在: to be at (verb) and at / in (preposition)

【一16】介词“在” / 动词“在”

Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral

Something + 在 + Place　/　Subject + 在 + Place + Verb

在 (zài) has two closely related basic uses:

1. Verb “to be (located) at”: 书在桌子上 (the book is on the table). 我在家 (I'm at home). Location uses 在, not 是!

2. Preposition “at, in” before a verb: 哥哥在北京学中文 (my brother studies Chinese in Beijing). “在 + place” goes before the verb, never after.

Question: …在哪儿？ Negative: 不在 (他不在家, he's not home).

Examples

手机在书包里。
Shǒujī zài shūbāo li.
The phone is in the schoolbag.
爸爸不在家。
Bàba bú zài jiā.
Dad isn't home.
哥哥在北京学中文。
Gēge zài Běijīng xué Zhōngwén.
My older brother studies Chinese in Beijing.
他在手机上看电影。
Tā zài shǒujī shang kàn diànyǐng.
He watches movies on his phone.
我们在哪儿见面？
Wǒmen zài nǎr jiànmiàn?
Where shall we meet?

Common mistakes

✗ 我是在家 / 我是家 → ✓ 我在家.

✗ 我工作在医院 (from “I work at the hospital”) → ✓ 我在医院工作.

✗ 他在北京里 → ✓ 他在北京 (no 里 after city or country names).