正在 in process of action and location

Dear friends,

Here is the 2-character modern Chinese word 正在(in process of certain action and location) for this lesson. We are going to learn this word from some example phrases. Please watch the following video instruction for the lesson today:

Let's study the first phrase:

They are working.

他們正在工作

Tā-men zhèng-zài gōng-zuò

他們(they) + 正在(in process of) + 工作(work)

the 2-character word:

they

他們

tā-men

is noun of a group of people

and the 2-character word:

work

工作

gōng-zuò

can be used as a verb "work" or noun "job, work"

Now here is the 2-character word:

in process of

正在

zhèng-zài

when  正在 + verb, it's just like "be + verb+ing" in English.

for example:

正在(in process of) + 工作(work)

is like "be + working" the Present Progressive Tense in English sentence.

So far we only introduce the action of the 正在(in process of), and it could also contain the function of a location adverb 在(zài  at, in, on) which is always the same character and pronunciation in Chinese. 

The second phrase:

working in the office

在辦公室工作

zài bàn-gōng-shì gōng-zuò

在(in) + 辦公室(office) +工作(work)

the location adverb 在(zài at, in, on) which is always the same character and pronunciation in Chinese

Here is the trick when we are using 正在(in process of), in this case we don't need the location adverb 在(at, in, on) to avoid repeating the same character 在(at, in, on) twice.

for example:

They are working in the office.

他們正在辦公室工作

Tā-men zhèng-zài bàn-gōng-shì gōng-zuò

他們(they) + 正在(action and location) + 辦公室(office) +工作(work)

check the first part of the sentence above:

They are in the office right now.

他們正在辦公室

Tā-men zhèng-zài bàn-gōng-shì

他們(they) + 正在(location, right now) + 辦公室(office)

Using the 正在(location, right now), It's the Present Progressive Tense to replace the formal location adverb 在(at, in, on) .

Let's study the another example:

Those people are dancing.

那些人正在跳舞

Nà-xiē rén zhèng-zài tiào-wǔ

那些人(those people) + 正在(in process of) + 跳舞(dance)

again, 正在(in process of) + 跳舞(dance) is just like (be + dancing) the Present Progressive Tense in English.

Let's study the use of 在(at, in, on) and 正在(location, right now):

dancing on the stage

在舞台跳舞

zài wǔ-tái tiào-wǔ

在(on) + 舞台(stage) + 跳舞(dance)

and

dancing on the stage right now

正在舞台跳舞

zài wǔ-tái tiào-wǔ

正在(action and location) + 舞台(stage) + 跳舞(dance)

so we won't use the character 在(at, in, on) twice when the 正在(action and location) is already used.

The whole sentence in this lesson:

Those people are dancing on the stage.

那些人正在舞台跳舞

Nà-xiē rén zhèng-zài wǔ-tái tiào-wǔ

那些人(those people) + 正在(action and location) + 舞台(stage) + 跳舞(dance)

The function of this 2-character word 正在(action and location) is just Present Progressive Tense plus location adverb in English.

Please check the analysis of phrases and vocabulary of this lesson via my database site:

http://www.chinese-word.com/lessons/lesson-54.html

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Have a nice day!

祝你有美好的一天

Regards,

Andres Leo