City University of Hong Kong CLASS CLASS
Making Sense of Grammar
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asked Dec 8, 2020 in Questions about Chinese Grammar by Ariel (34,480 points) | 137 views

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Sentences expressing existence (i.e. something exists somewhere) normally begin with a time or location word (or expression). The most common involve the verb 有 yǒu, which follows the time/location word (or expression) and is then itself followed by the relevant noun:

昨天有一场足球赛。

Zuó tiān yǒu yī chǎng zú qiú sài 。

There was a football match yesterday./Yesterday, there was a football match.

大学对面有一家书店。

Dà xué duì miàn yǒu yī jiā shū diàn 。

There is a bookshop opposite the university. /Opposite the university there is a bookshop.

这儿没有人。

Zhè ér méi yǒu rén 。

There is no one here. (lit. Here there are no people.)

树上没有鸟儿。

Shù shàng méi yǒu niǎo ér 。

There are no birds in the tree.

[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.

answered Dec 8, 2020 by Ariel (34,480 points)

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