In Chinese, time points and time periods are expressed using words like “现在”、“昨天”、“明天”、“今天”、“早上”、“下午”、“晚上”、“去年”、“明年”、“本周”、“上周”、“下周”. These words usually appear before the sentence subject or before the verb, indicating the time range of the event. They do not inflect like English; they integrate closely with the context.

In Chinese, questions about time use “几点” and statements use “X点” to express time. “点” indicates hours and “分” indicates minutes, commonly expressed as “X点Y分”.“上午、下午、晚上”可以放在时间前，指明时段。当读整点时，通常说“X点”；如需表达刚好在整点，可以加“整”。

Dates in Chinese are arranged in the year-month-day order, using digits plus “年”、“月”、“日” or “号”. In spoken language, “号” is often used to indicate the day, while in writing and formal settings, “日” is used. Months and days do not change by themselves and are read as numbers. Weekdays use “星期+数字” or “周+数字”.

Chinese expresses tense through time words and context rather than through verb conjugation. Common time words determine whether an event is past, present, or future. Verbs themselves typically do not change, but can be combined with specific structures to reinforce time reference. Understanding the position and function of time words is central to understanding Chinese tense.

In Chinese, '了' marks completion or a change of state, often after the verb or at the end of the sentence. '过' indicates experience, placed after the verb, to show that something happened before but the result is not emphasized. Time words often combine with '了' and '过' to clarify whether something is a one-time completion or has prior experience. The choice of '了' or '过' depends on the sentence's semantic focus.

In Chinese, '正在' indicates an action in progress; it is usually placed before the verb after the subject. '在' can also indicate ongoing action, and is more colloquial and shorter than '正在'. Adding '呢' at the end can indicate ongoing aspect or simply indicate a continuing state. Durations are often expressed with '从……到……' or '已经……了'.

In Chinese narration, '先……，然后……' is commonly used to express the order of actions. You can also connect two events with '以后' and '之前' to indicate the sequence. Time order can be realized by combining time words with logical connectives. Clear sequencing helps with conveying a sequence of events.

In daily Chinese conversation, common time period words are '上午','中午','下午','傍晚','夜里' which refer to different parts of a day. These words can be used with specific times or alone to indicate a broad range. The choice depends on the context and precision. Some terms may have regional preferences but their basic meaning remains stable.

From 'Monday' to 'Sunday' there are seven days; 'Sunday' or 'Sunday' can be used. 'Mon.' to 'Sun.' is common in both spoken and written language, typically more concise. Some regions also use '礼拜' with a number, the level of colloquialism is high. The choice of expression mainly depends on the setting and personal habit.

Chinese time words are often placed at the beginning of the sentence or after the subject to set a time background. In declarative sentences, time words before the subject are most common, and they can be rearranged according to the emphasis. Multiple time expressions can be ordered from large to small, such as '明天上午八点'. Proper placement helps sentence clarity and naturalness.