Reference:Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition
Introduction
The Chinese Language
Mandarin pronunciation
The Chinese vocabulary
Part I Nouns
Introduction
- Nouns
- Noun features
- Proper Nouns
- Common nouns
- The plural suffix-men
- Nouns and definite or indefinite reference
- Nouns and conjunctions
- Common nouns: countability
- Numerals and nouns
- Cardinal numbers
- Two forms of the number two
- Ordinal numbers
- 'Half'
- Fractions, percentages, decimals, multiples, and 'every'
- Approximation
- Cardinal numbers
- Measures for nouns
- Measures and gè
- Other measure words
- Abstract nouns
- Material nouns
- Collective nouns
- Pronouns
- Personal pronouns
- Possessive pronounce
- Demonstrative pronouns
- Interrogative pronouns
- Other pronouns
- Pronouns and conjunctions
- Adjectives and attributives
- Attributives
- Adjectives as attributives
- Monosyllabic adjectives
- Polysyllabic adjectives and de
- Disyllabic adjectives and de
- Nominal attributives
- Nominal attributives and de
- Prepositional and postpositional phrases as attributives
- Verbal phrases or clauses as attributives
- The order of sequential attributives
- Demonstrative and numeral phrases with other attributives
- Possessive pronoun and other attributives
- Ér between adjectives
- Omission of the noun following an attributive
- Attributives in word-formation
Part II Verbs
Introduction
- Adjectival and nominal predicates; the verb shì
- Adjectival predicates
- Adjectival predicates and the verb 'to be'
- Adjectival predicates and degree adverbs
- Adjectival predicates in the negative
- Adjectival predicates followed by verbs
- Non-gradable adjectives as attributives
- Attributives of shape, colour or material
- Nominal and pronominal predicates
- Verbs resembling shì
- Nominal predicates without a copula
- The copula shì in its negative form
- The verb yǒu; comparisons
- The functions of yǒu
- Yǒu indicating possession
- Měi as negative of yǒu
- Yǒu indicating change or development
- Yǒu forming idiomatic expressions
- Yǒu introducing adjectival predicates
- Comparison
- Emphatic or specific comparison
- Negative comparison
- Comparison: equivalence or similarity
- Comparatives and superlatives
- The functions of yǒu
- Verbs and aspect markers
- Action, state, and dative verbs
- Action verbs
- Aspect markers
- Le
- Guo
- Zài
- Zhe
- State verb
- Dative verbs
- Dative verbs relating to spoken activity
- Dative verbs and aspect markers
- Causative verbs
- Imperatives
- Polite requests
- Imperatives and aspect markers
- Motion verbs and direction indicators
- Motion verbs and simple direction indicators
- Motion verbs and compound direction indicators
- Motion verbs with metaphorical meaning
- Direction indicators with specific meanings
- Verbs and time
- Time expressions
- Point of time expressions
- Detailed time expressions
- Point-of-time expressions incorporating verbal phrases
- Imprecise points of time
- Indefinite points of time
- Frequency expressions with měi
- Time expressions in existence sentences
- Time expressions in emergence or disappearance sentences
- Verbs and location
- Location expressions
- Zài and postpositional phrases
- Disyllabic postpositions
- Disyllabic postpositions as location pronouns
- Simple location sentences
- Location phrases in existence sentences
- Shì in existence sentences
- Zhe in existence sentences
- Le in emergence or disappearance sentences
- Order of sequence of time and location phrases
- Verbs: duration and frequency
- Duration expressions
- Duration expressions and noun objects
- Repetition of the verb in a noun-object-duration structure
- Duration expressions and pronoun objects
- Duration expressions in dative construction
- Duration Expressions and definite reference
- Brief duration
- Brief duration and instrumental objects
- Frequency expressions
- Duration expressions
- Verbs and complements
- Complements
- Complements of result
- Potential complements
- Potential complements using direction indicators
- Metaphorical meanings of potential complements
- Complements of manner and of consequential state
- Modification of complement of manner
- Complement of consequential state
- Complement of manner or consequential state with a 'verb + object' verb
- Adjectival complements of manner in comparisons
- Complement-of-manner comparison with a 'verb + object' verb
- Complement of location or destination
- Degree complement
- Verbs and adverbials
- Adverbials of manner
- Monosyllabic adjectives as adverbials of manner
- Adverbials of manner with marked verbs
- Adverbials of manner with unmarked verbs
- Monosyllabic adverbial modifiers without de
- Particular types of adverbials of manner
- Attitudinal adverbial expressions
- Referential adverbs
- Referential adverbs with negatives
- Order of sequence of referential adverbs
- Order of adverbials in sequence
- Adverbials of manner
- Modal and similar verbs
- Modal, attitudinal, and intentional verbs
- Modal verbs
- Modal verbs and adverbs of degree
- Modal verbs and comparison
- Attitudinal verbs
- Wàngle and Jìde
- Gāoxìng
- Intentional verbs
- Negation of intentional verbs
Part III Sentences
Introduction
- Statements and the sentence particle le
- Le as a sentence particle
- Function of sentence le
- Summing-up function of le
- Le as both sentence particle and aspect marker
- Cases where sentence le is not used
- Ultimate versatility of sentence le
- Questions
- Question-word questions
- Zěnmeyàng
- Duō in questions
- Ne in a questions
- General questions with ma
- Surmise questions with ba
- Affirmative-negative questions
- Alternative questions with háishì
- Tags indicating suggestion
- Tags seeking confirmation
- Rhetorical questions
- Question-word questions
- Subject and predicate; topic and comment
- Dual patterning of sentence structures
- Subject-predicate sentences
- Topic-comment sentences
- Further ways to form topic-comment
- Topic | subject-predicate sentences
- Notional passive sentences
- Subject | topic-comment sentences
- Prepositions and coverbs
- Coverbs
- Coverbs of place and time
- Coverbs of methods and means
- Coverbs of reference
- Coverbs and comparison
- Disyllabic prepositions
- Coverbs
- Bǎ and bèi constructions
- The bǎ construction and complements
- Le and zhe as complements in bǎ sentences
- Bǎ and resultative complements
- Nòng and Gǎo in bǎ sentences
- Negative bǎ sentences
- Bǎ and mobal verbs
- Bǎ and indefinite reference
- The bèi construction
- Ràng and jiào
- The bèi construction with an agent
- Negative bèi sentences
- The bèi construction versus the notional passives
- The bǎ construction and complements
- Serial constructions
- General features of serial constructions
- Semantic varieties in serial constructions
- Adjectives or state verbs in serial constructions
- Dative constructions
- Causative constructions
- Qǐng in a causative construction
- Extended causative constructions
- Extended serial constructions
- Emphasis and the intensifier shì
- Shì as an intensifier
- The shì… de construction
- Subject and object emphasis in shì… de sentences
- Shì… de construction and bù
- Shì without de for profession and projection
- Contexts for shì (without de) sentences
- Shì and comparison
- Shì and negation
- Shì and topic-comment sentences
- Shì implying reservation
- 'Verb/Adjective + shì + Verb/Adjective' implying reservation
- Repetition and emphasis
- Abbreviation and omission
- Three types of abbreviation
- Conventional abbreviations as a subjectless sentences
- Contextual abbreviation
- Cotextual omissions
- Cotextual omissions and headwords
- Cotextual omissions in answers
- Contextual/cotextual omissions in extended passages
- Composite sentences: conjunctions and conjunctives
- Types of composite sentences
- Conjunctions and conjunctives
- Meanings and functions of composite sentences
- Paired conjunctives
- Composite sentences as parallel structures
- Verbs taking object clauses
- Exclamations and interjections; appositions; and aposroghes
- Exclamations
- Exclamations with tài
- Question-word questions as exclamations
- Interjections
- Tone variations in interjections
- Appositions
- Apostrophe
- Exclamations
Part IV Paragraghs
Introduction
- A diary
- A letter
- A dialogue
- A welcome speech
- A description
- An explanatory piece of writing
- An argumentative piece of writing