Chinese grammar › HSK 1
Time words and word order — Chinese grammar (HSK 1)
Subject + Time + Verb + Object / Time + Subject + Verb + Object
Time expressions such as 今天, 明天, 下午, 三点 come before the verb, either right after the subject or at the very start of the sentence. English puts them at the end ("I go to Beijing tomorrow"), which sounds wrong in Chinese. When you combine several time words, go from the biggest unit to the smallest: 明天下午三点.
Examples
| 我明天去北京。 Wǒ míngtiān qù Běijīng. | I am going to Beijing tomorrow. | |
| 他下午三点来。 Tā xiàwǔ sān diǎn lái. | He is coming at three in the afternoon. | |
| 今天上午我在医院。 Jīntiān shàngwǔ wǒ zài yīyuàn. | This morning I was at the hospital. |