8.4 The Preposition 喺 hai2 / 响 hoeng2 II (‘from’)
In Grammar and Vocabulary 7.2, we learned that the preposition 喺 hai2 (also pronounced as 响 hoeng2) means ‘in, on, at’.
The preposition 喺 hai2 (also pronounced as 响 hoeng2) can also mean ‘from’. We use 喺 hai2 to indicate where someone or something comes from. We put a location after 喺 hai2 to form a prepositional phrase.
We put the prepositional phrase before the verb we want to modify.
The actual meaning of the preposition 喺 hai2 depends on the context. Compare these two sentences:
我喺日本嚟嘅。 (喺 hai2 = from)
ngo5 hai2 jat6 bun2 lei4 ge3.
I come from Japan.
喺 hai2 in this sentence is used to indicate where 我 ngo5 comes from. It means ‘from’ in this context.
我喺中環返工嘅。 (喺 hai2 = in)
ngo5 hai2 zung1 waan4 faan1 gung1 ge3.
I go to work in Central.
喺 hai2 in this sentence is used to indicate where the activity 返工 faan1 gung1 takes place. It means ‘in’ in this context.