Grammar

时间状语

The Adverbial of Time

The adverbial of time modifying the predicate generally follows the subject. Sometimes in order to emphasize the time, it can be put before the subject to modify the whole sentence.

Example:

珍妮晚上去看电影。(晚上 put between the subject and the predicate)

Zhēnní wǎnshang qù kàn diànyǐng.

晚上珍妮去看电影。(晚上 put before the subject to emphasize the time)

Wǎnshang Zhēnní qù kàn diànyǐng.

This evening Jenny will go to watch a film.

Exercises:

Use different ways to rewrite the following sentences.

Examples:

马克上午上课。

Mǎkè shàngwǔ shàngkè.

上午马克上课。

Shàngwǔ Mǎkè shàngkè.

Mark has class in the morning.

1.我明天去郊游。

Wǒ míngtiān qù jiāoyóu.

I’m going on an outing tomorrow.

2.珍妮周末回来。

Zhēnní zhōumò huílai.

Jenny will be back this weekend.

3.昨天我们考试了。

Zuótiān wǒmen kǎoshì le.

We had an exam yesterday.

Reading

我在一所大学教中文。每天早晨六点半起床，七点一刻去上班，八点开始上课,中午在学校食堂吃饭。我的学生来自不同的国家，吃饭的时候他们会和我聊起各自国家的风土人情。我下午通常在办公室备课或去图书馆查资料。下班后我有时去健身房锻炼身体，有时和朋友们出去吃饭或者逛街。晚上回家后，我一边看电视一边收拾房间，十一点左右睡觉。

Wǒ zài yìsuǒ dàxué jiāo Zhōngwén. Měitiān zǎochen liùdiǎnbàn qǐchuáng, qīdiǎn yíkè qù shàngbān, bādiǎn kāishǐ shàngkè, zhōngwǔ zài xuéxiào shítáng chīfàn. Wǒ de xuésheng láizì bùtóng de guójiā, chīfàn de shíhou tāmen huì hé wǒ liáo qǐ gèzì guójiā de fēngtǔ rénqíng. Wǒ xiàwǔ tōngcháng zài bàngōngshì bèikè huò qù túshūguǎn chá zīliào. Xiàbānhòu wǒ yǒushí qù jiànshēnfáng duànliàn shēntǐ, yǒushí hé péngyoumen chūqù chīfàn huòzhě guàngjiē. Wǎnshang huíjiā hòu, wǒ yìbiān kàn diànshì yìbiān shōushi fángjiān, shíyīdiǎn zuǒyòu shuìjiào.

Translation

I teach Chinese language in a university. Every morning I get up at 6:00 and leave for work at 7:15. The class starts at 8:00. I have lunch in the dining hall. My students come from different countries. We often talk about their local customs and culture during lunch. In the afternoon, I usually prepare for the lessons in my office or go to the library. Sometimes, I go to the gym after work, and sometimes I go out for dinner or go shopping with my friends. When I get home in the evening, I often watch television while tidying up my room. I go to bed at around 11:00 pm.