Learn Hardcore Chinese: tā xiànzài xiàng wǒ yíyàng zài zhè gè chéngshì xué zhōngwén. - He is now studying Chinese in this city, just like me.

Without 一样, 像我在这个城市学中文 would sound like “(someone) who is like me is studying Chinese in this city”, which is not the intended structure. The fixed pattern 像…一样 keeps the meaning “in the same way as …” clear and natural in this context.

What is the overall word order here, and why are the words placed in this order?

The sentence follows a very typical Chinese word order pattern:

Subject + Time + (Manner / comparison) + Location + Verb + Object

Applied to this sentence:

他 – subject
现在 – time
像我一样 – comparison / manner
在这个城市 – location
学 – verb
中文 – object

So you get:

他 + 现在 + 像我一样 + 在这个城市 + 学 + 中文。

This matches a common template:

我明天在家看电视。
I will watch TV at home tomorrow.

In conversation, there is some flexibility, but the sentence as given is perfectly standard and natural in Chinese.

What is 在 (zài) doing before 这个城市? Is it location or is it like the progressive “be doing” in English?

Here 在 is clearly indicating location, not progressive aspect.

在 + place = at / in + place
- 在这个城市 = in this city

Chinese does sometimes use 在 + Verb as a progressive marker (e.g. 我在吃饭 = I’m eating), but:

In this sentence, 在 is followed by 这个城市, a noun phrase, not by a verb.
The verb of the sentence is 学, which comes later.

So the structure is:

在这个城市 (location phrase) + 学中文 (verb-object).

The progressive feeling (“is studying now”) actually comes from the time word 现在 rather than a special progressive auxiliary.

Could we leave out 在 and just say 他现在像我一样这个城市学中文?

No, that would be ungrammatical.

To express a location in front of the verb, Chinese normally uses:

在 + place + Verb …

So you need 在这个城市学中文.

Without 在, 这个城市学中文 just looks like a long noun phrase (“this city Chinese-learning”) rather than a clear place + verb structure.

Correct options include:

他现在像我一样在这个城市学中文。
他现在在这个城市像我一样学中文。 (reordered, but still with 在)

Why is the measure word 个 (gè) used with 城市 (chéngshì)? Can we use other measure words?

个 is the default / most common measure word in Mandarin. When in doubt, 个 is often okay, so:

一个城市 = one city
在这个城市 = in this city

For 城市, there is also a more “proper” or formal measure word:

座 (zuò): used for large, fixed structures like cities, bridges, buildings
- 在这座城市 = in this city (more formal / slightly more literary)

So both are possible:

在这个城市 – very common, neutral, everyday
在这座城市 – a bit more literary or descriptive

Learners typically learn 个 first, and it is perfectly natural here.

What is the difference between 中文 and 汉语? Why are we using 中文 here?

Both can refer to the Chinese language, but there are nuances:

中文 (zhōngwén)
- Literally: “Chinese writing / Chinese text”
- Widely used to mean Chinese as a language in general: speaking, reading, writing
- Common in school contexts, courses, and casual speech
- E.g. 学中文, 中文课, 中文老师
汉语 (hànyǔ)
- Literally: “the language of the Han people”
- Slightly more linguistic / formal / technical
- Often used in titles like 汉语水平考试 (HSK)

In most everyday contexts, 学中文 and 学汉语 are both acceptable. Using 中文 in this sentence sounds completely natural for someone saying they are “studying Chinese (as a subject / foreign language)”.

Is there a difference between 学中文 and 学习中文?

Yes, mainly in register and emphasis:

学中文
- Short, very common in speech
- Neutral, everyday
- E.g. 我在北京学中文。 – I study Chinese in Beijing.
学习中文
- Slightly more formal / written
- Sounds a bit more serious or academic
- E.g. 我在大学学习中文。 – I study Chinese at university.

In this sentence, 学中文 matches the casual, conversational style. 学习中文 would also be grammatically correct, but just a little more formal in tone.

Can I replace 像我一样 with 和我一样? Do they mean the same thing?

You can say:

他现在和我一样在这个城市学中文。

This is grammatical and natural, and the meaning is almost the same:

像我一样 – “like me / similar to me”
和我一样 – “the same as me / together with me in sameness”

In many contexts they are interchangeable. Subtle nuance:

像我一样 sometimes has more of a “similar to me” feeling.
和我一样 can feel a bit more symmetrical, like “he and I are the same in this respect”.

But in this particular sentence, most native speakers would not feel a strong difference; both are fine.

How do we know this sentence is about “he is studying Chinese now,” since there’s no explicit present continuous tense?

Chinese does not mark tense the way English does; it relies on:

Time words: 现在, 明天, 以前, etc.
Context
Sometimes aspect particles (了, 着, 过).

Here, 现在 (xiànzài) gives the time reference:

他现在 … 学中文。
→ He now studies Chinese / is studying Chinese.

In English we often prefer present continuous (“is studying”) when we see now, so we naturally translate it that way, but in Chinese the bare verb 学 together with 现在 already covers that idea.

If you remove 现在, it becomes more general:

他像我一样在这个城市学中文。
→ He, like me, studies Chinese in this city. (no specific time emphasized)

Can the order of 像我一样 and 在这个城市 be swapped? For example: 他现在在这个城市像我一样学中文?

Yes, you can say:

他现在在这个城市像我一样学中文。

This is also grammatical and natural. The difference is subtle:

他现在像我一样在这个城市学中文。
- Comparison comes first:
  - “He now, like me, is studying Chinese in this city.”
- Slight focus: he is in the same situation as me (we’re both in this city studying Chinese).
他现在在这个城市像我一样学中文。
- Location comes first:
  - “He is now in this city, and (there) he, like me, studies Chinese.”
- Slight focus: he is in this city, and in that setting he is like me (studying Chinese).

In everyday speech, both are fine; the difference is more about emphasis than grammar.