Using "zai"

BangWo
 November 29, 2012, 05:43 PM posted in General Discussion

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我们坐那张桌子吧.

 

I found this on ChinesePod and was wondering why there is no "在".  Wouldn't one say, "我们坐 (zai) 那张桌子吧.

在
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animalplanet
 November 29, 2012, 06:01 PM

"在" refers a particular position which need to be illustrated. in this sentence, a position must be pointed with the "桌子" if "在" is used.

 “我们坐在那张桌子旁边吧”or “我们坐在那张桌子上面吧”

 

 

 

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darkstar94

Interesting, you learn something new everyday! I assumed 在 was necessary too.

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podster

I definitely would have made that mistake too. I guess you "sit a table" instead of "sit AT the table" in same way that you "sit a train", sit a car", sit a plane", etc. 坐火车。 坐汽车。 坐飞机。 Although the table does not take you anywhere. I did see a Get Smart movie though where Agent 86 drove off using his desk.

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BangWo

cool, thanx. I knew there was something I was missing. That makes sense that you need a specific location or position when using "zai"

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Right-Wingnut

In a Google search:

"坐那张桌子" gets 1.47 million hits

"坐在那张桌子" gets 5.22 million hits

So it seems it is more usual to use the 在 than not. So this explanation is probably not 100% correct.

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podster
 November 30, 2012, 04:50 AM

Desk Car

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RJ
 December 02, 2012, 05:13 PM

This question was adressed by teacher Vera here:

http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab

she says:

"Its like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子 (上/下/....). If you just use the phrase, then its ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant."

（上/下/……）。
When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下
It's like a phrase.
It's like a phrase.
It's like a phrase.
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下 - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下/……）。 If you just use the phrase, then it's ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant. - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下/……）。 If you just use the phrase, then it's ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant. - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下/……）。 If you just use the phrase, then it's ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下/……）。 If you just use the phrase, then it's ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant. - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下/……）。 If you just use the phrase, then it's ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant. - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab
It's like a phrase. When you use 坐“在”那张桌子，it should be 坐在那张桌子（上/下/……）。 If you just use the phrase, then it's ok. Only in this case: to choose which table in a restaurant. - See more at: http://chinesepod.com/lessons/can-i-sit-here#discussion-tab