▎談, tán, (V), talk, vs. 說, shuō, (V), speak (See 說shuō)

▎談到, tándào, talking of (See 說到shuōdào)

▎Time and Place of Events (1)

 

Function The time and place of instances are often specified in sentences using, the sequence Time＋Place＋Event. The subject of the sentence occurs either in front of or after Time.

1 他和他朋友下午在教室寫書法。

Tā hàn tā péngyǒu xiàwǔ zài jiàoshì xiě shūfǎ.

He and his friends practice calligraphy in the afternoons in the afternoon in the classroom.

2 昨天晚上我到我家附近的咖啡店喝咖啡。

Zuótiān wǎnshàng wǒ dào wǒ jiā fùjìn de kāfēi diàn hē kāfēi.

Last night, I went to a coffee shop near my house to have some coffee.

3 我們這個週末去圖書館看書。

Wǒmen zhè ge zhōumò qù túshūguǎn kànshū.

We will go to the library this weekend to study.

4 你們明天早上十一點到我家來吃牛肉麵。

Nǐmen míngtiān zǎoshàng shíyīdiǎn dào wǒ jiā lái chī niúròu miàn.

You guys come to my house to have beef noodles at 11:00 tomorrow morning.

 

Structures

Negation：The negative marker 不 appears before place elements.

1 我晚上不在家吃飯。

Wǒ wǎnshàng bú zài jiā chīfàn.

I don’t eat dinner at home in the evenings.

2 他和他哥哥最近都不來學校上課。

Tā hàn tā gēge zuìjìn dōu bù lái xuéxiào shàngkè.

He and his brother haven’t come to school for classes lately.

3 他們這個週末不去山上看風景。

Tāmen zhè ge zhōumò bú qù shān shàng kàn fēngjǐng.

They are not going up the mountain to view the scenery this weekend.

Questions：

1 你下午要不要來學校打籃球？

Nǐ xiàwǔ yào bú yào lái xuéxiào dǎ lánqiú?

Would you like to come to school to play basketball in the afternoon?

2 你們現在在我家附近的商店買手機嗎？

Nǐmen xiànzài zài wǒ jiā fùjìn de shāngdiàn mǎi shǒujī ma?

Are you buying a cell phone in the shop near my house right now?

3 你朋友晚上幾點去KTV唱歌？

Nǐ péngyǒu wǎnshàng jǐdiǎn qù KTV chànggē?

What time do your friends go to KTV to sing in the evening?

4 他們什麼時候到花蓮看籃球比賽？

Tāmen shénme shíhòu dào Huālián kàn lánqiú bǐsài?

When are they going to Hualien to watch the basketball game?

5 你和你妹妹明天早上要去哪裡看電影？

Nǐ hàn nǐ mèimei míngtiān zǎoshàng yào qù nǎlǐ kàn diànyǐng?

Where are you and your sister going to go see the movie tomorrow morning?

 

Usage

(1) Every instance involves a time and a place. While the time and place may not be explicitly stated in the sentence, they are typically evident from the context. If there is no context, the references are ‘right now’ and ‘right here’.

(2) Note the word order. Time comes before place. For example, to express ‘I don’t eat dinner at home in the evening’, we say 我晚上不在家吃飯。Wǒ wǎnshàng bú zài jiā chīfàn. or 晚上我不在家吃飯。Wǎnshàng wǒ bú zài jiā chīfàn., but not ＊我不在家吃飯晚上。＊Wǒ bú zài jiā chīfàn wǎnshàng.