| 你在家吗？ |
| Nǐ zài jiā ma? |
| 我不在家，我在公司。 |
| Wǒ bú zài jiā, wǒ zài gōng sī. |
Dialogue
| 1) | A: | 你 | 在 | 北京 | 吗？ | | | Nǐ | zài | běi jīng | ma? |
Are you in Beijing? | Download | |
| B: | 我 | 在 | 北京 | , | 你 | 呢? | | | Wǒ | zài | Běijīng | . | Nǐ | ne? |
I'm in Beijing.And you? | Download | |
I'm in Shanghai. | Download | |
| 2) | A: | 爸爸 | ， | 你 | 在 | 家 | 吗？ | | | Bàba | , | nǐ | zài | jiā | ma? |
Dad, are you at home? | Download | |
| B: | 我 | 不 | 在 | 家 | ， | 我 | 在 | 公司。 | | | Wǒ | bú | zài | jiā | , | wǒ | zài | gōng | sī. |
I'm not at home,I'm at work. | Download | |
Grammar
| ˙Expressing existence of sb or sth in a place with 在(zài) |
To describe sb or sth in a place, you can simply follow this simple structure: |
sb/sth + 在(zài)+ location Unlike English, you don't need to insert any preposition such as in, at or on etc. between 在(zài) and the location, as 在(zài) itself means "to be in or to be at", already inlcuding the verb plus prep. |
Examples: |
| sb/sth | to be in or at | location | | 我 | 在 | 北京。 | | Wǒ | zài | běi jīng. | | I | am in | Beijing. | | | | 她 | 在 | 公司。 | | Tā | zài | gōng sī. | | She | is in | the compay. | | | | 我的手机 | 在 | 家。 | | Wǒ de shǒu jī | zài | jiā. | | My mobile phone | is at | home. | | | | 我的书 | 在 | 学校。 | | Wǒ de shū | zài | xué xiào. | | My book | is in | school. |
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Examples: |
| 你 | 在 | 家 | 嗎？ | | Nǐ | zài | jiā | ma? | | Are you at home? |
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| 我 | 在 | 家。 | / | 我 | 在。 | | Wǒ | zài | jiā. | / | Wǒ | zài. | | I‘m at home. |
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| 我 | 不 | 在 | 家。 | / | 我 | 不 | 在。 | | Wǒ | bú | zài | jiā. | / | Wǒ | bú | zài. | | I‘m not at home. |
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Note: In the real life situation, If both parties are ware of the place talked about, there is no need to mention it in the response as to avoid repetition.
Vocabulary
| 在 | v. | to be in or at |
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| 家 | n. | home |
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| 公司 | n. | company |
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