我 的 猫 不在 家。
My cat isn’t at home.

我 不在 学校。
I am not at school.

不在。
(He’s) not here.

Ask where something is

在 is also extremely useful when trying to find where something is. Just replace the place with 哪儿, which means where in Chinese.

Examples

家 在 哪儿？
Where is home?

饭馆 在 哪儿？
Where is the restaurant?

Indicate where a verb takes place in

To explain where you are or were doing something, 在 again comes in handy. You start by describing where you were doing something and then explain what you were doing.

Structure

Subject + 在 + Location + Verb + Object

Examples

我 在 学校 吃饭。
I eat at school.

他 在 北京 工作。
He works in Beijing.

As you see, in Chinese, the location is placed before the verb, quite unlike in English. Remember to place the location right after the subject and you’ll be fine.