Learn Hardcore Chinese: jīntiān xiàbān yǐhòu, wǒmen méi zǒucuò lù, zuìhòu zài gōngyuán lǐ zhǎodào le yí gè ānjìng de dìfang zuò zài yǐzi shàng. - After work today, we didn’t go the wrong way and finally found a quiet place in the park to sit on a chair.

没 (or 没有) is used to negate:
- past actions: 我没去。 – I didn’t go.
- completed events: 他没吃饭。 – He didn’t eat.
不 usually negates:
- habits / general truths: 我不吃肉。 – I don’t eat meat.
- future or planned refusal: 我不去。 – I’m not going.

Here, 走错路 is an event in the past (earlier today after work). We want to say we did not go the wrong way (in fact), so 没走错路 is correct.
不走错路 would sound like a rule, promise, or general habit: we don’t go the wrong way (as a principle), which doesn’t fit the context.

What is the structure 走错路? Is 错 an adverb, or what?

走错路 is a verb-plus-result structure:

走 – to walk / to go (by walking)
错 – wrong(ly), here used as a result complement
路 – road / way

Literally, 走错路 means walk (and as a result) be wrong about the road, i.e. take the wrong way.

In Mandarin, this pattern is very common:

看错人 – to look (at the) wrong person, mistake someone for another
说错话 – to say the wrong thing
听错了 – to hear incorrectly / mishear

So 错 here is not an adverb but a result complement indicating the outcome of the action 走.

What’s the difference between 找 and 找到, and why is there also a 了 after 找到?

找 = to look for / to search for
Focus is on the process.
找到 = 找 + 到 (verb + result complement)
Means to manage to find / to succeed in finding. Focus is on success of the action.

Then we add 了:

找到了一个安静的地方
= (we) succeeded in finding a quiet place, and this action is completed.

So, 找到 already implies success, and 了 adds the idea that this successful event is realized and complete in the past.

Compare:

我们找一个安静的地方。 – We look for a quiet place. (process)
我们找到一个安静的地方。 – We (do) find a quiet place (success, but no extra emphasis on completion in a particular time frame).
我们找到了一个安静的地方。 – We found a quiet place. (completed event in the past, very natural in a narrative)

Could the 了 be put at the end: 我们在公园里找到一个安静的地方了? What’s the difference?

Yes, 我们在公园里找到一个安静的地方了 is also grammatical, but the nuance is slightly different.

找到了一个安静的地方 (verb + 了 + object)
- Emphasizes the completion of the action of finding.
- Very neutral and common narrative style for past events.
找到一个安静的地方了 (verb + object + 了)
- Often sounds a bit more like “And as it turns out, we (now) have a quiet place”, with 了 highlighting the new state/result.
- Slightly more colloquial or “result-state” flavored.

In this story-like sentence about what happened today, 找到了一个安静的地方 is the most straightforward and natural choice.

What does 最后 do in this sentence, and where can it go?

最后 means finally / in the end and is an adverb indicating the final outcome in a sequence of events.

In the sentence:
我们没走错路，最后在公园里找到了一个安静的地方…
it means: we didn’t go the wrong way, and in the end we found a quiet place...

Common positions:

最后，我们在公园里找到了一个安静的地方。
我们最后在公园里找到了一个安静的地方。

Both are natural. Placing 最后 before 在公园里 is very common:

我们最后在公园里找到了一个安静的地方。

You usually don’t put 最后 after the verb phrase (e.g. 找到了最后…) in this meaning; that would change its function or sound wrong.

Why do we say 在公园里 instead of just 公园 or 在公园?

Each option has a slightly different feel:

公园 – just “the park” as a noun.
- 我们在公园里找到一个地方。 – we found a place in the park.
在公园 – “at the park / in the park” (location phrase with 在).
- Common and correct: 我们在公园找朋友。 – we are looking for our friend in/at the park.
在公园里 – “inside the park” with extra emphasis on the interior / inside using 里.

In this sentence, 在公园里 suggests they were inside the park area, wandering or looking around, and then found a quiet spot. 在公园 alone would also be fine; 里 just makes the sense of inside that space a bit stronger or more vivid.

What is the function of 里 in 公园里, and is it always necessary?

里 means inside / within.
公园里 = inside the park.

在公园 – at / in the park (more general).
在公园里 – inside the park (slightly more specific, “within the boundaries”).

You don’t always need 里:

我们在公园散步。 – We take a walk in the park.
我们在公园里散步。 – Same meaning, but a bit more like within the park grounds.

In many contexts, they can be used interchangeably. Here 在公园里 just makes the mental picture a bit more like “inside the park space.”

Why is it 一个安静的地方 instead of something like 一个地方很安静?

Chinese distinguishes between attributive descriptions (before a noun) and predicative ones (after the verb).

一个安静的地方
- 安静的 is an adjective phrase modifying 地方:
  - 安静的地方 – a quiet place
- This is a noun phrase: “one quiet place”.
一个地方很安静
- 地方 is the subject and 很安静 is the predicate:
  - One place is very quiet.
- This is a full clause, not a noun phrase.

In our sentence, 找到(了)一个安静的地方 needs “a quiet place” as the object of 找到, so an attributive form (安静的地方) is required, not a full clause like 地方很安静.

Using 的 after 安静 is the normal way to turn an adjective into an attributive modifier:

安静的地方, 漂亮的花, 大的房子, etc.

Why is the measure word 个 used with 地方? Could we use something else?

个 is the default / general measure word in Mandarin and is very commonly used with 地方:

一个地方 – one place
那三个地方 – those three places

Other measure words do exist but have a more specific feel:

一处地方 – a spot / location (slightly more literary, more formal or descriptive)
一块地方 – a piece / patch of land or area

In everyday speech, 一个地方 is by far the most common and natural; that’s why the sentence uses 一个安静的地方.

Is 坐在椅子上 a separate action after finding the place, or part of the description of the place?

It’s best understood as a subsequent action that happens after finding the place:

找到(了)一个安静的地方 – found a quiet place
坐在椅子上 – sat on the chair (in that place)

The structure is:

[They] found a quiet place (there they) sat on a chair.

In Chinese, you can often string actions together like this without an explicit and:

他回家做饭。 – He went home and cooked.
我们找到一个地方坐在椅子上。 – We found a place and (then) sat on the chair.

So 坐在椅子上 is not describing the place itself; it is describing what they did there.

Why is it 坐在椅子上 and not 在椅子上坐 or 坐在椅子里?

All of these relate to the grammar of location:

坐在椅子上 (most common)
- Pattern: Verb + 在 + Location
- Literally: sit at-on the chair → sit on the chair.
- Very standard.
在椅子上坐
- Pattern: 在 + Location + Verb
- Also grammatical and can be used, especially if we want to emphasize the location first:
  - 他在椅子上坐着。 – He is sitting on the chair.
- In your sentence, 坐在椅子上 flows more naturally as a continuation of the action.
坐在椅子里
- 里 means inside, so 椅子里 = inside the chair, which is odd unless it is a special kind of chair you can get inside (like a box chair or a capsule seat).
- For normal chairs, we use 上 (on): 坐在椅子上.

So 坐在椅子上 is the standard, natural way to say sit on the chair.

Why is the time phrase 今天下班以后 at the very beginning? Could it go somewhere else?

Chinese generally likes the order:

Time → Subject → (Adverbs) → Place → Verb → Object

In the sentence:

今天下班以后 – time
我们 – subject
没走错路 – first verb phrase
最后在公园里找到(了)一个安静的地方坐在椅子上 – rest of the events

Putting 今天下班以后 at the beginning sets the temporal background: “After work today…”

You could also say:

我们今天下班以后没走错路…

This is also correct. But placing the whole time phrase first is very natural and clear in Chinese storytelling: you first establish when, then say who did what.