Adjectives & adverbs · CEFR A2 · Everyday
Place before time — English adjectives and adverbs
When both appear at the end, place comes before time. It is a fixed order and it sounds wrong the other way round.
The shape
… + place + time
Get the end of the sentence in the right order.
In Hindi
जब दोनों आख़िर में आएँ, तो पहले जगह और फिर समय। यह क्रम तय है।
CoCap explains every structure in both languages, because a rule you understand in Hindi is a rule you can use in English.
The mistake to fix first
The sentence Indian-English speakers actually produce, and the reason it is wrong.
| Commonly said | Correct English |
|---|---|
We arrived yesterday at the office. | We arrived at the office yesterday. Place first, then time. |
Place before time examples
Easiest first. Every sentence is authored, with the Hindi it comes from.
I go to the office every day.
मैं रोज़ ऑफिस जा{ता|ती} हूँ।
I go to the park every morning.
मैं हर सुबह पार्क जा{ता|ती} हूँ।
We go to the market every Sunday.
हम हर रविवार बाजार जाते हैं।
He comes here every evening.
वह हर शाम यहाँ आता है।
I meet my friend every week.
मैं हर सप्ताह अपने दोस्त से मिल{ता|ती} हूँ।
The children study at school every day.
बच्चे हर दिन स्कूल में पढ़ते हैं।
Easy to confuse with
Close enough to be mixed up with this one. Knowing the difference is most of knowing either.
Questions people ask
- What is the place before time used for?
- When both appear at the end, place comes before time. It is a fixed order and it sounds wrong the other way round. In practice: get the end of the sentence in the right order.
- How do you form the place before time?
- … + place + time.
- What is the most common mistake with the place before time?
- Saying “We arrived yesterday at the office.” instead of “We arrived at the office yesterday.”. Place first, then time.
Where place before time fits
Where this structure sits in the ladder, and what surrounds it.
Place before time is a CEFR A2 structure — the everyday band — and it belongs to adjectives & adverbs. CoCap’s syllabus files every structure this way so you can learn in order instead of jumping between whatever a search happened to return.
Reading it is not the same as saying it.
CoCap turns this page into practice: Hindi sentence in, English sentence out, corrected one thing at a time. Free, no card.
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