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In English (and other languages), I commonly do this in conversations: I'll say a short + simple sentence (subject-verb-object), but moments later, I'll want to add a detail to the statement.

Examples:

I'm living in Chicago (pause) Well only currently.

How would you, after saying 我住在芝加哥, clarify so as to say only 目前? My 語法書 says that adverbs come before the main verb, so how could I remedy the sentence after originally forgetting to say the adverb?

We're watching TV (pause) At my grandmother's house, that is.

Same with location coming before the verb. How could I specify after saying the verb + object (看電視) that we're doing so 在奶奶家?

I donated some chairs (pause) Which was yesterday actually.

Again with time-when. How could I stress that the donating occurred 昨天?

Obviously the best practice would be to train myself to insert the time-when/location/adverbial phrases before stating the verb. But just wondering if in the meantime while I continue to (frustratingly) make this error, how may I go about correcting myself naturally? 

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  • 就 is your friend.
    – Michaelyus
    Commented May 27, 2020 at 8:52

2 Answers 2

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It's totally valid and common to add adverbial modifiers after your main clause.

In conversation, rules are breakable. In writing, there is 倒裝句(Inversion), yeah, that means putting adverbial modifiers at the end of the sentence is grammatically correct, if you follow the inversion rule.

I'm living in Chicago (pause) Well only currently.

我住在芝加哥, 呃, 只是目前

We're watching TV (pause) At my grandmother's house, that is.

我們正在看電視, 在我奶奶家.

I donated some chairs (pause) Which was yesterday actually.

我捐了些椅子, 昨天捐的.

People usually say something like this in my hometown:

你做什麽了, 昨天?

What were you doing, yesterday?

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It is perfectly fine to add additional information to the sentence you have just said with another sentence

Example:

總統被人發現跟妓女上牀 (pause) 就在總統辨公室内 (pause) 而且是未成年的妓女

The president was found to be in bed with a prostitute (pause) right inside the presidential office (pause) and it was an under-aged prostitute

總統被人發現在總統辨公室内跟未成年的妓女上牀 would not be that funny

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  • 總統被人發現在總統辨公室内跟未成年的妓女上牀 would not be that funny. Certainly not to the president in question, LOL. Commented May 27, 2020 at 3:21

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