在 + place + verb — where an action happensHSK 1
Where does the place go in a Chinese sentence?
In Chinese the place phrase comes before the verb: 在商店工作 (at-store work), the opposite order from English 'work at the store'.
的 — possessive/attributive particleHSK 1
How do you show possession in Chinese?
的 links a noun to what comes after it, like 's in English.
有 — there is / there areHSK 1
How do you say "have" in Chinese?
有 introduces what exists in a place: place + 有 + thing.
是 — A is BHSK 1
How do you say "is" in Chinese?
是 links two nouns: A 是 B means 'A is B'. Use it for identity, not for adjectives.
住在 + place — to live somewhereHSK 1
How do you say where you live in Chinese?
住 (to live) takes 在 plus a place right after it to say where you live.
在 + place (+ 上)HSK 1
How do you say where someone is in Chinese?
在 puts someone or something at a place, and 上 after the place means 'on/aboard': 在飞机上 = on the plane.
How to use this page
These 7 patterns all do the same job in Chinese, so they are worth seeing side by side — the differences between them are easier to feel when they are next to each other than when they are spread across six HSK levels. They range from HSK 1–2.
Grammar sticks through reading, not through lists. Each entry links to the reading it was taken from. Skim the page, then go read one of them and come back when a sentence stops making sense.