Location with 在 — Chinese grammar (HSK 1)

Subject + 在 + Place (+ Verb)

在 (zài) means "to be at / in" a place: 我在家 is "I am at home", with no extra verb needed. When you want to say what someone does at a place, the 在-phrase goes before the action verb, the opposite of English: 我在北京工作 is literally "I at Beijing work".

Examples

我在家。 Wǒ zài jiā.	I am at home.
小雨在学校。 Xiǎoyǔ zài xuéxiào.	Xiaoyu is at school.
我在北京工作。 Wǒ zài Běijīng gōngzuò.	I work in Beijing.

Tip: Place comes before the verb; 我工作在北京 is a common English-speaker mistake.