Learn Hardcore Chinese: Wǒ juéde xiàbān yǐhòu gēn gǒu zài gōngyuán wán, bǐ yìzhí zài shǒujī shàng shàngwǎng yǒuyìsi. - I think playing with my dog in the park after work is more interesting than being online on my phone all the time.

You can read it as: I think that playing with my dog in the park after work is more interesting than always surfing the internet on my phone.
Grammatically, 觉得 can be followed by a whole clause (a full sentence), just like “think that…” in English.

You can also say 我个人觉得… (I personally think…) for extra emphasis.

Where does 下班以后 fit in the sentence structure? Could it go somewhere else?

下班以后 means after getting off work / after work. In the sentence it comes right after 我觉得:

我觉得 下班以后 跟狗在公园玩…

This is a typical Chinese word order:

[Subject] + [Time] + [Other details] + [Verb]

So here:

Subject: 我
Time: 下班以后
Activity: 跟狗在公园玩

You can move 下班以后 to the very beginning for emphasis:

下班以后，我觉得跟狗在公园玩，比一直在手机上上网有意思。

But you would not normally put it at the very end, like in English:

✘ 我觉得跟狗在公园玩比一直在手机上上网有意思下班以后 (unnatural)

What is the role of 跟 here? Could I use 和 instead?

In 跟狗在公园玩, 跟 means with:

跟狗玩 = play with the dog

Both 跟 and 和 can mean with in this sense, and 跟狗玩 ≈ 和狗玩. Differences:

跟 is slightly more colloquial and often used for doing something together with someone/something.
和 is slightly more neutral / formal, but also completely acceptable in everyday speech.

So you could also say:

下班以后和狗在公园玩… — still natural.

Why do we need 在 before 公园玩? Could we say 跟狗公园玩?

You need 在 to mark the location where the action happens:

在公园玩 = play in the park

Structure:

在 + place + Verb = do [verb] at/in [place]

So:

跟狗在公园玩 = play with the dog in the park

Without 在:

✘ 跟狗公园玩 — ungrammatical; Chinese listeners will feel something is missing.

You could rephrase with a different structure, e.g.:

在公园跟狗玩 (location first, then partner),
but 在 is still there.

Why is there a comma before 比? Is it one sentence or two?

The comma just separates the two compared activities for clarity:

Part A: 下班以后跟狗在公园玩 (playing with my dog in the park after work)
Part B + comparison: 比一直在手机上上网有意思 (is more interesting than always surfing the internet on my phone)

Logically it’s one sentence:

下班以后跟狗在公园玩，比一直在手机上上网有意思。

You can also write it without the comma and it’s still grammatical:

下班以后跟狗在公园玩比一直在手机上上网有意思。

The comma is just helping the reader see A vs B more easily.

How does the comparison with 比 work in this sentence? What is A and what is B?

The basic pattern is:

A 比 B + Adjective = A is more [adjective] than B.

Here:

A = 下班以后跟狗在公园玩 (playing with the dog in the park after work)
B = 一直在手机上上网 (continuously surfing online on the phone)
Adjective: 有意思 (interesting, fun)

So literally:

After work, playing with my dog in the park, compared to always surfing online on my phone, is interesting.

In natural English:

I think playing with my dog in the park after work is more interesting than always browsing the internet on my phone.

Why is there no 更 (more) before 有意思?

The word 比 already carries the idea of “more”, so 更 is optional and often left out:

A 比 B 有意思。 = A is more interesting than B.
A 比 B 更有意思。 = A is even more interesting than B.

Using 更 here is possible but slightly stronger:

下班以后跟狗在公园玩，比一直在手机上上网更有意思。
→ Playing with my dog in the park after work is even more interesting than always surfing online on my phone.

Both are correct; the original is just the neutral comparison.

What does 一直 add to the meaning? Could we just say 在手机上上网?

一直 means continuously / all the time / constantly.

在手机上上网 = to surf the internet on the phone
一直在手机上上网 = to be online on the phone all the time / constantly

So 一直 emphasizes that this is not just occasional browsing; it’s a continuous habit.

You can drop it:

…比在手机上上网有意思。
→ still grammatical, just weaker (less sense of “always”).

Why does 上 appear twice in 在手机上上网?

They are two different 上 with different functions:

手机上
- 手机 = mobile phone
- 上 here = on / on top of / on (a device)
- Together: 在手机上 = on the phone
上网
- 上 here = to go onto / to access
- 网 = net / internet
- 上网 = to go online / to use the internet

So 在手机上上网 literally is:

[at] on the phone go-online → use the internet on the phone.

It looks repetitive in pinyin, but Chinese speakers don’t find it strange because the meanings are different and the parsing is clear.

Could I say 用手机上网 instead of 在手机上上网?

Yes, and it’s very natural.

用手机上网 = go online using the phone (use + tool)
在手机上上网 = go online on the phone (location/device focus)

Both are common. Very subtle difference:

用手机上网 slightly highlights the phone as the tool you use.
在手机上上网 slightly highlights being on the phone as the place/device of activity.

In most everyday contexts, they’re interchangeable.

Why is 有意思 used here instead of something like 更好 or 更开心? What nuance does 有意思 have?

有意思 literally means has meaning, but in modern spoken Chinese it usually means:

interesting
fun, enjoyable, entertaining

So saying 更有意思 feels like more fun / more interesting, not just better in a vague way.

更好 = better (in a broad sense, not necessarily more entertaining)
更开心 = makes (me) happier, more joyful
更有意思 = more fun, more engaging, not boring

In this sentence, 有意思 matches activities well because you’re comparing how enjoyable they are.

What’s the nuance of 下班以后 vs. just 下班?

下班 = to get off work / finish work (the action or moment)
下班以后 = after work (after you’ve finished)

If you only say 下班跟狗在公园玩, it sounds more like:

At the time of getting off work, I play with the dog… (a bit odd)

下班以后 clearly means in the time period after work is over, which is what you want.

You could also say:

工作以后 (after work in a broader sense, like after starting a job in life),
but here 下班以后 is specifically “after the end of the workday”.

Can we drop 我觉得 and still have a correct sentence?

Yes. Grammatically, you can say:

下班以后跟狗在公园玩，比一直在手机上上网有意思。

This then sounds like a more general statement, like saying:

Playing with your dog in the park after work is more interesting than always surfing on your phone.

Adding 我觉得 makes it explicitly your personal opinion:

I think that…

Both are correct; the original is just more clearly subjective.

Is this sentence natural in everyday conversation? How might a native speaker casually say the same thing?

Yes, it’s quite natural as is. In casual speech, people might shorten or tweak it a bit, for example:

我觉得下班以后跟狗在公园玩，比一直玩手机有意思。
- 玩手机 = play on the phone / be on the phone all the time (more colloquial than 在手机上上网)

Or even shorter:

我觉得下班去公园跟狗玩，比一直玩手机有意思多了。
- 有意思多了 = way more fun

But your original sentence is correct, clear, and natural.