存现句
cún xiàn jù
Alternative existential sentences
Place, verb with 着, then the thing — a way of saying what's there and how it sits.
Place + Verb + 着 + Noun Phrase
How it works
桌子上放着一本书 — there's a book lying on the table. More descriptive than 桌子上有一本书, because the verb says how.
The noun at the end is always indefinite: something new being introduced.
Common in description and narration: 墙上挂着一幅画, 门口站着一个人.
Examples
zhuō zi shàng fàng zhe yì běn shū
桌子上放着一本书。
There's a book lying on the table.
qiáng shàng guà zhe yì fú huà
墙上挂着一幅画。
There's a painting hanging on the wall.
mén kǒu zhàn zhe yí gè rén
门口站着一个人。
There's someone standing in the doorway.