Existential sentences: 桌子上放着…, 来了一位…
特殊句型 / special sentence patterns
Tone colorsā tone 1á tone 2ǎ tone 3à tone 4a neutral
To describe what is located somewhere, or what appears / disappears, Chinese starts with the place, then the verb, then the thing or person (usually indefinite, with a number).
- Existence with 着: 墙上挂着一张地图 (on the wall hangs a map).
- Appearance / disappearance with 了: 楼下搬来了一家人 (a family moved in downstairs), 我们班走了两个同学 (two classmates left our class).
It's like English "There is…" or "In came…". The place doesn't need 在 in front.
Examples
桌子上放着很多箱子。
Zhuōzi shang fàng zhe hěn duō xiāngzi.There are lots of boxes on the table.
门口站着一个人。
Ménkǒu zhàn zhe yí ge rén.There's someone standing at the door.
我们楼里搬来了一位新邻居。
Wǒmen lóu lǐ bānlai le yí wèi xīn línjū.A new neighbour has moved into our building.
墙上挂着一张城市地图。
Qiáng shang guà zhe yì zhāng chéngshì dìtú.A city map is hanging on the wall.
Common mistakes
✗ 在桌子上放着一本书。 → no 在 at the start. ✓ 桌子上放着一本书。
✗ 桌子上放着那本书。 → the thing is normally indefinite. ✓ 桌子上放着一本书。 (For a known thing: 那本书在桌子上。)