zhōumò wǒmen zài gōngyuán dǎ lánqiú, juéde hěn yǒuyìsi.

On weekends we play basketball in the park and find it very interesting.

Breakdown of zhōumò wǒmen zài gōngyuán dǎ lánqiú, juéde hěn yǒuyìsi.

• 很hěn: very
• 我们wǒmen: we
• 在zài: at
• 觉得juéde: to feel
• 周末zhōumò: weekend
• 公园gōngyuán: park
• 有意思yǒuyìsi: interesting
• 篮球lánqiú: basketball
• 打dǎ: to play (ball games)

Questions & Answers about zhōumò wǒmen zài gōngyuán dǎ lánqiú, juéde hěn yǒuyìsi.

Why does the sentence start with 周末? Could I also say 我们周末在公园打篮球?

In Chinese, it’s very common to put time expressions at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject. So:

• 周末，我们在公园打篮球……
  is a very natural pattern: [time] + [subject] + [place] + [verb].

You can also say:

• 我们周末在公园打篮球，觉得很有意思。

This is also correct. The default, most “textbook” order is:

时间 (when) → 地点 (where) → 主语 (who) → 谓语 (what they do)

But in real speech, 周末，我们… and 我们周末… are both fine. Starting with 周末 slightly emphasizes when first.

Does 周末 mean “this weekend”, “last weekend”, or “on weekends in general”? How do I know the tense?

Chinese usually does not mark tense the way English does. 周末 by itself just means weekend / weekends, and the exact meaning depends on context or extra words:

• If you’re describing a habit:
  周末我们在公园打篮球。
  → “On weekends we play basketball in the park.”
• If you’re describing a specific (often past) weekend, context usually makes it clear:
  In a story about yesterday:
  上个周末我们在公园打篮球，觉得很有意思。
  → “Last weekend we played basketball…”
• If you want to be explicit:
  • 上个周末 = last weekend
  • 这个周末 = this weekend
  • 每个周末 / 周末的时候 = every weekend / on weekends

So without extra words, 周末我们在公园打篮球 is most naturally understood as a general habit, but it can be past or future depending on the conversation.

What exactly is the role of 在 in 我们在公园打篮球?

Here 在 is a preposition/coverb marking location: it means “at / in”.

The basic structure is:

在 + place + verb phrase

So:

• 在公园打篮球 = “play basketball in the park”
• 在家学习 = “study at home”
• 在学校工作 = “work at a school”

If you omit 在 and just say 我们公园打篮球, it sounds wrong or very unnatural. You almost always need 在 (or another location marker like 里) before a place when you’re saying doing something at a place.

Why do we say 打篮球 instead of 玩篮球 for “play basketball”?

For most ball sports in Mandarin, you use 打 as the verb for “play (a sport)”:

• 打篮球 = play basketball
• 打网球 = play tennis
• 打乒乓球 = play table tennis
• 打高尔夫球 = play golf

玩 means “to play / to have fun” more generally, and is not normally used with specific ball sports:

• 玩游戏 = play games
• 出去玩 = go out to have fun
• 玩手机 = play on (use) your phone

玩篮球 sounds odd or childish, like “mess around with a basketball”, not “play basketball (the sport)”. For the sport, use 打篮球.

Why is there no 是 (to be) before 有意思? Why isn’t it 觉得是很有意思?

In Chinese, adjectives often act like stative verbs all by themselves, so you don’t usually need 是 directly in front of them.

• 有意思 is an adjective-like phrase meaning “interesting / fun”.
• The typical pattern is:
  觉得 + [adjective phrase]
  not 觉得 + 是 + [adjective phrase].

So:

• 觉得很有意思 = “(we) think (it is) very interesting / fun.”

You can see 是很有意思的 in certain contexts, but that’s a different structure with emphasis, e.g.:

• 我觉得这件事是很有意思的。
  → adds a bit of contrast/emphasis (“I do think this is interesting, actually”).

For a simple “we thought it was fun”, 觉得很有意思 without 是 is the standard form.

Does 很 in 很有意思 really mean “very”, or is it just a linker?

Both, depending on context.

In modern spoken Mandarin, when 很 appears before an adjective with no comparison, it often works as a neutral linker that makes the sentence sound natural, and doesn’t always mean strongly “very”.

• 这本书很有意思。
  → could be “This book is interesting” (neutral), not necessarily “very interesting”.

If you want to strongly emphasize degree, you can:

• Stress 很 in speech, or
• Use stronger words: 非常有意思, 特别有意思, 超级有意思.

So in 觉得很有意思, 很 can be translated as “(really) quite / pretty / very”, but in natural English you would usually just say “We thought it was fun/interesting.”

What’s the difference between 有意思 and 好玩? Could I say 觉得很好玩 instead?

You can say 觉得很好玩, and it’s very natural. The nuance is:

• 有意思
  
  • Literally: “has meaning” → “interesting, meaningful, engaging”.
  • Often used for things that are mentally or emotionally engaging: books, movies, conversations, ideas, experiences.
• 好玩
  
  • Literally: “good to play” → “fun, amusing”.
  • Used more for activities, games, toys, places, or anything that feels “fun”.

In context:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球，觉得很有意思。
  → natural; can mean “We found it really enjoyable/interesting.”
• 周末我们在公园打篮球，觉得很好玩。
  → very natural too, perhaps with a slightly more “fun, playful” feel.

They overlap a lot; in casual speech they’re often interchangeable here.

Why is there no subject after the comma before 觉得? Should it be 我们觉得很有意思?

The subject 我们 is simply omitted in the second clause because it’s the same as in the first clause:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球，觉得很有意思。
  Literally: “Weekend we in-park play-basketball, (we) feel very interesting.”

Chinese often drops repeated subjects when it’s clear from context:

• 我昨天去商店，买了一些水果。
  (Literally: “I yesterday went to the store, (I) bought some fruit.”)

You can absolutely say:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球，我们觉得很有意思。

This is correct, just a bit more repetitive. Native speakers often omit the second 我们 to sound more natural and concise.

Why doesn’t 觉得 take an explicit object like “it”? Where is the “it” in “we thought it was fun”?

In English, you say “we thought it was fun” and need the it.

In Chinese, the “it” is usually left implicit when it’s obvious from context. The structure is:

[subject] + 觉得 + [complement describing something just mentioned]

So:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球，觉得很有意思。
  → The “something” we find interesting is “playing basketball in the park on the weekend”.

If you really want to include an object, you could say:

• 我们觉得在公园打篮球很有意思。
  (“We think that playing basketball in the park is fun.”)
  Here, 在公园打篮球 is the explicit thing being judged.

But in the original sentence, dropping that and just using 觉得很有意思 is very natural.

Why is it 周末 and not 在周末? Are both correct?

Both are possible, but 周末 without 在 is more common and natural here.

• 周末我们在公园打篮球…
  → Normal, smooth Chinese. Time word directly before the subject.
• 在周末，我们在公园打篮球…
  → Grammatically OK, but sounds more formal or slightly awkward in everyday speech.

For time expressions, Chinese often does not need a preposition like “at”:

• 今天我很忙。 = “I’m busy today.” (not 在今天)
• 晚上我们吃火锅。 = “Tonight we’ll eat hotpot.”

You’re more likely to see 在周末的时候, 在星期天的时候 in written, descriptive, or slightly more formal language, to add a bit of emphasis or rhythm. In casual speech, just 周末 is best.

Can I say 在公园里打篮球 instead of 在公园打篮球? What’s the difference between 公园 and 公园里?

Yes, you can say:

• 周末我们在公园里打篮球，觉得很有意思。

Both are correct. The nuance:

• 在公园打篮球
  → “play basketball in the park” (neutral)
• 在公园里打篮球
  → literally “play basketball inside the park”, sometimes feeling a bit more specific or vivid.

里 means “inside”, but with many location words (家, 学校, 公园, 房间, etc.), native speakers may optionally add or drop 里 without a big meaning change. Often:

• Spoken, casual: 在公园打篮球
• Slightly descriptive / painting a picture: 在公园里打篮球

Both are perfectly natural here.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say 我们在公园周末打篮球 or 我们打篮球在公园?

The natural basic order for this kind of sentence is:

[time] + [subject] + 在 + [place] + [verb + object]

So:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球 ✔️ (good)
• 我们周末在公园打篮球 ✔️ (also good)

But:

• 我们在公园周末打篮球 ❌ (sounds wrong / confusing)
• 我们打篮球在公园 ❌/very unnatural (wrong order for place)

General rule in Chinese:

1. Time usually comes before place.
2. Place (with 在) usually comes before the main action verb.

So stick with forms like:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球。
• 我们周末在公园打篮球。

What does the comma do here? Is it like “and” between “we play basketball” and “we think it’s fun”?

Yes, the comma here works a bit like a soft “and” or “and as a result” in English.

• 周末我们在公园打篮球，觉得很有意思。
  → “On weekends we play basketball in the park, (and we) think it’s fun.”

In Chinese, commas are used to connect closely related clauses without needing a conjunction like “and”, “so”, or “because” every time. The logical link (and/so/then) is understood from context.

You could make the connection explicit with words like 而且, 所以, 然后, but it’s not necessary:

• 周末我们在公园打篮球，所以觉得很有意思。
  → “…so we think it’s fun.” (cause–effect is made explicit)

In everyday writing, the simple comma is very common and completely natural here.