What Is The Best Way To Learn Mandarin Grammar
Complete Guide to Bones Chinese Grammar & Sentence Structures
Basic Chinese Grammer and Judgement Structures // The Complete Guide
Basic Chinese Grammar is non hard – honestly!
In fact, all Chinese grammer is quite like shooting fish in a barrel to get your caput effectually one time you have the nuts nailed.
We'll prove this to you correct now with a rundown of all the fundamental Chinese grammar pointers you need to know.
Basic Chinese Grammar – Subject + Verb Sentence
Basic Chinese Grammar – Bailiwick + Verb + Object Sentence
Basic Chinese Grammar – The 是 (shì) Sentence
Basic Chinese Grammar – The 有 (yǒu) Sentence
Bones Chinese Grammar – The 吗 (ma) Question?
Bones Chinese Grammar – Expressing "and" with 和 (hé)
Basic Chinese Grammar – Expressing Beingness with 在 (zài)
Basic Chinese Grammer – Basic Negative Form of Verbs
Basic Chinese Grammar – Questions with Question Words?
Bones Chinese Grammar – The 把 (bǎ) Sentence
Bones Chinese Grammar – Expressing Experience with 过 (guò)
BONUS – Free Quickfire Grammar Quiz
Basic Chinese Grammar – FAQs
PSST – If you want an even more in depth look into Grammar check out our Chinese Grammer Bank here. We are adding new articles all the time then y'all have a ane stop place to understand as of grammar in Mandarin
ane. Subject + Verb Sentence
So for our offset basic Chinese grammer signal, we're going to show you the simplest sentence structure in the Chinese language.
You can course very simple sentences with only two words, a subject field + verb. For example:
- 我忙 (wǒ máng): I'm busy.
我 (wǒ) means "I" (or in some cases "me"). 忙 (máng) means "busy". Elementary!
- 我累 (wǒ lèi): I'm tired.
- 我要 (wǒ yào): I want.
- 你吃 (nǐ chī): You eat.
2. Subject field + Verb + Object Sentence
The next basic sentence structure of Mandarin Chinese is the aforementioned as in English: subject + verb + object.
- 我爱你 (wǒ ài nǐ): I love you.
- 我吃苹果 (wǒ chī píngguǒ): I swallow apples.
- 我们喜欢汉语 (wǒmen xǐhuān hànyǔ): We like Chinese.
three. The 是 (shì) Sentence
This is a sentence in which the main verb is (well, plainly) the verb "shi" (是), which is best translated as the verb "to be" or "is".
The sentence construction goes like this: subject + 是 (shì) + object.
At beginner level, 是 (shì) is ordinarily used to identify people or objects. The position of the subject field and object cannot be reversed, so for example the following sentence is incorrect:
学生是你。(The literal translation would be: "Student you are".)
The correct course of this sentence would be:
你是学生 (nǐ shì xuéshēng): You are a student.
Here are some other examples:
- 我是老师 (wǒ shì lǎoshī): I am a teacher.
- 她是演员 (tā shì yǎnyuán): She is an actor.
- 这是电脑 (zhè shì diànnǎo): This is a computer.
- 那是手机 (nà shì shǒujī): That is a telephone.
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four. The 有 (yǒu) Sentence
Some other sentence structure mutual in Chinese is i where the principal verb is 有 (yǒu). Information technology means "to have" or "to possess". For case:
- 他有铅笔 (tā yǒu qiānbǐ): He has pencils.
- 我有中饭 (wǒ yǒu zhōngfàn): I take lunch.
- 我有生病 (wǒ yǒu shēngbìng): I am sick.
Find how the final sentence ("I am sick") is different from the remainder. With 有, you can use nouns and adjectives too.
The 有 sentence can also exist used to express existence. In this case, it is similar to the expression "there is/there are" in the English language language, when meaning that something "exists" at a certain place.
This can sometimes exist confusing to learners of Chinese language (but also to Chinese people learning English, who tend to literally translate such sentences into English). Allow's accept the next judgement as an example:
- 我家有五口人 (wǒ jiā yǒu wǔ kǒu rén): There are five people in my family (literally: my family has five people).
In this instance, the sentence would exist translated with the "there is/there are" expression and non as "my family has five people", since the verb 有 has a dissimilar pregnant here.
Note: 有 is the equivalent of the English verb "to take". The 有 verb does not, nonetheless, change in whatever way to indicate subject or tense.
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5. The 吗 (ma) Question?
Asking a 吗 (ma) question is similar to asking a yes or no question in English language.
To make a 吗 question, we only add the particle 吗 at the end of the statement. This ways that whatsoever argument can be turned into a question. Let'southward look at a simple sentence, such every bit: "You similar coffee." (Who doesn't?!)
你喜欢咖啡 (nǐ xǐhuān kāfēi): You like coffee.
We merely turn information technology into a question past adding the particle 吗 (ma) at the end of the sentence.
你喜欢咖啡吗? Nǐ xǐhuān kāfēi ma? Do y'all similar java?
Some more examples:
| Statement | The 吗 Question |
|---|---|
| 你在看书 nǐ zài kànshū You are reading | 你在看书吗? nǐ zài kànshū ma? Are y'all reading? |
| 她在学习 tā zài xuéxí She is studying | 她在学习吗? tā zài xuéxí ma? Is she studying? |
| 他在喝水 tā zài hē shuǐ He is drinking water | 他在喝水吗? tā zài hē shuǐ ma? Is he drinking water? |
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Only back to the grammar. Information technology is important to annotation that nosotros cannot add the 吗 particle at the end of a sentence that is already a question. For example:
- 你是谁? is already a question asking, "Who are y'all?"
- 你是谁吗？Nǐ shì shéi ma? Who are you "ma"? Doesn't actually make sense. It's already a question without the "ma" particle.
To answer a 吗 (ma) question, one can give either an affirmative or negative respond.
In English, the word order and format of a "yes/no" question may change depending on a discipline, tense and verb forms. But in Chinese, the grade of the 吗 question never changes.
Pro tip – also, be careful with the use of the verbs 是 (shì) and 有 (yǒu), which we mentioned earlier.
The questions that contain the verb 是 (shì) should exist answered with 是 (shì, affirmative) or 不是 (bú shì, negative) and those that contain 有 (yǒu) should be answered with 有 (yǒu, affirmative) or 没有 (méi yǒu, negative).
The question tin can likewise be affirmatively answered with 对 (duì).
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half dozen. Expressing "and" with 和 (hé)
The character 和 (hé) is the nearly common mode to express "and" in Chinese. But be conscientious! Information technology is only used to link nouns. And then don't utilise it to link verse, adjectives or subordinate clauses.
The structure is the post-obit: noun 1 + 和 (hé) + noun 2
- 你和我 (nǐ hé wǒ): Yous and I.
- 我有一只猫和一只狗 (Wǒ yǒuyī zhǐ māo hé yī zhǐ gǒu): I have a cat and a dog.
- 我的爷爷和奶奶都70岁了 (Wǒ de yéye hé nǎinai dōu qīshí suì le): My grandpa and grandma are both seventy years old.
seven. Expressing Existence with 在 (zài)
The verb 在 (zài) tin can be used to express "being in a place". This is similar to English in which we employ "to be at" or "to be in" to limited the same.
The structure is the post-obit: subject area +在 (zài) + identify
Allow'southward look at the following examples.
- 我在上海。Wǒ zài Shànghǎi. I am in Shanghai.
- 他们在英国。Tāmen zài Yīngguó. They are in England.
What do we run into in these examples? Although it can exist tempting to apply a verb here, at that place'south no need for it. In fact, using a verb hither would exist grammatically incorrect. Here, 在 functions equally a verb, so at that place is no need for 是 (shì) or 有 (yǒu) or whatsoever other verb.
在 can too be used every bit a preposition or adverb.
- 我在学中文。Wǒ zài xué zhōngwén. I am learning Chinese.
- 你在游泳。Nǐ zài yóuyǒng. You lot are swimming.
- 他在买菜。Tā zài mǎi cài. He is buying groceries.
8. Bones Negative Form of Verbs
In Chinese, there are basically two adverbs used for negation: 不 (bù) and 没/有 (méi/yǒu). Both are placed earlier the verb in a sentence.
Note that 是 (shì) cannot be negated with 没/有 (méi/yǒu), and 有 (yǒu) cannot be negated with 不 (bù).
不 (bù) is used to negate an action done at the nowadays:
- 我今天不学中文。Wǒ jīntiān bù xué Zhōngwén. I am not studying Chinese today.
- 我今天不去了。Wǒ jīntiān bù qùle. I won't go today.
Information technology tin too be used to negate an action in the time to come:
- 明年我不去中国。Míngnián wǒ bù qù Zhōngguó. I won't become to China next year.
- 我明天不上学。Wǒ míngtiān bù shàngxué. I will not go to school tomorrow.
Or for a habitual action:
- 周末我不看书。 Zhōumò wǒ bù kànshū. I don't read books on the weekend.
- 我通常不唱歌。Wǒ tōngcháng bù chànggē. I don't usually sing.
没 (méi) is used to negate 有 (yǒu) — 没有 (méiyǒu) — and means that 1 "does non have". The negative course of 有 (yǒu) is ever 没有 (méiyǒu), never 不有 (bùyǒu).
- 我没有中国朋友。Wǒ méiyǒu Zhòng uó péngyǒu. I don't have Chinese friends.
- 我的卡里没有钱。Wǒ de kǎ lǐ méiyǒu qián. My card does not have money.
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9. Questions with Question Words?
First things first, permit's expect at some of the most mutual question words in Chinese. Await closely at this list, it will come in handy frequently!
- 谁 (shéi): who
- 什么 (shén me): what
- 哪里 (nǎ lǐ): where*
- 哪个 (nǎ ge): which
- 什么时候 (shén me shí hou): when
- 为什么 (wèi shén me): why
- 怎么 (zěn me): how
- 多少 (duō shǎo): how many
- 几 (jǐ): how many (any number under ten)
*Note: 哪里 (nǎ lǐ) is different from 那里 (nà lǐ).
Alone, 哪里 (nǎ lǐ) is a question — 哪里? Where? 我的笔在那里？Where is my pencil?
那里 (nà lǐ) is a statement saying something is there. Where is my pencil? 那里。In that location. 你的笔在那里。Your pencil is there.
Now, permit'south talk about the about common structure of questions which use question words.
The question word is placed in relation to (significant, in the position of) the discussion you lot're asking virtually. Hither are some of the most common judgement structures:
Question word + verb + (object)
- 谁教你中文？Shéi jiào nǐ zhōngwén? Who teaches you Chinese?
- 什么东西到了? Shénme dōngxī dàole? What affair arrived?
Subject field + verb + question give-and-take
- 你去全家买了什么？Nǐ qù quánjiā mǎile shénme? What did you buy at FamilyMart?
- 我的铅笔在哪里？Wǒ de qiānbǐ zài nǎlǐ? Where is my pencil?
Question word + subject + verb + (object)
- 多少人要参加明天的会？Duōshǎo rén yào cānjiā míngtiān de huì? How many people will attend tomorrow'southward coming together?
- 为什么天是蓝色的？Wèishéme tiān shì lánsè de? Why is the sky bluish?
Subject + verb + question give-and-take + (object)
- 你昨晚吃了什么？Nǐ zuówǎn chīle shénme? What did you lot eat final dark?
- 这双鞋是谁的？Zhè shuāng xié shì shéi de? Whose shoes are those?
As you can come across, the judgement structure of a question is the aforementioned equally a argument. The main difference is that a question has the addition of question words to get in a question. This is different from English, where questions and statements take very different sentence structures.
Keep the concluding section in mind! The particle 吗 (ma) cannot be used in questions with question words, because 吗 (ma) is a question word itself.
Desire More than – We've prepared a more in depth mail about all the fundamental questions in Chinese here.
ten. The 把 (bǎ) Sentence
The 把 (bǎ) judgement is a useful construction for making longer sentences. The focus of the 把 (bǎ) sentence is on the action and its object.
This is a actually common sentence blueprint in Chinese, simply tin (at least at kickoff) experience a chip weird for English speakers.
A basic sentence in Chinese is formed with a discipline-verb-object (SVO) discussion social club, as in English:
Subject area + [verb phrase] + object
In a 把 (bǎ) judgement, things are changed and the structure goes similar this:
Subject + 把 (bǎ) + object + [verb phrase]
We can see at present that the object has moved, it is preceded by the 把 (bǎ) and the word order is now in fact an SOV discussion club.
And then, why use this sentence which is somewhat weird (well, at least weird for English speakers)?
Though you may think y'all'll never need the 把 (bǎ) sentence, they're quite convenient. Let's look at the post-obit example:
- 把书放在桌子上 。Bǎ shū fàngzài zhuōzi shàng. Put the book on the table.
How would you say this without the 把 (bǎ) construction? You might try this: 书放在桌子上 (Shū fàng zài zhuōzi shàng.)
While this sentence is grammatically right, the meaning may alter. 书放在桌子上 (without 把, bǎ) can mean the aforementioned thing, merely it could likewise mean "The book is on the table". It is the answer to two questions: (1) where should I put the volume?, and (two) where is the volume?
The 把 (bǎ) judgement is clearer. 把书放在桌子上 is a command; you lot are telling someone to put the volume on the tabular array. There is less room for confusion.
Here's another instance of a 把 (bǎ) sentence.
- 她把我的手机放在她的包里了。Tā bǎ wǒde shǒujī fàngzài tāde bāo lǐ le. She put my phone in her handbag.
In the 把 (bǎ) sentence, we put emphasis on the object and what happens to it . This is something that is useful to remember if you don't know when to use this sentence structure.
eleven. Expressing Feel with 过 (guò)
The particle 过 (guò) is used to limited that an activeness has been experienced in the by. The bones construction is formed and then that y'all just place information technology after the verb: Bailiwick + verb + 过. The particle "guo" can also take on an object.
- 我试过。Wǒ shì guò. I've tried that before.
- 我喝过。Wǒ hē guò. I've drank that before.
- 我弄过。Wǒ nòng guò. I've done that before.
The usual sentence construction with an object is the following: Subject + verb +过 (guò) + object.
This 过 (guò) expression is used to talk most if something has always happened. In that respect it is similar to the nowadays perfect tense in English and how it is used to limited past experiences.
It is useful to think virtually how in English, yous would say "I take been to London" or "I accept travelled to Shanghai" to limited past experience.
过 (guò) is used in the same manner in Chinese.
- 我也吃过日本菜。 Wǒ yě chī guò Rìběn cài. I've besides eaten Japanese food.
- 你看过这部电影吗？ Nǐ kàn guò zhè bù diànyǐng ma? Have you watched this movie?
- 我去过加拿大。Wǒ qù guò Jiā'nádà. I've been to Canada.
We form the negative judgement using 没 (méi) and the structure is the following: Field of study + 没 (méi) + verb + 过 (guò) + object.
You can likewise use 没有 (méiyǒu) for emphasis.
- 他没坐过飞机。Tā méi zuò guò fēijī. He has never flown in a plane.
- 我没学过西班牙语。Wǒ méi xué guò Xībānyáyǔ. I've never learned Castilian.
- 你没来过我的家。Nǐ méi lái guò wǒ de jiā. You've never been to my business firm before.
Asking questions with 过 (guò)
A few of the example sentences above were questions, but yous might like to come across a couple more than ways yous can ask questions with 过 (guò).
The following sentences are the same question structured in different ways, all grammatically correct. They're asking, "Have you been to Japan?"
- 你去过日本吗？Nǐ qù guò Rìběn ma?
- 你有没有去过日本？Nǐ yǒu méi yǒu qù guò Rìběn?
- 你去过日本没有？Nǐ qù guò Rìběn méiyǒu?
This is a similar question: 你没去过日本？Nǐ méi qù guò Rìběn? Y'all've never been to Japan?
Using 过 (guò) with 从来没有 (cónglái méiyǒu)
Since 过 (guò) is used to talk about feel in the past, it tin can be combined with 从来没有 (cónglái méiyǒu) to express something that has never happened.
Construction: Subject +从来没有 (cónglái méiyǒu) + verb + object
- 你从来没有去过日本？Nǐ cónglái méiyǒu qù guò Rìběn? Take you never been to Japan?
- 我从来没有吃过这么多！Wǒ cónglái méiyǒu chī guò zhème duō! I've never eaten this much before!
- 你从来没有看过《冰雪奇缘》？Nǐ cónglái méiyǒu kàn guò "bīngxuě qí yuán"? You've never watched Frozen?
We hope you institute this post useful! Let us know if you want united states to cover whatever other topic, grammatical or non!
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Basic Chinese Grammar — FAQ's
How do you say "grammer" in Chinese?
Grammar in Chinese is 语法 (yǔfǎ).
Is Chinese grammar easy?
Chinese grammar may be a bit disruptive at kickoff, but it'southward actually far, far easier than that of other languages!
In one case you sympathise the bones structures, Chinese grammer is pretty simple to use.
How do y'all inquire a question in Chinese?
Quite simply by adding 吗 (ma) onto the end of a sentence allows the sentence to become a question.
For example I could say "I'yard full up".
吃饱了
Wǒ chī bǎo le.
Now simply add on "ma".
吃饱了吗?
This has no become a question. Are y'all total? Simple!
How do you express negation or a negative in Chinese?
In Chinese, there are basically ii adverbs used for negation…
不 (bù) and 没/有 (méi/yǒu).
Both are placed earlier the verb in a sentence but take different uses which you tin observe out more about here.
How practise you say "Why" in Chinese?
Why in Chinese is 为什么.
How practice you say "How" in Chinese?
How in Chinese is 怎么.
How tin can I learn Chinese grammar?
You should empathise the basics of Chinese sentence structures first before moving on to more than difficult ones.
Hither, we've outlined basic sentence structures, questions in Chinese, negative forms of verbs, and expressing experiences.
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What Is The Best Way To Learn Mandarin Grammar,
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