Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā gēge zài kètīng lǐ wán yóuxìjī, wán de hěn gāoxìng. - Her older brother is playing on a game console in the living room and is very happy.

她哥哥 is more colloquial and slightly more intimate/natural in everyday speech.
她的哥哥 is a bit more explicit and “careful”, and is often used when you first introduce a relationship or need to avoid ambiguity.

With close family members (爸、妈、哥、姐、弟、妹, etc.), spoken Chinese often drops 的 when the possessor is a pronoun:

我妈妈 / 我妈 (very common)
他哥哥
她姐姐

So 她哥哥 = 她的哥哥, just more casual.

Why is there no measure word before 哥哥? Why not 她的一个哥哥?

Chinese only uses a measure word when you need to stress the number or treat it as a countable item.

Here, 她哥哥 is simply “her (older) brother” as a known person, not “one brother” in contrast to “two brothers”. So no measure word is needed.

You would use 一个哥哥 when:

You want to emphasize the quantity:
- 她有一个哥哥。– She has one older brother.
You’re counting brothers:
- 她有两个哥哥。– She has two older brothers.

In this sentence, it’s about what he’s doing now, not how many brothers she has, so 哥哥 appears without a measure word.

What does 在 do in 在客厅里玩游戏机? Is it like English “be doing” (progressive)?

Here 在 primarily introduces a location phrase:

在客厅里 = in the living room

The structure is:
(subject) + 在 + place + (verb)

So: 她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机 = “Her brother is playing video games in the living room.”

Chinese also uses 在 + V to mark an ongoing action (similar to “be doing”), e.g.:

他在看书。– He is reading.

In your sentence, those two uses overlap:

在客厅里 clearly gives the location;
The whole sentence in context describes a present, ongoing activity.

If you really wanted to highlight the progressive aspect, you could say:

她哥哥正在客厅里玩游戏机。

Here 正在 focuses clearly on “right now”.

Why do we need 里 after 客厅? What’s the difference between 在客厅 and 在客厅里?

Both are correct, and they usually mean the same thing in this context.

在客厅 – “in the living room”
在客厅里 – literally “inside the living room”

里 adds an explicit “inside” feel. Sometimes speakers add 里 just because it sounds more natural for enclosed spaces:

在房间里
在教室里
在家里

In many cases you can drop 里 with little or no change in meaning:

她哥哥在客厅玩游戏机。
她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机。

Both are fine. 里 just makes the sense of “inside that space” a bit more vivid.

Why is 玩 repeated? Why not just say: 她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机，很高兴?

The repetition creates a verb + 得 + complement structure:

玩得很高兴

This is a very common pattern:
(verb) + 得 + (how? to what degree? in what state?)

Some examples:

他跑得很快。– He runs very fast.
她说得很好。– She speaks very well.

So:

他玩得很高兴。– He is playing (in a way that is) very happy.

If you say:

她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机，很高兴。

It’s understandable, but sounds more like:

“Her brother is playing video games in the living room, and (he) is very happy.”

You lose the tight “play → happy” link that 玩得很高兴 expresses: “he’s happy as a result of/as he is playing.”

What exactly is the role of 得 in 玩得很高兴? How is it different from 的 and 地?

Chinese has three similar-looking particles with different roles:

的 – links adjectives/nouns to nouns
- 高兴的孩子 – a happy child
- 我的书 – my book
地 – links adverbs to verbs (modifies the verb)
- 高兴地玩 – play happily
得 – introduces a complement, describing the result or degree of the verb
- 玩得很高兴 – play (to the extent that one is) very happy
- 说得很快 – speak very fast

In 玩得很高兴, 得 marks that 很高兴 is a complement telling us how he plays / the resulting state of playing.

If 很 means “very”, why do we say 玩得很高兴 when we just mean “(he) is happy”?

In modern spoken Chinese, 很 often functions as a neutral linker between a subject and an adjective, especially in adj-predicate or verb + 得 + adj patterns.

他很忙。– He is (busy).
她很高兴。– She is (happy).

Sometimes “very” is really meant, but often it’s just a natural way to say “X is Adj” rather than “X very Adj”. Tone and context decide whether it feels like real emphasis.

So 玩得很高兴 is the natural pattern; 玩得高兴 is possible but can sound a bit abrupt or incomplete in many contexts.

Could we say 高兴地玩游戏机 instead of 玩得很高兴? What’s the difference?

Yes, both are grammatical but they focus slightly differently.

高兴地玩游戏机
- Pattern: adv (Adj + 地) + V + object
- Means: “(He) happily plays video games.”
- Emphasis: his manner while playing (how he does the action).
玩得很高兴
- Pattern: V + 得 + Adj
- Means: “(He) plays (and becomes/is) very happy.”
- Emphasis: the resulting state/degree – he ends up being very happy from playing.

In your sentence, 玩得很高兴 nicely shows that playing video games makes him happy.

You could say:

她哥哥在客厅里高兴地玩游戏机。

That sounds like describing the way he is playing: cheerfully, in good spirits.

Why use 玩游戏机 and not 打游戏机 or something else? When do you use 玩 vs 打 with games?

For games, the verbs behave roughly like this:

玩 – very general “to play” (games, toys, activities)
- 玩游戏 – play games
- 玩手机 – play on the phone
- 玩电脑 – play on the computer
打 – often for competitive games or sports that involve hitting/striking or where “playing” is conventionalized as 打:
- 打篮球 – play basketball
- 打乒乓球 – play ping-pong
- 打游戏 – play (video) games (colloquial, very common)

游戏机 literally means “game machine” (console/arcade machine, etc.).

So you’ll hear both:

玩游戏机 – play (on) the game console
打游戏 – play video games (very common, especially among younger speakers)

In this sentence, 玩游戏机 is perfectly natural and slightly more descriptive than just 打游戏.

What exactly does 游戏机 mean? Is it the game itself or the console?

游戏机 literally = 游戏 (game) + 机 (machine).

It usually refers to a game console or gaming machine, such as:

a home console (PlayStation, Switch, etc.)
an arcade machine
sometimes a handheld game device

Context decides whether it’s closer to “console” or “video games in general”, but the core idea is a device for playing games.

If you want to be more general, you can just say 玩游戏 – “play games/video games.”

Can I change the word order to 她哥哥很高兴在客厅里玩游戏机?

Yes, that sentence is grammatical, but the focus shifts slightly.

她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机，玩得很高兴。
- Main structure: “He plays video games in the living room, (and he) plays very happily.”
- Strong tie: “playing → happiness as result.”
她哥哥很高兴在客厅里玩游戏机。
- Feels more like: “She’s happy that (he) can play video games in the living room / happy when he plays there.”
- 很高兴 is foregrounded; “in the living room playing games” is what causes or accompanies that happiness.

Both are fine, but they are not identical in nuance. The original sentence is a very typical V + 得 + Adj usage.

How would I say this in the past tense, like “Her brother played video games in the living room and had a great time”?

You’d usually add 了 to show completion or past context:

她哥哥在客厅里玩了游戏机，玩得很高兴。

Or more natural, since 玩游戏机 is an activity:

她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机，玩得很高兴。

and rely on context (a past-time expression) to indicate it’s in the past:

昨天她哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机，玩得很高兴。

Chinese often uses time words (昨天、刚才、那天, etc.) + context for past, instead of always marking tense explicitly.

Could we drop 她 and just say 哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机? When can you omit the possessor or pronoun?

Yes, you can say just 哥哥在客厅里玩游戏机, if it’s already clear from context whose brother you mean (or if it’s “our/this family’s older brother,” etc.).

Chinese often omits pronouns and possessives when:

The reference is already obvious from context; or
The family role is within “our” family or a shared setting.

Examples:

妈妈在做饭。– (My/our) mom is cooking.
哥哥在看书。– (My/our) older brother is reading.

In your isolated sentence, 她哥哥 keeps it clear that it’s her brother (not the speaker’s). In a longer conversation, if that’s already established, speakers may shorten it to 哥哥.

What’s the difference between 高兴 and 快乐? Could we say 玩得很快乐?

Both relate to “happiness”, but their usage differs a bit:

高兴
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Often used for immediate, visible happiness / pleasure.
- 她很高兴。– She is happy (right now, about something).
快乐
- Feels slightly more formal or abstract; often used for lasting happiness, well-being, or in set phrases.
- 祝你生日快乐。– Happy birthday.

You can say:

他玩得很快乐。

It’s grammatical, but sounds less colloquial than 玩得很高兴, which is very natural for “He had a great time playing.”