Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā xǐhuan zuò zài chuānghu pángbiān de yǐzi shàng kàn shū. - He likes to sit on the chair by the window and read.

Turns the phrase 窗户旁边 into a modifier for 椅子.
Creates something similar to an English relative clause:
- “the chair that is next to the window”

General pattern:

A + 的 + B = “the B that is A / B of A / A’s B”, depending on context.

Example:

我哥哥的书 = my older brother’s book
在门口的狗 = the dog that is at the door

Why do we need 上 after 椅子? Isn’t 椅子 already “chair”? Why say 椅子上?

椅子 just means “chair” (the object).
椅子上 means “on the chair” (the location on top of it).

In Chinese, location is often expressed by:

place word + a “postposition” (like 上 / 里 / 下 / 旁边 etc.)

Here:

椅子 = chair
椅子上 = on the chair
椅子下 = under the chair
椅子旁边 = beside the chair

In the sentence:

坐在椅子上 = sit on the chair

So 上 is crucial for expressing the idea of “on top of”; 椅子 alone doesn’t include that meaning.

What is 在 doing in 坐在窗户旁边的椅子上? Isn’t 坐 already “to sit”? Why add 在?

Here, 坐在 is:

坐 (to sit)
在 (at/in/on)

Together, it works like “to sit at/in/on (somewhere)”.

Structure:

Verb + 在 + place
= do something at/in/on some place

Examples:

坐在椅子上 = sit on the chair
住在北京 = live in Beijing
站在门口 = stand at the door

So in the sentence:

坐在窗户旁边的椅子上 = sit on the chair next to the window

在 marks the location where the action of 坐 happens.

Why does the sentence say 喜欢坐在……看书 without any word for “and”? In English we’d say “sit and read”.

Chinese often uses serial verbs: multiple verbs in a row without a conjunction like “and”.

Structure here:

他喜欢 坐在窗户旁边的椅子上 看书
= He likes [sitting on the chair next to the window] [reading].

Two actions:

坐在椅子上 (sit on the chair) — a kind of setting / manner
看书 (read) — the main activity

Chinese tends to present them in sequence:

(do this) + (and meanwhile / then) (do that)

Other examples:

他回家吃饭。= He goes home (and) eats.
我去图书馆看书。= I go to the library (and) read.

So no separate word for “and” is needed; the two verbs simply follow each other, and the relationship is understood from context.

Does 喜欢 + verb mean “like to do” or “like doing”? Is there a difference?

In Chinese, 喜欢 + verb covers both:

“like to do (something)”
“like doing (something)”

In this sentence:

他喜欢坐在窗户旁边的椅子上看书

can be translated naturally as:

He likes to sit on the chair next to the window and read.
He likes sitting on the chair next to the window and reading.

Chinese doesn’t distinguish infinitive vs. -ing form the way English does.
Just remember:

喜欢 + [action] = “to like [doing that action]”

For example:

我喜欢喝咖啡。= I like to drink / I like drinking coffee.
她喜欢唱歌。= She likes to sing / She likes singing.

How do we know the tense? Why isn’t there any word like “does”, “is”, or “will” in the Chinese sentence?

Chinese doesn’t use tense the same way English does. There’s no direct equivalent of “does”, “is”, “will” as tense markers.

他喜欢坐在窗户旁边的椅子上看书。

By default, this kind of sentence is talking about a general habit or preference, like English simple present:

“He likes sitting on the chair next to the window to read.”

If we need to show past, completed, ongoing, etc., Chinese normally uses time words and aspect particles, for example:

昨天他在窗户旁边的椅子上看书。
= Yesterday he read on the chair next to the window.
他一直坐在窗户旁边的椅子上看书。
= He has been sitting on the chair next to the window reading.

So tense is mostly inferred from context and time expressions, not from verb changes.

Does 看书 mean “read a book” or “read books” or “study”? How specific is it?

看书 literally is:

看 = to look / to read
书 = book(s)

But in actual usage:

read (a) book / books — number is often unspecified:
- 我在看书。= I’m reading (a book / books).
Often has the broader sense “study / read academic material”:
- 他在图书馆看书。= He’s in the library reading / studying.

Context decides whether it feels like “reading something for fun” or “studying”.
There is no article (a/the) and no plural marker in 看书 itself; Chinese usually leaves that implicit unless needed:

看一本书 = read a book (one specific book)
看很多书 = read many books

Could we also say 他喜欢在窗户旁边的椅子上坐着看书? What’s the difference?

Yes, that’s a very natural alternative:

他喜欢在窗户旁边的椅子上坐着看书。

Differences:

Word order of 在 phrase
- Original: 他喜欢 坐在窗户旁边的椅子上 看书
- Alternative: 他喜欢 在窗户旁边的椅子上坐着 看书
Both are grammatical.
- Original emphasizes the action as “sit-at (somewhere)” + read.
- Alternative emphasizes “being seated at (somewhere)” + read.
Use of 着
- 坐着 shows a continuous state: “while sitting / in the state of sitting”.
- It slightly highlights that he is seated as a background state while reading.

Nuance:

Original: He likes to sit on that chair and read.
Alternative: He likes to be sitting on that chair while reading.

In many everyday contexts, they’re extremely close in meaning and both sound natural.

What’s the difference between 窗户 and 窗? Could we say 窗旁边的椅子?

窗户 (chuānghu) = “window” (usual, everyday word)
窗 (chuāng) = also “window”, but:
- more literary / compact
- often seen in compounds or set phrases, e.g. 窗台 (windowsill), 开窗 (open the window)

In spoken, everyday Mandarin, people normally say:

窗户
- 窗户旁边的椅子 = the chair next to the window

You can say 窗旁边的椅子, and it’s understandable and not wrong, but it sounds a bit more written/literary or compressed. For learners, 窗户 is the safer, more natural choice for “window”.

Why isn’t there a measure word like 一把椅子? Shouldn’t it be “one chair next to the window”?

Measure words (like 把, 个, 张…) are required in Chinese when you have:

a number (一, 两, 三, etc.)
a demonstrative (这, 那, 每, etc.)

For example:

一把椅子 = one chair
那把椅子 = that chair

In the sentence:

窗户旁边的椅子上

there is no number (“one”, “two”) and no demonstrative (“this”, “that”), so there is no need for a measure word.

The phrase just means “the chair (or chairs) next to the window” in a general, context-dependent way. Chinese often leaves out number unless it must be specified.

If you really want to specify one particular chair, you could say:

他喜欢坐在窗户旁边那把椅子上看书。
= He likes to sit on that chair next to the window and read.