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Usages of zài
她 现在 在 学习 呢。tā xiànzài zài xuéxí ne.
She is studying now.
他 在 做 这 个 吗？tā zài zuò zhè gè ma?
Is he doing this?
你 在 做 什么？nǐ zài zuò shénme?
What are you doing?
他 没 看见 我， 因为 他 一直 在 打 电话。tā méi kànjiàn wǒ, yīnwèi tā yìzhí zài dǎ diànhuà.
He didn't see me because he was on the phone the whole time.
我们 一直 在 学习， 下午 才 吃 午饭。wǒmen yìzhí zài xuéxí, xiàwǔ cái chī wǔfàn.
We were studying the whole time and only ate lunch in the afternoon.
他 连 午饭 都 没 吃， 因为 一直 在 开会。Tā lián wǔfàn dōu méi chī, yīnwèi yìzhí zài kāihuì.
He didn’t even eat lunch because he was in meetings the whole time.
夏天 的 晚上， 公园 里 很 多 人 不 想 一直 在 开 着 空调 的 房间 里， 而是 想 出来 散步。xiàtiān de wǎnshang, gōngyuán lǐ hěn duō rén bù xiǎng yìzhí zài kāi zhe kōngtiáo de fángjiān lǐ, érshì xiǎng chūlái sànbù.
On summer evenings, many people in the park don’t want to stay in air‑conditioned rooms; instead, they want to come out for a walk.
书店 今天 很多 书 都 在 打折。shūdiàn jīntiān hěnduō shū dōu zài dǎzhé.
Many books are on sale at the bookstore today.
Test yourself: What does zài mean?
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