HSK 1

TIME S V

(time phrase)

Structure

Time word + Subject + Verb (OR) Subject + Time word + Verb

How it works

In Chinese, time expressions designate when an action occurs and must be placed before the verb. These time phrases can be positioned either before the subject or immediately after the subject, but never at the end of the sentence.

Examples

八点我喝茶。

Bā diǎn wǒ hē chá.

I drink tea at eight o'clock.

明天你来我家吗？

Míngtiān nǐ lái wǒ jiā ma?

Are you coming to my house tomorrow?

星期五我们去学校。

Xīngqīwǔ wǒmen qù xuéxiào.

We go to school on Friday.

Common mistakes

Placing the time word at the end of the sentence (e.g., *我吃饭八点 is incorrect).

Tip

Think of the time word as a 'setting' for the scene; you must set the time before you describe the action.

More HSK 1 grammar

什么什么 N 不是是吗?谁哪 M N (的)

See TIME S V in real Chinese

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