Once you can place a single adverbial before the verb, the real test is what happens when several pile up at once — a time, a "both," a "want to," a location, a companion, a manner. English scatters these around the verb fairly freely; Chinese lines them up in a fixed sequence and never lets the verb come until the very end. The master template is:
Subject + Time + 也/都 (scope) + Modal + Place (在…) + Companion (跟…一起) + Manner + Verb
Memorise one fully-loaded sentence and you carry the whole order in your pocket:
我们明天也都想在家跟朋友一起好好休息。
wǒmen míngtiān yě dōu xiǎng zài jiā gēn péngyou yìqǐ hǎohǎo xiūxi
Tomorrow we all want to rest up properly at home with friends. (informal) — every slot is filled, in order.
The slots, in order
Each adverbial has a rank, and it always occupies that rank. Here is the loaded example broken into its slots:
| Slot | Element | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|
| Subject | 我们 | wǒmen |
| Time (when) | 明天 | míngtiān |
| Scope (也/都) | 也都 | yě dōu |
| Modal | 想 | xiǎng |
| Place (在…) | 在家 | zài jiā |
| Companion (跟…一起) | 跟朋友一起 | gēn péngyou yìqǐ |
| Manner | 好好 | hǎohǎo |
| Verb | 休息 | xiūxi |
You will rarely fill all eight slots at once, but the relative order never changes: whatever subset you use keeps this sequence.
Building it up one slot at a time
The cleanest way to feel the order is to add adverbials one by one and watch each drop into its rank.
我明天去。
wǒ míngtiān qù
I'm going tomorrow. (informal) — subject + time + verb.
我明天也去。
wǒ míngtiān yě qù
I'm going tomorrow too. (informal) — 也 (scope) slots in after the time.
我们明天也都想去。
wǒmen míngtiān yě dōu xiǎng qù
Tomorrow we all want to go too. (informal) — 也都 (scope) sit before the modal 想.
我们明天也都想在家休息。
wǒmen míngtiān yě dōu xiǎng zài jiā xiūxi
Tomorrow we all want to rest at home. (informal) — the place 在家 follows the modal.
我们明天也都想在家跟朋友一起休息。
wǒmen míngtiān yě dōu xiǎng zài jiā gēn péngyou yìqǐ xiūxi
Tomorrow we all want to rest at home with friends. (informal) — the companion follows the place.
The high seat of 也 and 都
The point English speakers slip on most is that 也 (also) and 都 (all) sit HIGH — right after the time word and before the modal and the place — not down next to the verb where English puts "also" and "all." 也 and 都 have scope over the whole predicate that follows, so they must come early. When both appear, the order is fixed as 也都 (also-all), never 都也.
他今天晚上又在办公室加班。
tā jīntiān wǎnshang yòu zài bàngōngshì jiābān
He's working overtime at the office again tonight. (neutral) — time (今天晚上) + scope-adverb 又 + place (在办公室) + verb.
周末我常常在家一边听音乐一边看书。
zhōumò wǒ chángcháng zài jiā yìbiān tīng yīnyuè yìbiān kàn shū
On weekends I often read at home while listening to music. (informal) — time + frequency + place + manner + verb.
For where negators like 不/没 fit into this stack, see where negators and modals sit; for the individual behaviour of these scope words see 也 'also' and 都 'all'.
Common Mistakes
1. Putting 也 after the modal. Scope words outrank modals — 也 comes before 想, 要, 会, not after.
❌ 我明天想也去。
Incorrect — 也 must precede the modal: 明天也想去.
✅ 我明天也想去。
wǒ míngtiān yě xiǎng qù
I want to go tomorrow too.
2. Placing the time word after the place. Time outranks place; when comes before where.
❌ 我在家明天休息。
Incorrect — the time 明天 must precede the place 在家.
✅ 我明天在家休息。
wǒ míngtiān zài jiā xiūxi
I'll rest at home tomorrow.
3. Floating the manner phrase to the end. A manner adverbial belongs right before the verb, never trailing after it.
❌ 他们复习很认真地。
Incorrect — the manner phrase 认真地 must come just before the verb.
✅ 他们很认真地复习。
tāmen hěn rènzhēn de fùxí
They review very conscientiously.
4. Sending 都 after the verb. 都 scopes leftward over the subject, so it sits before the verb block, not after it.
❌ 我们去公园都。
Incorrect — 都 belongs before the verb: 我们都去公园.
✅ 我们都去公园。
wǒmen dōu qù gōngyuán
We're all going to the park.
Key Takeaways
- The master order is Subject + Time + 也/都 + Modal + Place (在) + Companion (跟) + Manner + Verb.
- Whatever subset of adverbials you use, they keep this relative sequence — the verb comes last.
- 也 and 都 sit high (after the time, before the modal and place), not next to the verb; when both appear it is 也都.
- Broader-scope words sit further left; the manner phrase hugs the verb.
- Watch the classic slips: 也/都 after the modal, time after place, and manner floated to the end.
Now practice Chinese
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Start learning Chinese→Related Topics
- The Canonical Adverbial OrderHSK 3 — Pre-verbal modifiers follow one fixed sequence: Subject > Time > 也/都 > Place (在…) > Manner/with-whom > Verb. 我明天在家跟朋友一起看电影 — everything stacks BEFORE the verb.
- 也 (Also) and Its PlacementHSK 1 — 也 (yě) means 'also / too / either' and clamps to the predicate — after the subject, before the verb or adjective (我也去, 她也很高) — and in negatives it comes before 不/没 (我也不去).
- 都 (All/Both) and Backward ScopeHSK 1 — 都 (dōu) means 'all / both' but sums up what comes BEFORE it — the plural thing must precede 都 (我们都去, 这些都很贵) — and its position relative to 不 flips the meaning (都不 'none' vs 不都 'not all').
- Where Negators and Modals SitHSK 2 — 不/没 and modal verbs come after the subject and time/scope words but BEFORE the coverb+verb: 我不在家吃饭 'I don't eat at home', 我想在家休息 'I want to rest at home', 他没跟我说 'he didn't tell me'.