"They finish school at 5 today."

Translation: 他们今天五点放学。

[minneshelly]

Why can't I put Jin tian at the beginning of the sentence?

[Gaetan339894]

I beleive this should be possible in this case, the error should be reported

[Rumactree]

I just have.
Jintian women wudian fangqxue
(Sorry can’t type tones or characters)

[Sue982688]

You used women instead of tamen. Also I believe that all the time phrases should be together: 'jintian wudian tamen ...' Or 'tamen jintian wudian...'

[AlexKarampas]

I wonder as well...

[Elyssa405421]

I put jin tian at the beginning :) they said it was correct.

[AlexBai_St]

actually you can

[josueetcom]

You can, but then you place the emphasis on the time instead of on them. E.g. "Today at 5pm, they finish school" vs. "They finish school today at 5pm"

[akavel]

Why is different verb for "finishing school" vs. "getting off work?"

[kendragon16]

What is the difference between 下学 and 放学?

[Shanghaimaiden]

下学 from what I can tell, after living in China for quite some time, 下学 does not get used. 下课 Is often used.
下课 = To finish a class
放学 = To finish school at the end of a school day.

[OBESEMElon1]

我可不可以用“下课”？

[MichaelLe3139]

There's no "Xia Xue" for me to choose from!? (May 5, 2018)

[Shanghaimaiden]

Jin tian should be able to go at the beginning of the sentence too???

[OneWeekata]

I said, 放学校。That should be finish SCHOOL. 放学，would be finish studying, no? 学 doesn't mean "school".

[Sermin2001]

Why cant i say 今天他们放学校五点

[Shanghaimaiden]

Time as rule has to go towards the front of a sentence and definitely in front of the verb.

[c3trash]

So, is 下学 wrong or just something that not used? I mean there's a sentence that uses 上学. And we have 上班 and 下班, 上课 and 下课, 上学 but no 下学?

[khit_khit]

The same question with you, jin tian can be at the first position

[MilanLin]

他们今天五点放学。
Where is verb finish in this sentence?

[Shanghaimaiden]

This is by no means a grammar explanation, just my interpretation of the word, and how I have memorised it.
放 means to release, to free, to let go, to put, to place, to let out.
So, in this particular sentence you can imagine "studies/classes are being released/let go/let out" therefore meaning finished. "What time did class let out?" "Today they were let out at 5."

[JesusMendozaCEC]

“她们今天五点放学” is incorrect....why?

[Aideng_LM]

why does this sentence alone insist on person then time?

[Shanghaimaiden]

Help with the choice of words here, according to the dictionary:
下课 Means to finish class and 放学 means to finish school at the end of a school day.