Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā xiǎng liú zài zhè gè chéngshì gōngzuò.

想
- Softer, more tentative: “would like to,” “intend to.”
- Often sounds less forceful and more polite.
- Example: 我想去中国。= I’d like to go to China.
要
- Stronger intention or decision: “going to,” “going to (for sure).”
- Can also mean “must / need to” in some contexts.
- Example: 我要去中国。= I’m going to China (I’ve decided / it’s set).
想要
- Often used with nouns: “to want (something).”
  - 我想要一辆车。= I want a car.
- Before a verb, it can feel stronger than 想 (more desire-focused), but many people just use 想:
  - 她想要留在这个城市工作。= She really wants to stay in this city to work.
  - 她想留在这个城市工作。= She wants / plans to stay in this city to work.

In everyday speech, 想 + verb is extremely common and natural for expressing “want to do something.”

Why are there two verbs, 留 (liú) and 工作 (gōngzuò), with no “and” or “to” between them?

Chinese often uses serial verbs, where multiple verbs appear in sequence without conjunctions like “and” or “to.”

Structure here:

她想留在这个城市工作。
= She wants to stay (留) [in this city] (在这个城市) to work (工作).

You can think of it as:

留在这个城市 – to stay/remain in this city
工作 – to work

Put together: “(She wants) to stay in this city (in order) to work.”

Other examples of this pattern:

我去北京学习。
= I’m going to Beijing to study. (去 = go, 学习 = study)
他回来吃饭。
= He comes back to eat.

So there is no word equivalent to English “to” or “and” between 留 and 工作; their relationship is understood from context and word order.

What extra meaning does 留 (liú) add? Could we just say 她想在这个城市工作?

Yes, you can say:

她想在这个城市工作。
= She wants to work in this city.

The difference:

她想在这个城市工作。
- Neutral: she wants a job / career in this city.
- No particular emphasis on “staying” versus “leaving.”
她想留在这个城市工作。
- 留在 adds the idea of “staying / remaining (instead of leaving)”.
- Often implies:
  - She is already in this city and is deciding whether to stay or move away, and she chooses to stay.
  - Or there was some possibility that she would go somewhere else, but she prefers to stay here and work.

So 留在 highlights the choice to remain in this city, not just the fact of working there.

What is the role of 在 (zài) here? Can I drop it and say 留这个城市工作?

Here, 在 is a location marker, roughly like “at / in” in English.

The pattern is:

在 + place + Verb
- 在这个城市工作 = to work in this city

In the given sentence:

留在这个城市工作
- Literally: “stay at/in this city (and) work.”

You cannot simply drop 在 here:

✗ 留这个城市工作 – This is unnatural / wrong in this meaning.

Without 在, 留 often means “to leave (behind)” in Modern Chinese (e.g., 留一个字条 = leave a note), which would confuse the meaning. To express “stay in (a place)” you generally need 留在 + place or the related verb 留下来 + 在 + place.

So 在 is essential to make it “stay in this city,” not “leave this city” or some other meaning.

Is 在这个城市工作 one unit, or does 在这个城市 belong to 留?

Native speakers don’t usually analyze it strictly in everyday use, but both of these views are reasonable:

在这个城市 goes with 工作:
- Pattern: 在 + place + 工作
- Whole chunk: “work in this city”
- Then 留在 expresses “stay and [then] work”:
  - 留在 [这个城市工作] – stay (in order to) work in this city.
Or you can loosely feel:
- 留在这个城市 – stay in this city
- 工作 – work
- So: “stay in this city and work.”

Grammatically, Chinese allows some flexibility, and speakers don’t usually separate it consciously. Functionally, the sentence means:

She wants to stay (rather than leave) and (there) work in this city.

The safe takeaway patterns for you:

在 + place + 工作 – work in a place
留在 + place + (Verb) – stay in a place (to do something)

Why do we need 个 (gè) after 这 (zhè) in 这个城市? Can I say 这城市?

Chinese nouns normally require a measure word (classifier) when they’re modified by a demonstrative like 这 (“this”) or 那 (“that”).

Basic pattern:

这 / 那 + measure word + noun

So:

这 + 个 + 城市 = 这个城市 – this city

个 is the most common general-purpose measure word, so it’s used here.

About 这城市:

In standard, careful speech and writing, 这城市 is usually considered incomplete or informal; 这个城市 is preferred.
In spoken / casual language or certain literary styles (especially in songs, novels), 这城市 or 那城市 may appear, but this is not the default you should aim for as a learner.

You will also see more specific measure words:

这座城市 – this city (座 is used for cities, buildings, bridges, mountains; more formal/poetic in this case)
那个大城市 – that big city (using 个 again)

As a learner, 这个城市 is the safest and most natural form.

How are 这 (zhè) and 个 (gè) pronounced in real speech? I sometimes hear zhèi ge or zhè ge with neutral tone.

Standard pronunciations:

这 – zhè (fourth tone)
个 – gè (fourth tone)

In natural, connected speech, two things often happen:

这 can be pronounced zhèi (as in “zhèi ge”) before a measure word.
- 这个城市 → zhèi ge chéngshì (very common in colloquial speech)
- Official pinyin still writes zhè, not zhèi, even if you say zhèi.
个 often becomes neutral tone in fast speech:
- gè → ge (light, unstressed)
- 这个城市 → zhèi ge chéngshì (zhèi + neutral-tone ge)

So in careful reading:

这个城市 → zhè gè chéngshì

In everyday conversation:

这个城市 → often zhèi ge chéngshì

Both are understood; the pinyin spelling remains zhè gè.

What’s the difference between 城市 (chéngshì) and 城 (chéng)? Could we say 这个城?

城市
- The standard modern word for “city”.
- Used in everyday speech, news, official terms, etc.
- Example: 大城市 (big city), 城市生活 (city life).
城
- Originally: “city wall, walled town.”
- Today, often appears in compounds: 城门 (city gate), 古城 (old town), 城里 (in the city).
- On its own as 这座城 / 这城, it sounds literary, poetic, or old-fashioned, common in songs, novels, and poetic descriptions.

In normal modern speech, you should say:

这个城市 – this city

You could see or hear:

这座城 – this city/town (more literary / emotional in tone)

But 这个城 is not the usual modern choice for “this city.”

Could the sentence be 她想在这个城市工作 instead of 她想留在这个城市工作? Where do location phrases usually go?

Yes:

她想在这个城市工作。 – Fully correct and very natural.

Location phrases with 在 usually follow this pattern:

在 + place + Verb

and they generally come before the main verb they modify:

在家学习 – study at home
在北京工作 – work in Beijing
她想在这个城市工作 – she wants to work in this city

Compare a few patterns:

她想在这个城市工作。 – She wants to work in this city.
她想留在这个城市工作。 – She wants to stay in this city and work. (emphasis on staying)

Sentences like:

✗ 她想工作在这个城市。 – Usually sounds unnatural or at best very marked.
✗ 她想在这个城市留工作。 – Wrong word order.

So the safe rule: put 在 + place before the verb (or verb phrase) whose location you are describing.

Can I add 里 (lǐ) and say 她想留在这个城市里工作? Does it change the meaning?

Yes, you can say:

她想留在这个城市里工作。

This is also correct. The difference is subtle:

这个城市工作 vs 这个城市里工作
在这个城市工作
- Neutral “work in this city.”
在这个城市里工作
- 里 (“inside”) slightly emphasizes being within the limits / inside the area of the city.
- It can feel a bit more vivid or concrete, as if you’re picturing the city as a space you’re inside of.

In many contexts, both are interchangeable and both sound natural. If you’re unsure, leaving out 里 is perfectly fine:
她想留在这个城市工作。

Should there be 了 (le) anywhere to show future intention, like “she will want to stay” or “she has decided to stay”?

No 了 is needed for the basic meaning of the given sentence.

她想留在这个城市工作。
→ Context usually decides whether it’s present (“she wants now”) or future-oriented (“she wants to, so she probably will”).

Chinese does not use 了 to mark the future the way English uses “will.” Instead:

想 / 要 and future time words (e.g., 明年, 以后) show future intention.
- 明年她想留在这个城市工作。
  = Next year she wants to stay in this city and work.

You would add 了 only if you want to emphasize a change of situation or a decision already made, often with other words:

她已经决定留在这个城市工作了。
= She has already decided to stay in this city to work (and this is a new/settled decision).

But for the neutral “She wants to stay in this city to work,” no 了 is necessary.

Both “he” and “she” are pronounced tā in Chinese. How do we know that 她 (tā) here means “she,” and not “he”?

In spoken Mandarin:

他, 她, and 它 (he, she, it) are all pronounced the same: tā.

In writing, they are distinguished:

他 – he (human male; historically the default “he”)
她 – she (human female)
它 – it (animals, objects, abstract things)

In this sentence, you know it’s “she” only because the character is 她, which contains the “female” radical 女 on the left.

In spoken conversation, you can’t hear the difference; context tells you whether tā is “he,” “she,” or “it.” For example, if people were just talking about a woman, tā would naturally be understood as “she.”

Could the subject 她 be omitted in some contexts?

Yes. Chinese frequently omits subjects when they are clear from context.

For example, in a conversation where it’s obvious we’re talking about her:

A: 她打算怎么办？
What is she planning to do?
B: 想留在这个城市工作。
(She) wants to stay in this city and work.

Here, 她 is dropped because the listener already knows who is being discussed.

However, in an isolated example sentence, or when introducing new information, it is normal and clearer to keep the subject:

她想留在这个城市工作。 – complete, standalone sentence.