Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒmen xiàge xīngqī zài xuéxiào yǒu zhōngwén kè. - Next week we have Chinese class at school.

The verb 有 yǒu stays the same for past, present, and future.
Time words like 下个星期 (next week), 明天 (tomorrow), 现在 (now), 昨天 (yesterday) tell you when it happens.

So:

我们下个星期在学校有中文课。
Literally: We next week at school have Chinese class. → We will have Chinese class at school next week.

If you really want to emphasize the future, you can add something like 会 huì (“will”), but it’s not required:

我们下个星期在学校会有中文课。

Why is the word order 我们下个星期在学校有中文课 and not closer to English “We have Chinese class at school next week”?

The typical Chinese sentence order is:

Subject + Time + Place + Verb + Object

In this sentence:

Subject: 我们 (we)
Time: 下个星期 (next week)
Place: 在学校 (at school)
Verb: 有 (have)
Object: 中文课 (Chinese class)

So the structure is:

我们 + 下个星期 + 在学校 + 有 + 中文课。

This is a very common pattern. You normally put time before place. Saying
✗ 我们在学校下个星期有中文课 is possible but sounds less natural and is less standard for learners.

What exactly does 下个星期 mean, and how is it different from other “week” words?

下个星期 (xià ge xīngqī) literally means “the next week” → “next week”.

Common related words:

这个星期 / 这星期 – this week
上个星期 / 上星期 – last week
下个星期 / 下星期 – next week

You’ll also see:

周 zhōu instead of 星期: 下周
礼拜 lǐbài instead of 星期: 下个礼拜

All are widely understood; choice depends on region and style. 星期 is very standard and safe for learners.

What is the role of 个 ge in 下个星期? Can I leave it out?

个 ge here is a measure word / classifier.

下个星期 = “the next (one) week”
下星期 (without 个) is also common and correct.

Both 下个星期 and 下星期 mean “next week”.
Using 个 is often a bit more colloquial; without 个 can sound slightly more concise or formal. As a learner, you can safely use either.

Why is it 在学校有 and not 有在学校?

In this kind of sentence:

在 + place forms a place phrase.
That place phrase usually comes before the verb.

Pattern:

[Place phrase] + Verb + Object
在学校 + 有 + 中文课

So:

在学校有中文课 – At school there is Chinese class / We have Chinese class at school.
✗ 有在学校中文课 – wrong word order.

Think of 在学校 (“at school”) as one unit that must come before 有.

Why use 有 (to have) for class? In English we say “have class”, but could Chinese also use another verb?

Yes, Chinese has two very common ways to talk about classes:

有课 / 有中文课
- Focus: whether there is a class.
- 我们下个星期在学校有中文课。
  → We have a Chinese class (it exists).
上课 / 上中文课
- Focus: attending / taking the class.
- 我们下个星期在学校上中文课。
  → We attend / take Chinese class next week.

In many contexts both are acceptable, but:

有课 often answers “Do we have class?”
上课 often describes the activity of being in class.

What is the difference between 中文 (Zhōngwén) and 汉语 (Hànyǔ)? Are both “Chinese”?

Both relate to the Chinese language, but their usual uses differ slightly:

中文
- Literally: “Chinese written language / Chinese language”.
- Very common and broad: language classes, reading, writing, speaking.
- 中文课 is the standard way to say “Chinese class” in many schools.
汉语
- More specifically: the Han ethnic group’s spoken language (i.e., Mandarin or Chinese as a linguistic term).
- Often heard in more formal or linguistic contexts: 汉语水平, 汉语语法.

In everyday speech about school:

中文课 is more common than 汉语课.

Why is it 中文课 and not 中文的课?

In Chinese, two nouns are often put directly together in a modifier + head structure, without 的, when the first noun describes the type of the second.

中文课 = 中文 (Chinese) + 课 (class)
→ “Chinese class”

Other examples:

英语课 – English class
数学课 – math class
音乐课 – music class

Adding 的 (中文的课) is grammatically possible but sounds unnatural here. For most school subjects, no 的 is the norm.

Is a measure word missing before 中文课? Why not say 一节中文课?

In this sentence, 课 is used as an uncounted noun, similar to “class” in “We have Chinese class tomorrow.”

有中文课 – there is (some) Chinese class / we have Chinese class. No need to count.

You only need a measure word when you specify a number:

一节中文课 – one Chinese class (one period/lesson)
两节中文课 – two Chinese classes
(Here 节 jié is a common measure word for “class period”.)

So:

我们下个星期有中文课。 – We have Chinese class next week.
我们下个星期有三节中文课。 – We have three Chinese classes next week.

Could I leave out 我们 and just say 下个星期在学校有中文课?

Yes, in context you often can drop 我们.

Chinese frequently omits subjects when they are clear from context. If everyone knows you’re talking about your class or your group, this can be understood as:

下个星期在学校有中文课。
→ (We) have Chinese class at school next week.

However:

For beginners and in isolated example sentences, it’s safer and clearer to keep the subject: 我们.

What does the 们 men in 我们 wǒmen do? Is it always used for plurals?

们 men is a plural marker for some pronouns and a few nouns referring to people.

我 → 我们 – I → we
你 → 你们 – you (singular) → you (plural)
他 → 他们 – he → they
她 → 她们 – she → they (females)

You cannot just add 们 to any noun to make it plural. For most nouns, plural is not marked if it’s obvious from context:

学生 can mean “student” or “students” depending on context.

So 我们 specifically means “we / us”, not just “I”.

Does 在 zài here mean “to be located at” or does it mark a progressive action like “be doing”?

In this sentence, 在 is used as a preposition meaning “at / in”:

在学校 – at school

It is not the progressive marker here.

在 can do both jobs in Chinese:

Preposition (location)
- 他在学校。 – He is at school.
- 我们在学校有中文课。 – We have Chinese class at school.
Progressive marker (be doing) – often before the verb:
- 他在上中文课。 – He is taking Chinese class (right now).

In your sentence, since 在 is followed by 学校 (a place), it’s clearly the location use.

How can I say “this week” and “last week” using the same pattern as 下个星期?

Use the same structure:

这个星期 / 这星期 – this week
- 我们这个星期在学校有中文课。
  → We have Chinese class at school this week.
上个星期 / 上星期 – last week
- 我们上个星期在学校有中文课。
  → We had Chinese class at school last week.

So the pattern is:

上(个)星期 – last week
这(个)星期 – this week
下(个)星期 – next week