Learn Hardcore Chinese: gōngjiāozhàn pángbiān yǒu yí jiā chāoshì, hěn duō rén zài nàli mǎi yǐnliào. - There’s a supermarket next to the bus stop, and many people buy drinks there.

The version without 在 is slightly more common and natural in everyday speech.
The version with 在 can sound a bit more formal, or like you’re deliberately setting up a contrast (“As for the area next to the bus stop, there is a supermarket there…”), but in many contexts the difference is minimal.

What exactly does 公交站 mean, and how is it different from words like 公车站 or 汽车站?

公交站 (gōngjiāozhàn)
Literally “public transport stop”, but in practice it means (city) bus stop. Very common in Mainland China.
公交车站 (gōngjiāochēzhàn)
A longer form; also means bus stop/station. You may see both forms.
公车站 (gōngchēzhàn)
More common in Taiwan; means bus stop as well.
汽车站 (qìchēzhàn)
Usually refers to a larger bus station, often for long‑distance or intercity buses, not just a simple street bus stop.

In this sentence, 公交站 is just the regular city bus stop.

What does 旁边 mean exactly? How is it different from 附近?

旁边 (pángbiān) means “right next to; beside; adjacent to”.
It usually implies something is immediately to the side of something else.
附近 (fùjìn) means “nearby; in the vicinity”.
It’s more general: close, but not necessarily right next to.

Compare:

公交站旁边有一家超市。
“There’s a supermarket right next to the bus stop.” (You’d expect it to be basically next door.)
公交站附近有一家超市。
“There’s a supermarket near the bus stop.” (Somewhere in the area, maybe a short walk away.)

So 旁边 is more “next door / immediately beside”, 附近 is more “in the neighborhood / nearby”.

Why is the measure word 家 used with 超市? Can I say 一个超市?

In Chinese, almost all countable nouns need a measure word (classifier) when you use a number.

家 (jiā) is the standard measure word for businesses or organizations, such as:
- 一家超市 – a supermarket
- 一家饭馆 – a restaurant
- 一家银行 – a bank
- 一家公司 – a company

So 一家超市 treats the supermarket specifically as a business/establishment, which is exactly what we want here.

What about 一个超市?

Grammatically, 一个超市 is possible, but it sounds less natural and is much rarer. Native speakers almost always say 一家超市.
个 is a very general measure word, but when a more specific, conventional measure word exists (like 家 for businesses), you should use that.

So for shops, restaurants, supermarkets, etc., learn to use 家, not 个.

I’ve seen 一 pronounced as yī, yí, and yì. What’s going on, and how would it work with words like 一家?

The character 一 has tone sandhi rules—it changes tone depending on what follows:

Citation form (when you say the number by itself):
- 一 = yī (first tone)
Before a 4th‑tone syllable, 一 becomes second tone (yí):
- 一个 → yí gè (gè is 4th tone)
- 一块 → yí kuài (kuài is 4th tone)
Before a 1st, 2nd, or 3rd‑tone syllable, 一 becomes fourth tone (yì):
- 一杯 → yì bēi (bēi is 1st tone)
- 一条 → yì tiáo (tiáo is 2nd tone)
- 一家 → yì jiā (jiā is 1st tone)
When 一 is strongly emphasized to mean “one, not two”, it often stays yī, even before other tones:
- 就这一家！ – “Only THIS one (shop)!”

Different materials sometimes show the underlying tone (yī) and don’t fully reflect the sandhi in print, but in natural speech, the changes above are what you’ll actually hear.

What’s the difference between 很多 and 很? Why do we say 很多人 here?

很多 (hěn duō) is a quantifier:
It means “many / a lot of” and is used before nouns:
- 很多人 – many people
- 很多问题 – many problems
很 (hěn) by itself is an adverb meaning something like “very / quite”, and it usually goes before adjectives or stative verbs:
- 很大 – very big
- 很贵 – very expensive
- 人很多 – “there are many people” (literally: “people are very many”)

You cannot say 很人 to mean “many people”; that’s ungrammatical.
Here, we want “many people” as the subject, so we use 很多人.

Why do we need 在 in 很多人在那里买饮料? Can I say 很多人那里买饮料?

In this sentence, 在 is functioning like a preposition introducing the location of the action:

在那里买饮料 = “buy drinks there / at that place”

The pattern is:

Subject + 在 + Place + Verb + Object
- 很多人 + 在 + 那里 + 买 + 饮料

Without 在, 很多人那里买饮料 sounds wrong or at least very unnatural; native speakers will expect 在 before the location here.

Compare:

那里有一家超市。 – “There is a supermarket there.”
Here, 那里 is the subject of the sentence, so no 在 is needed.
很多人在那里买饮料。 – “Many people buy drinks there.”
Here, 那里 is part of a location phrase, so we use 在那里.

So for “do X at/in place Y”, you generally want 在 + place.

What’s the difference between 那里, 那儿, and 那边?

All three can often be translated as “there”, but there are tendencies:

那里 (nàlǐ)
- Common in written Chinese and in many spoken varieties.
- Neutral “there / that place”.
那儿 (nàr)
- Very common in northern Mandarin (e.g. Beijing).
- Feels a bit more colloquial in northern speech.
- In many contexts, 那里 and 那儿 are interchangeable.
那边 (nàbiān)
- Literally “that side/that area over there”.
- Slightly more directional or spatial: “over there, on that side / in that area”.

In the sentence 很多人在那里买饮料, you could also say:

很多人在那儿买饮料。
很多人在那边买饮料。

All are natural, with only tiny differences in regional style or nuance.

What’s the difference between 在那里买饮料 and 去那里买饮料?

Both involve the same place, but they focus on different parts of the action:

在那里买饮料
- Emphasizes where the buying happens.
- “(They) buy drinks there.”
去那里买饮料
- Emphasizes the movement to that place in order to buy.
- “(They) go there to buy drinks.”

So:

很多人在那里买饮料。
= “Many people buy drinks there.” (location of the action)
很多人去那里买饮料。
= “Many people go there to buy drinks.” (the fact that they travel there)

Both are correct; which one you use depends on what you want to highlight.

Why is there no 了 after 买? Would 很多人在那里买了饮料 also work?

In the original sentence:

很多人在那里买饮料。

this is describing a general, habitual situation:

“There is a supermarket next to the bus stop; many people (regularly/typically) buy drinks there.”

For general truths or habitual actions, Mandarin usually does not use 了.

If you say:

很多人在那里买了饮料。

this sounds like you’re talking about a specific event in the past:

“(On that occasion) many people bought drinks there.”

So:

No 了 → general/habitual fact.
With 了 → one completed instance or event (usually with some past-time context).

Could I say 在那里买饮料的人很多 instead of 很多人在那里买饮料? Does it mean the same thing?

Yes, both are natural, but the structure and emphasis are a bit different:

很多人在那里买饮料。
- Structure: [Subject] 很多人 + [Location] 在那里 + [Verb-Object] 买饮料
- Emphasis: what many people do (they buy drinks there).
在那里买饮料的人很多。
- Structure: [Relative clause] 在那里买饮料的 + [Noun] 人 + [Predicate] 很多
- Literally: “The people who buy drinks there are many.”
- Emphasis: the number of people who fit that description.

In everyday conversation, 很多人在那里买饮料 is a bit more straightforward.
在那里买饮料的人很多 is also very natural and perhaps slightly more descriptive or written‑style, but the overall meaning is practically the same: a lot of people buy drinks there.