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nàxiē xuéshēng xiàkè yǐhòu chángcháng zài gōngyuán sànbù.

那nà些xiē　学生xuéshēng　下课xiàkè　以后yǐhòu　常常chángcháng　在zài　公园gōngyuán　散步sànbù。nàxiē xuéshēng xiàkè yǐhòu chángcháng zài gōngyuán sànbù.
Those students often take a walk in the park after class.
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Questions & Answers about nàxiē xuéshēng xiàkè yǐhòu chángcháng zài gōngyuán sànbù.

1. Why is there no measure word between 那些 and 学生? Shouldn't it be something like 那些个学生?

In Mandarin, when you use 这些 / 那些 + a general noun as the subject, you normally don’t insert a measure word:

  • ✅ 那些学生 = those students
  • ✅ 这些老师 = these teachers

You only add a measure word when you specify an exact number:

  • ✅ 那三个学生 = those three students
  • ✅ 这五个老师 = these five teachers

So 那些学生 is the normal, correct form. A phrase like 那些个学生 is dialectal/colloquial in some regions but not standard.

2. Why is there no 们 after 学生? Why not 那些学生们?

In Chinese, plural is usually shown through words like 些 (“some, several”), 很多 (“many”), 几个 (“a few”), etc., or just understood from context. You don’t normally add 们 to general nouns like 学生 when they are already clearly plural:

  • ✅ 那些学生 = those students
  • ❌ 那些学生们 (sounds redundant / non‑standard in most contexts)

们 is mainly used:

  1. With pronouns: 我们, 你们, 他们
  2. With some human nouns when talking about a specific small group in a more personal or emotional way, e.g. 孩子们, 同学们, 老师们.

Here, 那些学生 is already clearly plural, so 们 is not needed.

3. Why is 常常 placed before 在? Could I say 在公园常常散步 instead?

The usual “neutral” placement for adverbs like 常常, 不, 已经 is before the verb (or verb phrase) they modify. Here, the main verb phrase is 在公园散步, and 常常 comes before it:

  • Standard, most natural:
    ✅ 下课以后，常常在公园散步。

You can hear:

  • 在公园常常散步

This is not wrong, but it slightly emphasizes the location “in the park” first, then how often they do it. The neutral, textbook word order is what you see in the sentence: 常常在公园散步.

4. What is the function of 在 here? Could we just say 公园散步?

Here 在 marks a location where the action happens: 在 + place + Verb.

  • 在公园散步 = “walk / take a walk in the park”

You can sometimes drop 在 in very casual speech, especially in short phrases:

  • (Spoken, more casual) 公园散步

But standard usage keeps 在 before a place word when it’s a location of an action:

  • ✅ 在家看书 = read at home
  • ✅ 在学校上课 = attend class at school
  • ✅ 在公园散步 = take a walk in the park

So keeping 在 is clearer and more natural in normal written and spoken Mandarin.

5. Why do we use 散步 and not something like 走路? What is the difference?

Both involve walking, but the meanings differ:

  • 散步: “to take a walk / go for a stroll” – a leisure activity, usually done on purpose for relaxation, health, or enjoyment.
  • 走路: literally “to walk (on foot)” – focuses on the means of moving, not on the idea of a leisure stroll.

So:

  • 在公园散步 = go for a walk/stroll in the park (for fun or exercise)
  • 走路去学校 = walk to school (as opposed to taking the bus, etc.)

In this sentence, they’re doing something after class for leisure, so 散步 fits perfectly.

6. Does 下课以后 mean “after class” or “after school”? How specific is it?

Literally, 下课 means “class ends / to get out of class.” So 下课以后 means:

  • “after (a) class” or “after class is over”

It doesn’t specifically mean “after the whole school day is over” (that would more likely be 放学以后 = after school is dismissed). However, in casual contexts, sometimes people are not very strict about the distinction. More precise:

  • 下课以后: after a lesson / after class period ends
  • 放学以后: after the school day ends (students go home)

In this sentence, 下课以后 focuses on what students do after classes end.

7. Why is 下课以后 placed before 常常在公园散步? Can time expressions go elsewhere?

Chinese generally likes this basic order:

(Time) + (Subject) + (Manner/Frequency) + (Place) + Verb

Here the main pattern is:

  • 那 些学生 (Subject)
  • 下课以后 (Time)
  • 常常 (Frequency)
  • 在公园 (Place)
  • 散步 (Verb)

Time expressions like 下课以后, 明天, 晚上, etc. are most naturally placed before the verb phrase:

  • ✅ 他们下课以后常常在公园散步。
  • ✅ 下课以后，他们常常在公园散步。

Putting the time phrase after the verb is usually wrong or sounds very strange:

  • ❌ 他们常常在公园散步下课以后。

So yes, time expressions can be moved to the very beginning or just after the subject, but they usually stay before the main verb.

8. How is tense shown here? Why is there no past tense marker like “-ed” or 了?

Chinese does not change the verb form to show tense like English does. Instead, tense is usually understood from time words (like 以后, 昨天, 明天) and context.

In this sentence:

  • 下课以后 (“after class”) and
  • 常常 (“often”)

together show that this is a habitual action that happens repeatedly after class. That makes the English translation naturally use the present simple (“often take walks”).

You’d only add something like 了, 过, etc., if you want to emphasize completion or experience, not to just state a general habit.

9. Could we say 那几个学生 instead of 那些学生? What’s the difference?

Yes, you could say 那几个学生, but it changes the meaning slightly:

  • 那些学生 = “those students” – an unspecified group, maybe large; it’s just “those ones (over there / previously mentioned).”
  • 那几个学生 = “those few students / those several students” – implies a relatively small, counted group.

Use 那些 when you’re just referring to “those” in general. Use 那几个 when the idea is that there are only a few of them (and often you know exactly how many, or roughly so).

10. Could I say 在公园里散步 instead of 在公园散步? Is there a difference?

Yes, you can say 在公园里散步; both are correct.

  • 在公园散步 = in the park, take a walk
  • 在公园里散步 = in the park (inside the park), take a walk

里 explicitly highlights “inside” the place. Often, with common locations like 家, 学校, 公园, adding or omitting 里 doesn’t change the basic meaning much, and both versions sound natural:

  • 在家(里)看电视
  • 在学校(里)学习
  • 在公园(里)散步

Here, 在公园散步 is already perfectly natural and common. Adding 里 is optional nuance, not a grammatical requirement.