Learn Hardcore Chinese: gōngyuán nánbian yǒu yí gè ānjìng de túshūguǎn. - To the south of the park, there is a quiet library.

In English we typically say: “There is a quiet library on the south side of the park.”
In Chinese, the location comes first instead of using an impersonal “there is”.

What exactly is 有 doing here? I thought 有 meant “to have.”

有 does mean “to have”, but it also functions as an existential verb, meaning “there is / there are” in a certain place.

In this sentence:

公园南边有一个安静的图书馆。
= On the south side of the park, there is a quiet library.

So here 有 does not mean “the south side of the park has a quiet library” in a possessive sense; it’s more about existence in a location—very similar to English “there is …”.

Why is it 公园南边有… and not 公园南边是一个安静的图书馆? Why can’t I use 是?

是 is used to equate two things (A = B), like:

那儿是一个图书馆。 – That place is a library.

Our sentence is not saying “the south side of the park is a quiet library.”
It’s saying that in that area, such a library exists. So we use the existential pattern with 有:

公园南边有一个安静的图书馆。
– In the area south of the park, there exists one quiet library.

Using 是 here would sound like you’re identifying “the south side of the park” itself as “a quiet library,” which is wrong.

Can I say 在公园南边有一个安静的图书馆? What’s the difference from the original?

Yes, 在公园南边有一个安静的图书馆。 is grammatically fine and common.

Comparison:

公园南边有一个安静的图书馆。
在公园南边有一个安静的图书馆。

Both basically mean the same thing. 在 explicitly marks location.
In everyday speech, people often omit 在 when the location phrase is short and clear, as in the original sentence. Including 在 can feel a bit more formal or explicit, but it’s not a big difference.

What’s the difference between 公园南边 and 公园的南边? Which is better here?

Both are correct:

公园南边 – south side of the park
公园的南边 – literally “the south side of the park”

Nuances:

When you have a place word like 上边 / 下边 / 里边 / 外边 / 南边 / 北边, Chinese often drops 的 after simple nouns:
- 学校门口 (school gate/front)
- 家里 (at home)
- 公园南边 (south of the park)
公园的南边 sounds a bit more explicit or slightly more formal, as if you’re clearly treating “the south side” as a noun phrase: “the park’s south side.”

In everyday conversation, 公园南边 is perfectly natural and probably the more common choice here.

What is the difference between 南边, 南面, and 南边儿?

All three point to the south side/southern area, and they often overlap in use.

南边 (nánbian) – very common in both the north and south of China.
南面 (nánmiàn) – also “south side/facing south”; sometimes feels a bit more formal or directional in some contexts, but often interchangeable.
南边儿 (nánbiānr) – 儿 is the erhua sound, typical of Beijing and northern speech. Same meaning as 南边, just with a northern accent.

In most textbooks and standard Mandarin, you can safely use 南边.

Why is 一 pronounced yí in 一个 instead of yī?

This is a case of tone sandhi (tone change) for 一. The rules:

Before a fourth-tone syllable, 一 is pronounced yí (second tone).
Before a first, second, or third tone, 一 is usually yì (fourth tone).
When said in isolation (like counting), it’s yī (first tone).

In 一个 (ge is fourth tone):

个 (gè) is 4th tone → 一 changes to yí → yí gè.

So writing yí gè in pinyin is showing the actual spoken tones, not the dictionary citation tone of 一.

Why do we need the measure word 个 in 一个安静的图书馆? Can I just say 一安静的图书馆?

In Chinese, almost all counted nouns need a measure word between the number and the noun.

Structure:

number + measure word + noun

So:

一 + 个 + 图书馆 → 一个图书馆

You cannot say 一安静的图书馆; that sounds wrong because there is no measure word between 一 and 图书馆.

For 图书馆, the default measure word is 个, though there are more specific ones (e.g. 一座图书馆, see below).

Could I use a different measure word, like 一座图书馆? Does that change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

在公园南边有一座安静的图书馆。

座 is a measure word for large, usually immovable buildings or structures (bridges, mountains, big buildings, etc.).

Differences:

一个图书馆 – neutral, default; most common in everyday speech.
一座图书馆 – slightly more formal/literary or paints it more clearly as a building/structure.

The basic meaning (“a quiet library to the south of the park”) doesn’t change.

Why is 安静 before 图书馆 with 的? Why not put the adjective after, like in English?

Chinese attributive adjectives (adjectives that directly modify a noun) typically go before the noun and are linked with 的:

安静的图书馆 – a quiet library
大的房子 – a big house
有名的老师 – a famous teacher

So the pattern is:

[adjective or adjective phrase] + 的 + [noun]

If you put the adjective after the noun, you’re usually making a full clause, not a modifier:

图书馆很安静。 – The library is quiet. (full sentence)

In our sentence, we need an adjective inside a noun phrase (“a quiet library”), so we use 安静的图书馆.

Do we always need 的 after adjectives like 安静 when they modify a noun? Could I say 安静图书馆?

In this kind of phrase, you need 的:

安静的图书馆 ✅ natural
安静图书馆 ❌ sounds wrong/very unnatural

General rule of thumb:

Monosyllabic adjectives (single character), especially very common ones, sometimes can appear without 的 in some set phrases (e.g. 大楼, 小孩子), but this is restricted and often lexicalized.
Disyllabic adjectives like 安静 almost always take 的 when used as attributive modifiers before a noun.

So just remember: 安静 + 的 + 图书馆.

What’s the difference between 安静的图书馆 and 图书馆很安静?

They describe similar qualities but function differently:

安静的图书馆
- Noun phrase: “a quiet library”
- Used when modifying a noun.
- Focus: a type of library (one that is quiet).
图书馆很安静。
- Full sentence: “The library is quiet.”
- Used as a statement about the library’s state.
- Focus: describing a specific library at a certain time.

In the original sentence, you need a noun phrase after 有 (what exists there), so you use 一个安静的图书馆, not 图书馆很安静.

Can I drop 一个 and just say 公园南边有安静的图书馆?

That sounds unnatural here. Normally, with concrete countable nouns like 图书馆, you:

include a measure word and often a number, especially when introducing one specific instance:
- 公园南边有一个安静的图书馆。

Without 一个, 公园南边有安静的图书馆 feels incomplete or odd, as if it’s saying “there exist quiet libraries” in a vague, non-typical way.

You might drop the number in some patterns (especially with plural markers or general statements), but in this kind of existential sentence introducing one place, 一个 is the natural choice.