Word
周末 我们 不 想 去 聚会， 只 想 在 家 休息。zhōumò wǒmen bù xiǎng qù jùhuì, zhǐ xiǎng zài jiā xiūxi.
Meaning
On weekends we don’t want to go to parties; we just want to rest at home.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Questions & Answers about zhōumò wǒmen bù xiǎng qù jùhuì, zhǐ xiǎng zài jiā xiūxi.
Why does 周末 come at the very beginning? Can I say 我们周末不想去聚会 instead?
Time words in Chinese usually come first in the sentence, in the order:
(Time) + (Subject) + (Adverb / Negation) + Verb + Object
So:
- 周末 我们 不想 去 聚会 …
= On the weekend, we don’t want to go to the party…
You can also say:
- 我们周末不想去聚会，只想在家休息。
That’s also correct and natural. Putting 周末 first just emphasizes the time a bit more and follows a very common pattern. Both word orders are fine:
- 周末，我们不想… (slightly more “topic-comment”: As for the weekend, we don’t want…)
- 我们周末不想… (a bit more like English “We don’t want … on the weekend.”)
Why is 不想 used instead of 不要 or 没想?