How to use 一起
一起 + Verb
一起 before a verb phrase says that people perform an activity together. A plural subject can identify the participants directly, or a phrase with 跟 or 和 can name a companion. In either case the sentence concerns shared participation rather than independent actions that merely happen to resemble one another.
The grammatical subject does not have to be plural in form if the other participants are expressed elsewhere or understood from context. Put the companion phrase before 一起 and the action. Invitations commonly add 吧 to propose a joint activity. Depending on the predicate, “together” can concern doing something jointly or occupying a shared situation, so interpret the activity rather than demanding one exact English arrangement.
Examples with pinyin and English
我们一起吃晚饭吧。
Let's eat dinner together.
早上我和老公一起去上班。
In the morning, I go to work together with my husband.
周末我们一起去看电影，好吗？
Let's go to the movies this weekend, shall we?
这两个公司一起做这个产品。
These two businesses made this product together.
What to remember
- Place 一起 before the shared action.
- A companion phrase can supply other participants.
- Shared context may leave participants unstated.
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Source and editorial notes
Explanation rewritten for Laowai. Examples are adapted from the Laowai English grammar curriculum, with editorial corrections where needed. The original curriculum credits AllSet Learning’s Chinese Grammar Wiki as used with permission. Read the retained source credits.
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