This is the master template for Chinese word order, and it is where English habits do the most damage. English scatters modifiers after the verb: "watch a movie at home with friends tomorrow." Chinese does the exact opposite — every circumstantial modifier stacks in front of the verb, in one fixed sequence: Subject > Time > 也/都 > Place > Manner/with-whom > Verb. The whole information load piles up before you finally reach the action. Read the anchor sentence slot by slot and the template is yours: 我 (I) + 明天 (tomorrow) + 在家 (at home) + 跟朋友一起 (with friends) + 看电影 (watch a movie). A useful mnemonic is "who — when — where — how — what."
The slot template
Think of the pre-verbal zone as a row of labelled boxes. You don't have to fill every box, but whatever you do include must go in this order. Time comes before place; place comes before manner; the verb comes last.
| Slot | Question it answers | Example filler |
|---|---|---|
| who? | 我 |
| 什么时候? | 明天 |
| also? all? | 都 |
| 在哪儿? | 在家 |
| 怎么? 跟谁? | 跟朋友一起, 好好 |
| do what? | 看电影 |
我明天在家好好休息。
wǒ míngtiān zài jiā hǎohǎo xiūxi
I'll rest up properly at home tomorrow. — Subject + Time + Place + Manner + Verb.
我明天在家跟朋友一起看电影。
wǒ míngtiān zài jiā gēn péngyou yìqǐ kàn diànyǐng
Tomorrow I'm watching a movie with friends at home. — the full four-slot stack before the verb.
他每天早上在公园跑步。
tā měitiān zǎoshang zài gōngyuán pǎobù
He runs in the park every morning. — Time (每天早上) then Place (在公园) then Verb.
Time before place, place before manner
The internal ordering is rigid. Swapping time and place, or floating a manner phrase past the verb, both sound wrong to a native ear. Below, the same slots recombine across different sentences — notice the order never changes even as the fillers do.
我下午在图书馆认真看书。
wǒ xiàwǔ zài túshūguǎn rènzhēn kàn shū
Manner > Verb." />
她昨天用中文给我写了一封信。
tā zuótiān yòng zhōngwén gěi wǒ xiě le yì fēng xìn
recipient (给我) > Verb." />
孩子们高高兴兴地回家了。
háizimen gāogāoxìngxìng de huí jiā le
The children went home happily. — a manner adverb + 地 sits right before the verb.
The scope adverbs 也 and 都 live between the time slot and the place slot, hugging the verb phrase they quantify. This is the same pre-verbal placement that governs all adverbs; the canonical order simply tells you where they sit relative to time and place.
我们晚上都在他家聚。
wǒmen wǎnshang dōu zài tā jiā jù
Place > Verb." />
The one real exception: post-verbal 在
Honesty check: a small set of verbs — chiefly 住 (live), 放 (put), 坐 (sit), 站 (stand), 挂 (hang) — allow the 在-phrase to sit after the verb, because there it marks the resulting location rather than the setting of the action. 我在家吃饭 (I eat at home — 在 before) versus 我住在北京 (I live in Beijing — 在 after). There's no shortcut here; you learn this handful of "post-verbal 在" verbs as they come. For everything else, 在 stays in its pre-verbal slot.
我住在北京，在家工作。
wǒ zhù zài Běijīng, zài jiā gōngzuò
I live in Beijing and work from home. — 在 after 住 (result), but before 工作 (setting).
Common Mistakes
1. English-style tails — modifiers after the verb. The classic calque: translating "watch a movie tomorrow at home" word-for-word.
❌ 我看电影明天在家。
Incorrect — time and place must precede the verb, not trail it.
✅ 我明天在家看电影。
wǒ míngtiān zài jiā kàn diànyǐng
Tomorrow I'll watch a movie at home. — modifiers stack before the verb.
2. Place before time. English allows "at home tomorrow," but Chinese fixes time first.
❌ 我在家明天休息。
Incorrect — time comes before place: 明天在家, not 在家明天.
✅ 我明天在家休息。
wǒ míngtiān zài jiā xiūxi
I'll rest at home tomorrow. — Time before Place.
3. A manner phrase stranded after the verb. 一起, 好好, and 地-adverbs belong in front of the verb.
❌ 我们吃饭一起。
Incorrect — 一起 is a manner modifier and precedes the verb.
✅ 我们一起吃饭。
wǒmen yìqǐ chīfàn
Let's eat together. — 一起 before the verb.
4. Putting the setting-location 在-phrase after the verb. For most verbs, location-of-action goes before the verb; only the 住/放/坐-type verbs take post-verbal 在.
❌ 我休息在家。
Incorrect — 休息 takes its 在-phrase before the verb.
✅ 我在家休息。
wǒ zài jiā xiūxi
I rest at home. — 在家 precedes the verb.
Key Takeaways
- One fixed pre-verbal sequence: Subject > Time > 也/都 > Place (在…) > Manner/with-whom > Verb.
- Mnemonic: who – when – where – how – what; everything stacks before the verb, never after.
- Time before place, place before manner — the internal order is rigid.
- Related drills: where time words go and ordering multiple adverbs.
- The main exception is post-verbal 在 with 住/放/坐/站/挂, where 在 marks a resulting location.
Now practice Chinese
Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.
Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- Where Time Words GoHSK 2 — Point-in-time words sit BEFORE the verb — right after the subject, or before it for emphasis: 我明天去 / 明天我去. Never at the end like English (❌我去明天). Duration is a separate matter and follows the verb.
- Where the 在… Place Phrase GoesHSK 2 — A location where an action happens is a 在… phrase placed BEFORE the verb (我在家吃饭 'I eat at home'); only result-location verbs let 在… follow the verb (住在北京, 放在桌子上).
- Stacking Several AdverbialsHSK 4 — The master order when adverbials pile up: Subject + Time + 也/都 (scope) + Modal + Place (在) + Companion (跟) + Manner + Verb — 我们明天也都想在家跟朋友一起好好休息。
- Adverbs Go Before the VerbHSK 1 — The cardinal rule of Chinese adverbs: they sit after the subject and before the verb or adjective — 我也去, 他很忙, 我经常运动 — and can never trail at the end of the clause the way English adverbs do.