Questions & Answers about jīnwǎn wǒ huì mǎidān.
Why is the time word 今晚 at the beginning of the sentence?
In Mandarin, time words often come near the beginning of the sentence, before the main verb.
So:
- 今晚 我 会 买单。
- literally: Tonight, I will pay the bill.
A very common basic order is:
- Time + Subject + Auxiliary/Modal + Verb
You could think of it as setting the scene first: tonight, then saying who is doing something, then what will happen.
What exactly does 今晚 mean, and how is it different from 今天晚上?
今晚 means tonight.
It is a shorter, very common way to say:
- 今天晚上 = this evening / tonight
So:
- 今晚 = more compact
- 今天晚上 = a little fuller, but same basic meaning in many contexts
In everyday speech, both are natural.
For example:
- 今晚我会买单。
- 今天晚上我会买单。
Both can mean I’ll pay tonight.
What does 会 mean here?