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zài zhè gè guójiā, hěnduō chéngshì dōu yǒu ānjìng de gōngyuán.

在zài　这zhè　个gè　国家guójiā，　很多hěnduō　城市chéngshì　都dōu　有yǒu　安静ānjìng　的de　公园gōngyuán。zài zhè gè guójiā, hěnduō chéngshì dōu yǒu ānjìng de gōngyuán.
In this country, many cities all have quiet parks.
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Questions & Answers about zài zhè gè guójiā, hěnduō chéngshì dōu yǒu ānjìng de gōngyuán.

Why does the sentence start with 在这个国家 instead of putting the location later, like in English “In this country, …”? Is this a special structure?

Putting 在这个国家 at the beginning is very natural in Chinese and matches the English “In this country, …”.

Grammatically, this is a location phrase used as a topic:

  • 在这个国家，很多城市都有安静的公园。
    Literally: As for in this country, many cities all have quiet parks.

Chinese often uses “topic–comment” order:

  • Topic: what we’re talking about (在这个国家 – in this country)
  • Comment: what we say about it (很多城市都有安静的公园)

You could also say:

  • 这个国家里，很多城市都有安静的公园。
  • Or (more neutral, less “topicky”): 在这个国家很多城市都有安静的公园。 (often still with a slight pause after 国家 when spoken)

All are grammatical; the original just emphasizes the country as the overall setting.

Why do we need 个 in 这个国家? Why not just 这国家?

In modern standard Mandarin, 这 / 那 (this / that) are almost always followed by a measure word (classifier) before a noun:

  • 这 + 个 + 国家 = this country
  • 那 + 个 + 城市 = that city

So:

  • 这个国家 ✔️ natural
  • 这国家 ❌ sounds dialectal / old-fashioned / literary, not standard spoken Mandarin

There are a few set expressions without a measure word (like 这些人, 那时, 这事儿), but with 国家, the default is to use 个:

  • 一个国家, 这个国家, 那个国家
Why doesn’t 很多城市 have a measure word? Shouldn’t it be 很多个城市?

Both are possible, but they feel slightly different:

  • 很多城市 – very common, neutral: “many cities”
  • 很多个城市 – also correct, but 个 adds a sense of “many individual units”, often with a bit more emphasis on the number.

In Chinese:

  • After numbers or 这/那, a measure word is required:
    三座城市, 这个城市.
  • After indefinite quantifiers like 很多 (many), 一些 (some), 不少 (quite a few):
    • You can add a measure word: 很多个城市
    • But it is also very natural to omit it: 很多城市

So 很多城市都有安静的公园 is perfectly standard and common.

What exactly does 都 do here in 很多城市都有安静的公园? Does it mean “all”?

都 (dōu) is an adverb meaning roughly “all / both / each” and it applies to the plural subject before it.

In this sentence:

  • Subject: 很多城市 – many cities
  • 都 says: those many cities all share this property.

So:

  • 很多城市有安静的公园。 – Many cities have quiet parks. (a general statement)
  • 很多城市都有安静的公园。 – (Of those many cities,) they all have quiet parks.

The English might still just be translated “many cities have quiet parks”, but 都 adds a feeling of collective coverage: for each of those cities, this is true.

Can we omit 都? How would 很多城市有安静的公园 be different?

Yes, you can omit 都, and the sentence is still correct:

  • 在这个国家，很多城市有安静的公园。 ✔️

Difference in nuance:

  • Without 都: simple factual statement – “many cities have quiet parks.”
  • With 都: emphasizes that each of those many cities has quiet parks – sounds a bit more sweeping / comprehensive, sometimes slightly more positive.

In everyday speech, people use both. 都有 is extremely common in this kind of sentence.

Why do we use 有 in 都有安静的公园 instead of 是 or something else?

有 here means “to have / there is, there are”.

Chinese has a very common pattern:

  • Place + 有 + Thing = There is/are [Thing] in/at [Place].

In this sentence:

  • Place (subject): 很多城市
  • Verb: 有
  • Object: 安静的公园

So: “Many cities have quiet parks” or “In many cities, there are quiet parks.”

You would not use 是 here:

  • 很多城市是安静的公园。 ❌ – “Many cities are quiet parks.” (nonsense)

Alternative pattern:

  • 安静的公园在很多城市。 – “Quiet parks are in many cities.” (grammatical but unnatural without more detail like “里/中”. The Place + 有 + Thing pattern is much more natural here.)
What is the role of 的 in 安静的公园? Why can’t we just say 安静公园?

的 is a linker that turns adjectives (and other modifiers) into attributive modifiers before a noun.

Structure:

  • [adjective] + 的 + [noun]

So:

  • 安静的公园 – “quiet park(s)”
  • 大的城市 – “big city/cities”
  • 中国的城市 – “Chinese city/cities”

Without 的, 安静 usually acts as a predicate:

  • 公园很安静。 – “The park is quiet.”

You generally cannot say 安静公园 in modern standard Mandarin; it sounds very awkward or wrong. (There are some set phrases with monosyllabic adjectives directly before nouns, like 大海, 小狗, but 安静公园 is not one of them.)

So here, 的 is necessary.

What’s the difference between 安静的公园 and 公园很安静?

They describe the same idea (“quiet park / the park is quiet”) but the grammar function is different:

  • 安静的公园

    • Attributive phrase: “quiet park(s)”
    • Used before a noun, part of a noun phrase.
    • Example: 很多城市都有安静的公园。

  • 公园很安静。

    • Sentence with a predicate adjective: “The park is quiet.”
    • 公园 is subject, 很安静 is the predicate.

So:

  • To describe a noun before it → use Adj + 的 + N.
  • To make a full sentence “X is Adj” → use X 很 Adj (or similar structure).
Why is 都 placed before 有 and not somewhere else? What’s the typical position of 都?

都 is an adverb and normally goes before the main verb, after the subject.

Pattern:

  • [Subject] + 都 + [Verb/Verb phrase]

Examples:

  • 我们都喜欢他。 – We all like him.
  • 他们都去了北京。 – They all went to Beijing.

In this sentence:

  • Subject: 很多城市
  • Main verb: 有

So the natural order is:

  • 很多城市 + 都 + 有安静的公园。

You generally:

  • Do not put 都 after the verb: 很多城市有都安静的公园 ❌
  • And not at the very beginning as a separate word: 都很多城市有安静的公园 ❌
What’s the function of the comma after 在这个国家，? Is this just writing style, or does it show something about the structure?

The comma marks a topic–comment structure:

  • 在这个国家， – topic: “in this country (as for in this country)”
  • 很多城市都有安静的公园。 – comment: what is said about that topic.

In spoken Chinese, there is usually a pause after the topic. The comma reflects that pause.

You could also write it without a comma in informal contexts (especially in short sentences), but in standard writing, separating a clear topic with a comma is very common and makes the structure easier to read.

Could we say 这个国家里，很多城市都有安静的公园 instead of 在这个国家? What’s the difference between 在 and 里 here?

Yes, this is possible:

  • 这个国家里，很多城市都有安静的公园。 ✔️

Differences:

  • 在这个国家
    • 在 = “at / in / on”
    • Focuses on location as a setting: “In this country, …”
  • 这个国家里
    • 里 = “inside, within”
    • Slightly more “within the boundaries of this country” feeling.

In practice:

  • 在这个国家 is a very standard way to start this type of sentence.
  • 在这个国家里 or 这个国家里 also work and sound fine; 里 just emphasizes the idea of “within this country” a bit more.
How do we know 城市 is plural (“cities”) here? There’s no plural ending like “-s”.

Chinese nouns usually don’t mark plural with an ending. Plurality is understood from context or quantifiers.

Here, 很多 (“many”) tells us it must be plural:

  • 很多城市 = many city → many cities

Similarly:

  • 三个城市 – three cities
  • 一些城市 – some cities
  • Without any quantifier, 城市 could mean “a city” or “cities” depending on context.

So the combination of 很多 and 城市 gives a clear plural meaning even though the noun itself doesn’t change form.

Can we drop 在 and just say 这个国家很多城市都有安静的公园? Would that still be correct?

Yes, you can say:

  • 这个国家很多城市都有安静的公园。 ✔️

This is still understood as:

  • “In this country, many cities all have quiet parks.”

Differences in feel:

  • 在这个国家，很多城市…
    • Emphasizes the location phrase with 在 (“in this country”) as a topic.
  • 这个国家很多城市…
    • Feels a bit more compact, like: “This country’s many cities all have quiet parks” (though we didn’t use 的, the structure still naturally reads as “in this country, many cities…”)

Both are natural in speech; 在这个国家 with a comma is the clearest, textbook-style version.