Level 1 · Beginner
Time words come before the verb
Subj. + Time + Verb / Time + Subj. + Verb
Time expressions — 今天, 明天, 每天, 八点 — go before the verb, either right after the subject or at the very start of the sentence: 我明天去北京 or 明天我去北京, both "I'm going to Beijing tomorrow".
English likes time at the end ("I'm going to Beijing tomorrow"); Chinese almost never allows that. When you have both a time and a place, time comes first: 我明天在家工作.
Examples
我明天去北京。
wǒ míng tiān qù běi jīng
I'm going to Beijing tomorrow.
他每天喝咖啡。
tā měi tiān hē kā fēi
He drinks coffee every day.
我们八点上课。
我們八點上課。
wǒ men bā diǎn shàng kè
We have class at eight.
你什么时候回家？
你什麼時候回家？
nǐ shén me shí hou huí jiā
When are you going home?
Common mistakes
✗ 我去北京明天。
✓ 我明天去北京。
Time words can't sit at the end of the sentence like in English.
Related grammar points
Practice this pattern in graded stories like The Last Piece of Cake, A New Morning (Part 1), Home at Last (Part 4) inside the Literate Chinese app.
