I can say what I do and where I work, ask someone else about it, and say who treats me well.
Where do you work: 在…工作 and 对
Where do you work: 在…工作 and 对
This lesson is for saying what you do and where you work, and understanding someone else who tells you.
“What do you do?” is the set phrase 你做什么工作？(Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?) The answer is “我是 + job”, with no word for “a”: 我是老师。(Wǒ shì lǎoshī.)
Where you work is 在 + place + 工作. The place comes BEFORE the verb, as in the lesson “My day”, not at the end as in English “I work at a school”: 我妈妈在学校工作。(Wǒ māma zài xuéxiào gōngzuò.)
工作 is both “work, a job” (我的工作很忙。(Wǒ de gōngzuò hěn máng.)) and “to work” (我在公司工作。(Wǒ zài gōngsī gōngzuò.)).
对 — “to, toward”: who + 对 + whom + 很好 (“be good to someone”). English puts “to someone” after “good”; in Chinese 对 and the person come before 很好: 王先生对同事很好。(Wáng xiānsheng duì tóngshì hěn hǎo.)
Common mistakes:
• ×我工作在公司。→ 我在公司工作。(Wǒ zài gōngsī gōngzuò.)
• ×杨经理很好对我们。→ 杨经理对我们很好。(Yáng jīnglǐ duì wǒmen hěn hǎo.)
• ×他是工程师在公司。→ 他是工程师，他在公司工作。(Tā shì gōngchéngshī, tā zài gōngsī gōngzuò.)
Who works where
A job isn't a place; “where” needs a separate question.
| Job | Where they work |
|---|---|
| 老师 (lǎoshī) | 学校 (xuéxiào) |
| 医生 (yīshēng) | 医院 (yīyuàn) |
| 服务员 (fúwùyuán) | 饭店 (fàndiàn) |
| 司机 (sījī) | 出租车 (chūzūchē) |
| 经理 (jīnglǐ) | 公司 (gōngsī) |
| 工程师 (gōngchéngshī) | 公司 (gōngsī) |
在 + place + 工作; 对 + to whom + 很好
The place and “to whom” go before the predicate, not after it.
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| who + 在 + where + 工作 | 我妈妈在学校工作。(Wǒ māma zài xuéxiào gōngzuò.) |
| who + 对 + to whom + 很好 | 王先生对同事很好。(Wáng xiānsheng duì tóngshì hěn hǎo.) |
Lesson notes
Where do you work: 在…工作 and 对
This lesson is for saying what you do and where you work, and understanding someone else who tells you.
“What do you do?” is the set phrase 你做什么工作？(Nǐ zuò shénme gōngzuò?) The answer is “我是 + job”, with no word for “a”: 我是老师。(Wǒ shì lǎoshī.)
Where you work is 在 + place + 工作. The place comes BEFORE the verb, as in the lesson “My day”, not at the end as in English “I work at a school”: 我妈妈在学校工作。(Wǒ māma zài xuéxiào gōngzuò.)
工作 is both “work, a job” (我的工作很忙。(Wǒ de gōngzuò hěn máng.)) and “to work” (我在公司工作。(Wǒ zài gōngsī gōngzuò.)).
对 — “to, toward”: who + 对 + whom + 很好 (“be good to someone”). English puts “to someone” after “good”; in Chinese 对 and the person come before 很好: 王先生对同事很好。(Wáng xiānsheng duì tóngshì hěn hǎo.)
Common mistakes:
• ×我工作在公司。→ 我在公司工作。(Wǒ zài gōngsī gōngzuò.)
• ×杨经理很好对我们。→ 杨经理对我们很好。(Yáng jīnglǐ duì wǒmen hěn hǎo.)
• ×他是工程师在公司。→ 他是工程师，他在公司工作。(Tā shì gōngchéngshī, tā zài gōngsī gōngzuò.)