Directional verbs
In Chinese, to express movement there are essentially two ways of doing so:
1. Introducing the place with a preposition (state, movement, and so on), to then insert the appropriate movement verb:
Preposition + place + movement
Here are a few examples:
我到中国去。
dào zhōngguó qù.
I go to China.
你到哪儿去了？
Nǐ dào nǎr qùle?
Where did you go?
2. The directional verb can be followed directly by the place, without needing a preposition:
directional verb + place
Here are a few examples:
我去中国。
Wǒ qù zhōngguó.
I go to China.
你去哪儿了？
Nǐ qù nǎr le?
Where did you go?
The main directional verbs are reported below:
来 (lái) “to come to”; 去 (qù) “to go”; 上 (shàng) “to go up on”; 下 (xià) “to go down from”; 到 (dào) “to arrive at”.
Directional prepositions
The main directional prepositions however are listed here:
到 (dào) “to, towards”[motion]; 从(cóng) “from” [motion]; 在(zài) “in, to be in” [state]; 往 (wǎng) “toward” [motion]; 到 (dào) “to, toward” [motion towards].
Here are a few examples:
我从意大利来。
Wǒ cóng yìdàlì lái.
I come from Italy.
我在家学习。
Wǒ zài jiā xuéxí.
I study at home.
我们往北去。
Wǒmen wǎng běi qù.
We go to the north.
她到中国去。
Tā dào Zhōngguó qù.
She is going to China.
The character 在
The character 在 (zài) can be used both as a verb “to be in/ to find oneself in” and as a preposition “in/at” which can introduce a place where one does something or where you can find someone or something. Let’s see some examples:
在 (verb):
我在家。
Wǒ zài jiā.
I’m at home.
她在吗？
Tā zài ma?
Is she there?
她不在。
Tā bù zài.
She isn’t there.
她在学校吗？
Tā zài xuéxiào ma?
I she at school?
在 (preposition):
我在家学习。
Wǒ zài jiā xuéxí.
I study at home.
我在西西里住。
Wǒ zài xīxīlǐ zhù.
I live in Sicily.
他在食堂吃饭。
Tā zài shítáng chīfàn.
He eats in the cafeteria.
我的朋友在家里看电视。
Wǒ de péngyou zài jiā lǐ kàn diànshì.
My friend watches television at home.
Complements
Complements are characters that are put right after a noun to indicate the spacial coordinates (above, below, behind, in front of, to the right, to the left). Keep in mind that complements go right after what they are referring to.
Let’s look at a brief list of the complements that are most used:
上 (shàng) “above”; 下 (xià) “below”; 前边 (qiánbian) “in front of”; 后边 (hòu bian) “behind”; 里 (lǐ) “inside”; 外 (wài) “outside”; 左 (zuǒ) “left”; 右 (yòu) “right”.
Here are a few examples:
在桌子上有两本书。
Zài zhuōzi shàng yǒu liǎng běn shū.
There are two books on the table.
在学校后边有两个人。
Zài xuéxiào hòubian yǒu liǎng ge rén.
There are two people behind the school.
在树下有两只猫。
Zài shù xià yǒu liǎng zhī māo.
There are two cats under the tree.
在他的右边是他妈妈。
Zài tā de yòu bian shì tā māma.
Her mom is on her right.
In location constructions, 在 can also be omitted:
桌子上有我的钢笔。
Zhuōzi shàng yǒu wǒ de gāngbǐ.
My pen is on the table.
In location constructions, 在 can also be used as a verb:
我的钢笔在桌子上。
Wǒ de gāngbǐ zài zhuōzi shàng.
My pen is on the table.
我的书在书桌上。
Wǒ de shū zài shūzhuō shàng.
My books are on the table.
The distance complement
This complement indicates the distance between places, things and people. For this complement the character 离 (lí) is vitally important, and can be translated as “from” or as “to leave, to leave from”.
Here is the structure of the phrase:
Place A离 (lí) Place B很远 (hěn yuǎn) (Place A is far from Place B)
Place A离 (lí) Place B很近 (hěn jìn) (Place A is close to Place B)
Let’s look at a few examples:
学校离城市很远。
Xuéxiào lí chéngshì hěn yuǎn.
The school is far from the city.
苹果离梨子很近。
Píngguǒ lí lízi hěn jìn.
The apple is close to the pear.
火车站离学校很近吗？不，很远。
Huǒchē zhàn lí xuéxiào hěn jìn ma? Bù, hěn yuǎn.
Is the station close to the school? No, it’s far.
To indicate the specific distance you need to use 有 (yǒu) “to have/there’s”:
学校离图书馆有三米。
Xuéxiào lí túshūguǎn yǒu sān mǐ.
The school is 3 meters away from the library.
学校离公司有五十公里远。
Xuéxiào lí gōngsī yǒu wǔ shí gōnglǐ yuǎn.
The school is fifty kilometers away from the company.
To ask how close an object or a place is from another object or place you use the predicative adjective: 多 (duō) “how much(?)”.
Here’s an example:
学校离图书馆有多远？
Xuéxiào lí túshūguǎn yǒu duō yuǎn?
How far from the school is the bookstore?
“Here” and “there”
In this case you use the structures:
这里 (zhèlǐ) / 这儿 (zhèr) “here”;
那里 (nàli) / 那儿 (nàr) “there”.
Here are a few examples:
离这里很近。
Lí zhèlǐ hěn jìn.
From here it’s close.
离那里很近。
Lí nàli hěn jìn.
From there it’s close.
离这里很远。
Lí zhèlǐ hěn yuǎn.
It’s far from here.
离那里很远。
Lí nàli hěn yuǎn.
It’s far from there.
When 这里/这儿 (here) and 那里/那儿 (there) follow a person’s name or a personal pronoun they are translated as near to…/ at the house of…”
我去他那儿。
Wǒ qù tā nàr.
I go to him.
她来我这儿。
Tā lái wǒ zhèr.
She comes to me.
我去朋友那儿。
Wǒ qù péngyou nàr.
I go to friends.
她们来我的朋友这儿。
Tāmen lái wǒ de péngyou zhèr.
They come to my friend’s house.
我到朋友那儿去。
Wǒ dào péngyou nàr qù.
I go to my friends’.
我从朋友这儿来。
Wǒ cóng péngyou zhèr lái.
I go to my friends’ house.
The verb 有 (yǒu) “to have/there’s”
The verb 有 (yǒu) can have two different meanings: to have/there’s. How do you know when to use one or the other?
When 有 (yǒu) is used as a verb of existence “there’s”, what you find at its left is a location complement, or a place:
餐厅有两个服务员。
Cāntīng yǒu liǎng ge fúwùyuán.
There are two waiters in the restaurant.
桌子上有两本词典。
Zhuōzi shàng yǒu liǎng běn cídiǎn.
There are two dictionaries on the table.
When 有 (yǒu) is used as a verb that indicates the possessive “to have”, what you find to the left is generally a subject:
他有两本词典。
Tā yǒu liǎng běn cídiǎn.
He has two dictionaries.
她有一只猫。
Tā yǒu yī zhī māo.
She has a cat.
In both cases, 有 (yǒu) you can negate it with 没 (méi):
餐厅没有服务员。
Cāntīng méi yǒu fúwùyuán.
There are no waiters at the restaurant.
他没有词典。
Tā méi yǒu cídiǎn.
He doesn’t have a dictionary.
Photo Credits: 
Chinese New Year Parade 17 by Steve Rhodes
