HSK 2
存现句1：表示存在
cún xiàn jù 1 ： biǎo shì cún zài
Existential sentence structure (存现句1)
Explanation
Existential sentence (存现句 — a sentence describing what or who exists somewhere).
Place (at the START of the sentence, as the topic) + 有 yǒu (there is/have) OR verb + 着 zhe + the phrase 'quantity + noun'.
桌子上有一本词典 (There is a dictionary on the table); 桌子上放着一本词典 (A dictionary is lying on the table).
When describing a scene, or the position of an object or person. 着 zhe is a particle (a function word added to express a grammatical meaning, with no separate meaning of its own) attached after a verb to indicate a lasting state of EXISTENCE (being placed/standing there).
The 有 yǒu form only states 'there exists'; the verb + 着 zhe form describes clearly in what POSTURE/MANNER the thing exists (放着 = is placed lying there, 站着 = is standing there).
Vietnamese learners often put the place at the end of the sentence out of Vietnamese habit ('there is a dictionary on the table'); in a Chinese existential sentence, the PLACE must come first. In addition, the noun that follows is usually something UNidentified (a certain...), not used with 'this/that one'.
Examples
(1) Place + 有 (there is) + quantity phrase + noun. Example: There is a dictionary on the table.
(2) Place + verb + 着 (a state marker) (+ quantity phrase) + noun
There is a dictionary lying on the table.
A teacher is standing at the front of the classroom.
On the table lie books, pens, and notebooks.
Practice
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The grammar point “存现句1：表示存在” (Existential sentence structure (存现句1)) is one of the key structures at HSK 2. To use it fluently, you need to understand the contexts where it's used and practice regularly.
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