(你吃鸡吗? Several of the common prepositions can also be used as full verbs. (Do you have a boyfriend? For emphasis, it may come before the determiner phrase.[16]. (Why do you want to go? Indirect normally precedes direct, as in English: With many verbs, however, the indirect object may alternatively be preceded by prepositional gěi (给; 給); in that case it may either precede or follow the direct object. This includes attributive adjectives, determiners, quantifiers, possessives, and relative clauses. 你做什么工作呢？ Nĭ zuò shénme gōngzuò ne? For instance, zhuōzi shàng can be regarded as short for zhuōzi shàngmiàn, meaning something like "the table's top". If the verb has an object, kàn follows the object. [27] It is sometimes considered to be a past tense marker, although it can also be used with future events, given appropriate context. A complement of result, or resultative complement (结果补语; 結果補語; jiéguǒ bǔyǔ) is a verbal suffix which indicates the outcome, or possible outcome, of the action indicated by the main verb. Each verb may independently be negated or given the le aspect marker. You’ll learn how to speak Mandarin, as well as how to have a basic conversation. is phrased as nǐ shuō shé[n]me (你说什么? [46] These may be called pseudo-cleft sentences. Use of the le aspect marker with the first verb may imply that this is the main verb of the sentence, the second verb phrase merely indicating the purpose. The perfective le presents the viewpoint of "an event in its entirety". The delimitative aspect denotes an action that goes on only for some time, "doing something 'a little bit'". In the next example the subject is omitted and the object is topicalized by being moved into subject position, to form a passive-type sentence. Either the verb or the whole verb phrase may be repeated after the negator, "Reduplication across boundaries: The case of Mandarin", "Chapter 84: Order of Object, Oblique, and Verb", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Chinese_grammar&oldid=989398820#Adverbs_and_adverbials, Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text, Articles containing traditional Chinese-language text, Articles containing Chinese-language text, Articles containing explicitly cited English-language text, Articles with unsourced statements from August 2018, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, syllables in some informal words denoting family relations, for example, certain other single-syllable words and morphemes, as in, other adjectives have ABB reduplication structure. The language almost entirely lacks inflection and so words typically have only one grammatical form. Also, méi[yǒu] is used to negate verbs that take the aspect marker guo (过; 過); in this case the aspect marker is not omitted. Sentences with similar meaning can be produced using relative clauses. Another double-verb where the second verb, "understand", suffixes the first and clarifies the possibility and success of the relevant action. An alternative is the A-not-A construction, using phrases like chī bu chī (吃不吃, "eat or not eat"). There are many different classifiers in the language, and each countable noun generally has a particular classifier associated with it. It is used with personal pronouns, as in wǒmen (我们; 我們, "we" or "us"), derived from wǒ (我, "I, me"). ", and the speaker wants to inform others of this fact. You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Cantonese tips…, Perfect! Many sounds in Chinese, particularly consonants, have no exact equivalent in English. The bǐ (比, "than") phrase is an adverbial, and has a fixed position before the verb. Using 了 (le) and 过 (guò) in Chinese grammar. Zhèngzài and zài precede the verb, and are usually used for ongoing actions or dynamic events – they may be translated as "[be] in the process of [-ing]" or "[be] in the middle of [-ing]". Basic Chinese Grammar 101 Talk about locations with 在 (zài) To talk about things being in places, use the word 在 (zài). [11], Chinese nouns and other parts of speech are not generally marked for number, meaning that plural forms are mostly the same as the singular. (Are you German? In constructions with a passive marker, the negator precedes that marker; similarly, in comparative constructions, the negator precedes the bǐ phraseNot clear (unless the verb is further qualified by gèng (更, "even more"), in which case the negator may follow the gèng to produce the meaning "even less").[33]. Yes-no questions can be formed using the sentence-final particle ma (吗; 嗎), with word order otherwise the same as in a statement. Looking for world-class training material to help you make a breakthrough in your language learning? When a coverb phrase appears in a sentence together with a main verb phrase, the result is essentially a type of serial verb construction. Its use in such cases is optional. While Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar is much more thorough and in-depth, SOCG provides a comparable barebones book for significantly less money. (you think the person doesn’t want to go)), 我是工程师，你呢？ Wŏ shì gōngchéngshī, nĭ ne? For example, chī de (吃的) may mean "[those] who eat" or "[that] which is eaten". Many disyllabic nouns are produced by adding the suffix zi (子, originally meaning "child") to a monosyllabic word or morpheme. [我坐飛機從上海到北京去。]. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. 接 (jiē) and 接到 (jiēdào) in Chinese grammar: answering and receiving B1 The difference between 拿 (ná) and 带 (dài) in Chinese grammar B2 All levels So for our first basic Chinese grammar point, we’re going to show you the simplest sentence structure in the Chinese language. Chinese makes frequent use of serial verb constructions, or verb stacking, where two or more verbs or verb phrases are concatenated together. Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook is the third book we’re looking at and is also a good option. You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] German tips…, Perfect! Adjectives can also be used predicatively. Coverbs normally cannot take aspect markers, although some of them form fixed compounds together with such markers, such as gēnzhe (跟著; 'with +[aspect marker]'), ànzhe (按著, "according to"), yánzhe (沿着, "along"), and wèile (为了 "for").[37]. The word qù (去, "go") or lái (来; 來, "come") may be inserted between the two verb phrases, meaning "in order to". They are optionally pluralized by the addition of xiē (些). Gradable adjectives can be modified by words meaning "very", etc. Most two-syllable compound nouns have the head on the right, while in compound verbs the head is usually on the left. Learn how to speak the Chinese language with Chinese classes, courses and audio and video in Chinese, including phrases, Chinese characters, pinyin, pronunciation, grammar… The coverb phrase, being an adverbial, precedes the main verb in most cases. Another case is the causative or pivotal construction. If you continue to use this site we will assume you are happy with it. For example, tā zhèngzai dǎ [zhe] diànhuà, "he is in the middle of telephoning someone" (他正在打[着]电话; 他正在打[著]電話; 'he [in-middle-of] [verb form] [ongoing] telephone').[29]. However, Chinese does have markers of aspect, which is a feature of grammar that gives information about the temporal flow of events. “After I started to use your ideas, I learn better, for longer, with more passion. Like possessives and some adjectives, they are marked with the final particle de (的 ). This sentence-final le (了) should be distinguished from the verb suffix le (了) discussed in the Aspects section. Terms of Service & Privacy Policy, I’ve written some simple emails explaining the techniques I’ve used to learn 8 languages…, Perfect! The typical Chinese word order "XVO", where an oblique complement such as a locative prepositional phrase precedes the verb, while a direct object comes after the verb, is very rare cross-linguistically; in fact, it is only in varieties of Chinese that this is attested as the typical ordering. Even if you don’t use Chinese grammar exercises online as part of your daily Mandarin practice, they still offer a fun and more tangible way to stay well-versed in Chinese grammar. The second is hǎo le (好了, "complete"). [22], Expressions of location in Chinese may include a preposition, placed before the noun; a postposition, placed after the noun; both preposition and postposition; or neither. ). The first verb may be something like gěi (给, "allow", or "give" in other contexts), ràng (让; 讓, "let"), jiào (叫, "order" or "call") or shǐ (使, "make, compel"), qǐng (请; 請, "invite"), or lìng (令, "command"). The demonstrative pronouns are zhè (这; 這, "this", colloquially pronounced zhèi) and nà (那, "that", colloquially pronounced nèi). An alternative is hùxiāng (互相, "mutually"). In a noun phrase, for example, the head noun comes last, and all modifiers, including relative clauses, come in front of it. Here there are three coverbs: zuò (坐 "by"), cóng (从; 從, "from"), and dào (到, "to"). Categories such as number (singular or plural) and verb tense are frequently not expressed by any grammatical means, but there are several particles that serve to express verbal aspect and, to some extent, mood. (Compare the similar use of to or for in English.). However, with most common classifiers, when the number is "one", it is also possible to place adjectives like "big" and "small" before the classifier for emphasis. The construction with a passive marker is normally used only when there is a sense of misfortune or adversity. For example: Here pí (皮, "skin") is the inner object, and júzi (橘子, "tangerine") is introduced via the bǎ construction as the outer object. However, there is a plural marker men (们; 們), which has limited usage. Where shall I send the tips and your PDF? If there is no standard of comparison—i.e., a than phrase—then the adjective can be marked as comparative by a preceding adverb bǐjiào (比较; 比較) or jiào (较; 較), both meaning "more". ), The plural marker xiē (些, "some, several"; also used to pluralize demonstratives) is used without a classifier. This may be connected with the preferred metrical structure of the language. Certain other markers can be used in a similar way to bǎ, such as the formal jiāng (将; 將) and colloquial ná (拿). [39] Here the object of one verb also serves as the subject of the following verb. Similarly, superlatives can be expressed using the adverb zuì (最, "most"), which precedes a predicate verb or adjective. Some more examples of resultative complements, used in complete sentences: Double-verb construction where the second verb, "break", is a suffix to the first, and indicates what happens to the object as a result of the action. Serial verb constructions can also consist of two consecutive verb phrases with parallel meaning, such as hē kāfēi kàn bào, "drink coffee and read the paper" (喝咖啡看报; 喝咖啡看報; 'drink coffee read paper'). This cannot be said about the use of tones. is translated using the verb yǒu (有), which is otherwise used to denote possession. The structure with inserted de or bù is not normally used with this type of double verb. For example, nǐ chī jī ma? For passive sentences with a marker such as 被; bèi, see the passive section. The reciprocal pronoun "each other" can be translated from bǐcǐ (彼此), usually in adverb position. From investment banks and technology giants to … (lit. Native disyllabic morphemes such as zhīzhū (蜘蛛, "spider") have consonant alliteration. Many monosyllabic words have alternative disyllabic forms with virtually the same meaning, such as dàsuàn (大蒜, literally "big garlic") for suàn (蒜, "garlic"). (You didn’t understand, right? Jump to: A1, A2, B1, B2, C1. All examples are additionally recorded by a Chinese native speaker to let you improve your listening comprehension and pronunciation. Chinese frequently uses serial verb constructions, which involve two or more verbs or verb phrases in sequence. ), (b) 因为我是中国人呗！ Yīnwèi wŏ shì zōnguórén bei! Chinese nouns require classifiers called liàngcí (量词; 量詞; 'measure words') in order to be counted. This can be placed before a verb, preposition or adverb to negate it. Otherwise the whole prepositional phrase is omitted, the preposition then being implicitly understood. So if you’ve ever tried to tackle one of the so-called easy languages like French or German, you’re probably wondering what horrors lie in wait when you start grappling with Chinese grammar. Zŏu bù zŏu? Perfect! Nĭ yào zuò shénme cài? Such a bǎ phrase no longer occupies the normal direct object position, but moves in front of the verb. In the following examples, the main verb is tīng (听; 聽 "to listen"), and the complement of result is dǒng (懂, "to understand/to know"). [10] These cannot both follow the verb – typically the outer object will be placed at the start of the sentence (topicalized) or introduced via the bǎ construction. Unlike in European languages, words in Chinese do not change. OLLY RICHARDS PUBLISHING LTD. If the relative item is governed by a preposition in the relative clause, then it is denoted by a pronoun, e.g. For adjectives in noun phrases, see the Adjectives section. A double negative makes a positive, as in sentences like wǒ bù shì bù xǐhuān tā (我不是不喜欢她; 我不是不喜歡她, "It's not that I don't like her" ). [j] Certain causative markers can replace bèi, such as those mentioned in the Other cases section, gěi, jiào and ràng. For this use of shì (是), see the Cleft sentences section. In this case they behave more like verbs; there is no need for a copular verb in sentences like "he is happy" in Chinese; one may say simply tā gāoxìng (他高兴; 他高興, "he happy"), where the adjective may be interpreted as a verb meaning "is happy". Another type of sentence is what has been called an ergative structure,[7] where the apparent subject of the verb can move to object position; the empty subject position is then often occupied by an expression of location. “go not go”)), 要不要？ Yào bú yào? There is usually no relative pronoun in the relative clause. The grammar of Standard Chinese or Mandarin shares many features with other varieties of Chinese. Sometimes the behavior of such compounds is anomalous, however; for instance guānxīn (关心; 關心, "to be concerned about") behaves as an inseparable word when the perfective particle le is attached, although it is separable in the phrase guān shénme xīn (关什么心; 關什麼心, literally "concern what about", meaning "to be concerned about what").[1]. ), 你是德国人吗？ Nĭ shì déguórén ma? (a) How are you? (Are you a teacher? The active verb of a sentence may be suffixed with a second verb, which usually indicates either the result of the first action, or the direction in which it took the subject. (You don’t want to go? (I’m an engineer, and you?). So if we go through the parts of speech, the good news in is that Chinese grammar is quite simple. For example:[49]. In sentences with auxiliary verbs, the adverb usually precedes the auxiliary verb as well as the main verb. However, some adverbs cannot be moved in this way. In all of these cases, the initial dāng may be replaced by zài (在), or may be omitted. 的 is probably the easiest to … For noun phrases with pronouns rather than nouns as the head, see the Pronouns section. The sentence-final particle ba (吧) can be used to form first-person imperatives, equivalent to "let's...". A complement of direction, or directional complement (趋向补语; 趨向補語; qūxiàng bǔyǔ) indicates the direction of an action involving movement. Chinese has various conjunctions (连词; 連詞; liáncí) such as hé (和, "and"), dànshì (但是, "but"), huòzhě (或者, "or"), etc. Chinese has a class of words, called coverbs, which in some respects resemble both verbs and prepositions. Hence one must say liǎng tóu niú (两头牛; 兩頭牛, "two head of cattle") for "two cows", with tóu being the measure word or classifier. [31] The passive marker and agent occupy the typical adverbial position before the verb. However jǐ (几; 幾, "some, several, how many") takes a classifier.[15]. In Chinese, the concept of words and the boundaries between them is not always transparent,[b] and the Chinese script does not use spaces between words. Second-person imperative sentences are formed in the same way as statements, but like in English, the subject "you" is often omitted. Some verbs can apparently take two direct objects, which may be called an "inner" and an "outer" object. Dèngzi (凳子), another word for chair or stool, is a gè noun. This verb means "to finish", but when used as a complement for negation purposes it may merely indicate inability. 5 Essential Chinese Grammar Rules To Get Started In Chinese Learning Chinese is notorious for being tough. Three uses of 才 (cái) in Chinese grammar: only, just now / not until, … For examples, see sentence structure section. However this use of classifiers is optional. The Chinese copular verb is shì (是). (Do you want to go? There is also nín (您), a formal, polite word for singular "you". Classical Chinese grammar is the grammar of Classical Chinese, a term that first and foremost refers to the written language of the classical period of Chinese literature, from the end of the Spring and Autumn period (early 5th century BC) to the end of the Han Dynasty (220 AD). Syllables, and thus in most cases morphemes, are represented as a rule by single characters. When such information is applicable, it is generally considered mandatory. These may be either free or bound – that is, they may or may not also be able to stand independently. This is similar to the English "by", though it is always followed by an agent. (b) I’m very well, and you? The demonstratives are zhè (这; 這, "this"), and nà (那, "that"). These include three words for "often", cháng (常), chángcháng (常常) and jīngcháng (经常; 經常); dōu (都, "all"); jiù (就, "then"); and yòu (又, "again").[19]. There are also similar constructions for conditionals: rúguǒ /jiǎrú/zhǐyào ... dehuà (如果/假如/只要...的话, "if ... then"), where huà (话; 話) literally means "narrative, story". Handy Chinese lessons to answer any questions you might have about the Chinese sentence structured and grammar rules classified by levels. [45] The copula shì (是) is placed before the element of the sentence which is to be emphasized, and the optional possessive particle de (的) is placed at the end of the sentence. The character dé (得)[i] followed by an adjective functions the same as the phrase "-ly" in English, turning the adjective into an adverb. It is not generally possible for a single verb to be followed by both an object and an adverbial complement of this type, although there are exceptions in cases where the complement expresses duration, frequency or goal. (. The grammar of Standard Chinese or Mandarin shares many features with other varieties of Chinese.The language almost entirely lacks inflection and so words typically have only one grammatical form. (Do you want (to/some) or not? Before long, grammar won’t seem so scary anymore! What is your current level in [language]? Another example, in a whole sentence: If the preceding verb has an object, the object may be placed either before or after the directional complement(s), or even between two directional complements, provided the second of these is not qù (去).[36]. Instead, a gap is left in subject or object position as appropriate. A very common coverb that can also be used as a main verb is zài (在), as described in the Locative phrases section. Chinese prepositions are commonly known as coverbs – see the Coverbs section. There are also location markers, which are placed after a noun and so are often called postpositions; they are often used in combination with a coverb. Bottle in "two bottles of wine" or sheet in "three sheets of paper" are further examples. Unlike these languages, Chinese is a very analytic language which is both good news and bad news for language learners. Chinese auxiliaries include néng and nénggòu (能 and 能够; 能夠, "can"); huì (会; 會, "know how to"); kéyǐ (可以, "may"); gǎn (敢, "dare"); kěn (肯, "be willing to"); yīnggāi (应该; 應該, "should"); bìxū (必须; 必須, "must"); etc. Chinese prepositions behave similarly to serialized verbs in some respects,[a] and they are often referred to as coverbs. This frequently involves either verbal complements appearing after the main verb, or coverb phrases appearing before the main verb, but other variations of the construction occur as well. Of these causative markers, only gěi can appear alone without a specified agent. (This does not apply to nouns that function as measure words themselves; this includes many units of measurement and currency. Sentences can also be formed in which an adjective followed by de (的) stands as the complement of the copula. The negator bié (别) precedes the verb in negative commands and negative requests, such as in phrases meaning "don't ...", "please don't ...". You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Thai tips…. ), 你没明白，对不对？ Nĭ méi míngbái, duì bú duì? Consider the following sentence: This le might be interpreted as either the suffixal perfective marker or the sentence-final perfect marker. For another use of shì, see shì ... [de] construction in the section on cleft sentences. These are generally obligatory constituents, such that the sentence would not make sense if they were omitted. The word zài (在), like certain other prepositions or coverbs, can also be used as a verb. Some verbs take a prepositional phrase following the verb and its direct object. ), 你要做什么菜? Get my best fluency-boosting, grammar-busting. You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Japanese tips…, Perfect! (How come you speak Chinese? For sentences consisting of more than one clause, see Conjunctions. In compounds that are verb–object combinations, like tiào wǔ (跳舞; 'to jump a dance', "dance"), a delimitative aspect can be marked by reduplicating the first syllable, creating tiào-tiào wǔ (跳跳舞), which may be followed with kàn (看). Chinese text in the body of this article is written in the format. Some words consist of single syllables, but many words are formed by compounding two or more monosyllabic morphemes. However Chinese quite often uses no conjunction where English would have "and".[47]. Consequently, the locative expression without zài can be used in places where a noun phrase would be expected – for instance, as a modifier of another noun using de (的), or as the object of a different preposition, such as cóng (从, "from"). Here the main verb is zhǎo (找, "find"), and bāng (帮; 幫) is a coverb. You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Spanish tips…, Perfect! The postpositions—which include shàng (上, "up, on"), xià (下, "down, under"), lǐ (里; 裡, "in, within"), nèi (内, "inside") and wài (外, "outside")—may also be called locative particles.[23]. In the former case it might mean "mother has come", as in she has just arrived at the door, while in the latter it might mean "mother is coming! If there are two gaps—the additional gap being created by pro-dropping—ambiguity may arise. Other compounds may be reduplicated, but for general emphasis rather than delimitative aspect. You’ve now got access to my most effective [level] Korean tips…, Perfect! However, cóng is not normally used as a full verb. Chinese grammar rules do exist, they are just very different to those in Indo-European or other language systems. Zhe follows the verb, and is used mostly for static situations. With certain nouns that inherently denote a specific location, including nearly all place names, a locative phrase can be formed with zài together with the noun: However other types of noun still require a locative particle as a postposition in addition to zài: If a noun is modified so as to denote a specific location, as in "this [object]...", then it may form locative phrases without any locative particle. The Chinese grammar app has handy Chinese lessons offline to answer any questions you might have about the Chinese sentence structure and grammar rules classified by levels. Orders may be softened by preceding them with an element such as qǐng (请, "to ask"), in this use equivalent to English "please". There are exceptions, such as "to be unable to get out of bed" (起不来床; 起不來床; qǐ bù lái chuáng or 起床不来; 起床不來; qǐ chuáng bù lái). In English, some words, as in the cited example of "cattle", are often paired with a noun used much like the Chinese measure word. Chinese morphemes, or minimum units of meaning, are mostly monosyllabic. However, shì is normally only used when its complement is a noun or noun phrase. There is a reflexive pronoun zìjǐ (自己) meaning "oneself, myself, etc. This phenomenon is common in East Asian languages. Consecutive verb phrases may also be used to indicate consecutive events. With our online Chinese Mandarin courses, you can get started with the fundamentals of Chinese vocabulary, grammar, conversation, pronunciation and tone. ), 你有男朋友吗？ Nĭ yŏu nán péngyou ma?

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