Difference between revisions of "Beginner Guide to Chinese Grammar"

 
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|description=A beginner's guide to the basic concepts of Chinese grammar, with easy to understand examples.}}
 
|description=A beginner's guide to the basic concepts of Chinese grammar, with easy to understand examples.}}
  
As a beginner, Chinese grammar can be challenging to understand. In this quick review, we will provide you with some basic tools to help you start mastering the language!
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As a beginner, Chinese grammar can be challenging to understand. In this quick overview, we will provide you with some basic information on Chinese grammar as well as some good starting points.
  
=Background=
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==Background==
English is classified as an Indo-European language. This language family includes a lot of languages spoken in the western world, including the romance languages (such as Spanish, French, and Portuguese) as well as the Slavic languages (such as Russian, Czech, and Polish) and many others. All of these languages have common grammar features which include conjugating verbs for different tenses, specific rules about subject/verb agreement, and adding endings to words to make them plural.
 
  
Chinese does not fit into the Indo-European family. Instead, it is classified as a Sino-Tibetan language and as a result the grammar can be very difficult for second language learners.  
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English is classified as an Indo-European language. This language family includes a lot of languages spoken in the western world, including the romance languages (such as Spanish, French, and Portuguese) as well as the Slavic languages (such as Russian, Czech, and Polish), and many others. All of these languages have common grammatical features which include conjugating verbs for different tenses, following specific rules about subject-verb agreement, and adding endings to words to make them plural.  
  
As a language, Chinese does not have an actual alphabet. Instead, characters known as “hanzi” are used to express the different sounds of the language. These characters can also be written using the roman letters in a system called “pinyin.
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Chinese is not part of the Indo-European family at all. Instead, it is classified as a Sino-Tibetan language, and, unsurprisingly, its grammar is quite different from the grammar of those European languages you may have encountered before. Still, Chinese grammar may surprise you with its pleasing simplicity and consistent logical structure.
  
==Browser Tools==
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As a language, Chinese (quote famously) does not have an alphabet. Instead, characters known as “''hanzi''” (汉字) are used to express the different sounds of the language. These characters can also be written using the roman letters in a system called “pinyin.” All beginners should learn pinyin first. Pinyin is provided for all Chinese characters that appear in [[A1]] and [[A2]] grammar points.
All beginners should download the [[Tools#Browser_Extensions:_Pinyin_Popups | Pinyin Browser Extension]] to be able to read the Chinese characters on the site.
 
  
=Basic Tools=
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==The Basics==
When initially learning Chinese, there are a number of [[Learner_FAQ#Beginner_Questions|misconceptions about Chinese grammar]]. We will start this overview looking at five specific tools in Chinese grammar. They are Word order • Questions • Possessives • Negation • Aspect
 
  
==Word Order==
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There are a number of [[Learner_FAQ#Beginner_Questions|misconceptions about Chinese grammar]], the most egregious being that "Chinese has no grammar." If Mandarin Chinese truly had ''no grammar'', you could make no grammar mistakes, and no learners would ever struggle with it. We will start this overview by looking at some specific areas of Chinese grammar that can sometimes trip up beginners.
In many cases, the [[ASGETNCO| basic sentence structure]] is the same in Chinese as it is in English. Both languages use a [[ASGETNCO#Subject-predicate|subject-verb]] or a [[ASGETNCO#Subject-verb-object|subject-verb-object]] formula for writing sentences. This means that the subject of your sentence does something.  
 
  
For Example:
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===Word Order===
In English, correct grammar is to say "You eat."
 
In Chinese, correct grammar is to say "你 吃" (pinyin "Nǐ chī")
 
  
More examples can be found on our [[Word_order | word order]] page. We also have pages to help you use[[Time_words_and_word_order | time words]] in the correct word order, write [[Simple_%22noun_%2B_adjective%22_sentences | simple noun-adjective sentences]], and change up the word order to [[Topic-comment_sentences | comment on specific topics]].
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For many simple cases, the [[ASGETNCO|basic sentence structure]] of Chinese is the same in Chinese as it is in English. Both languages use a subject-verb or subject-verb-object (SVO) formula for making simple sentences. This familiar pattern means that you shouldn't have much trouble with word order at first.
  
==Questions==
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'''Subject-Verb Examples:'''
Simple sentences can be turned into questions adding [[ASGSJYZ2 | “ma”]] or [[ASG4D8XB | "bù"]] to the end of a sentence. This modifies the sentence the same way “ok” or “right” modifies a sentences in English. "Ma" is the affirmative form of the question, confirming that the statement is true. "Bù" forms a negative form of the question.
 
Here are some examples:
 
An English version of a sentence that uses "ma" might read: "You are okay, right?"
 
An English version of a sentence that uses "bù" might read: "That was fun, no?"
 
  
Another particle that can be tagged onto sentences is [[ASGMPZ6D | "ba"]]. This does not turn the sentence into a question so much as a request. An example would be "Let's go now" or "We should eat here." The particle is simply added to the end of the question to make it a suggestion rather than a statement.  
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<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
 +
<tr>
 +
<th style="width:20%">Subject</th>
 +
<th style="width:20%">Verb</th>
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<th style="width:40%">Translation</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td>你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span></td>
 +
<td>吃。<span class="pinyin">chī.</span></td>
 +
<td><span class="spaced">You eat.</span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td>他<span class="pinyin">Tā</span></td>
 +
<td>笑。<span class="pinyin">xiào.</span></td>
 +
<td><span class="spaced">He laughs.</span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td>我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span></td>
 +
<td>去。<span class="pinyin">qù.</span></td>
 +
<td><span class="spaced">I go.</span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
  
There are of course [[ASGJQPSC | other ways to form questions]]. In English, we use questions words (commonly referred to as the 5 W's and 1 H) to make questions. These [[ASGJQPSC#Common_question_words_list | question words]] also exist in Chinese, but their placement within a sentence is very important. The structure of a sentence follow the same structure as the response.
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'''Subject-Verb-Object Examples''':
  
For example:  
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<table class="table big-text table-striped table-bordered">
In English, the structure of the question to learn someone's name is "Who are you?" The person answering this question is going to say "I am Li Li."
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<tr>
In Chinese, the structure of the question to learn someone's name is "You are who?"
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<th style="width:20%">Subject</th>
The question follows the same structure as the structure of the answer (subject-verb-object.)
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<th style="width:20%">Verb</th>
This works for other questions too such as "It is what?" (Answer: "It is a ball.")
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<th style="width:20%">Object</th>
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<th style="width:40%">Translation</th>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td>我<span class="pinyin">Wǒ</span></td>
 +
<td>吃<span class="pinyin">chī.</span></td>
 +
<td>肉。<span class="pinyin">ròu.</span></td>
 +
<td><span class="spaced">I eat meat.</span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td>你<span class="pinyin">Nǐ</span></td>
 +
<td>喝<span class="pinyin">hē</span></td>
 +
<td>水。<span class="pinyin">shuǐ.</span></td>
 +
<td><span class="spaced">You drink water.</span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
<tr>
 +
<td>他<span class="pinyin">Tā</span></td>
 +
<td>说<span class="pinyin">shuō</span></td>
 +
<td>中文。<span class="pinyin">Zhōngwén.</span></td>
 +
<td><span class="spaced">He speaks Chinese.</span></td>
 +
</tr>
 +
</table>
  
Creating [[ASGZH7K3 | yes/no questions]] is easy too! These allow you to give someone options such as "Do you want to eat here?" or "Should we leave now?"
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More examples can be found on our [[ASGETNCO|basic word order]] page.
  
==Possessives==
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As sentences get more complex, you'll note that Chinese word order does, in fact, diverge significantly from English word order, even for some relatively simple sentences. For help with those, check out our articles on [[ASG5RWKO|time words]], [[ASGX0Z0N|locations of actions]], using [[ASGG25MD|simple adverbs correctly]], and making [[ASG17BLH|simple noun-adjective sentences]].
Possession can be show using the particle [[ASGUHQD2 | “de”]]. This character functions the same way as an apostrophe “s” does in English and is added after the subject of the sentence, between the nouns. In other words, using "de" is the equivalent of saying "Maureen's phone" or "Terry's keys."
 
  
Possession can also be expressed by talking about things you have. Just like we can say in English "I have the tickets" or "James has the camera" the particle [[ASGOOCVO | "yǒu"]] can be used to show this type of possession.
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===Questions===
  
==Negation==
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Simple sentences can be turned into yes/no questions by adding [[ASGSJYZ2 | 吗 (ma)]] to the end of simple statements. For each of the following, you could make a simple statement by dropping 吗 (ma).
You can use the same basic word order to express things that don’t happen. To express this negative action, the character [[ASGIPYFV|“bù”]] is placed before the verb. This functions much like the word "no" in English, but in fact, it is a lot simpler than English.  
 
  
For example:
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<div class="liju">
In English when you add "no" to the sentence "I speak English," "no" becomes "don't" and it would read "I don't speak English."
 
In Chinese when you add "bù" to the sentence "I speak English," it just slips in right before the verb. So proper grammar would be "I no speak English." It's that simple!
 
  
"" can be used with both [[ASGIPYFV#Negating_Verbs | verbs]] (to express something that isn't done) and [[ASGIPYFV#Negating_Adjectives | adjectives]] (to express that something does not have a characteristic.)
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* 他 是 老师 <em>吗</em> ? <span class="expl">question</span><span class="pinyin">Tā shì lǎoshī <em>ma</em>?</span><span class="trans">Is he a teacher?</span>
 +
* 你 喜欢 咖啡 <em>吗</em> ? <span class="expl">question</span><span class="pinyin">Nǐ xǐhuan kāfēi <em>ma</em>?</span><span class="trans">Do you like coffee?</span>
 +
* 他 是 机器人 <em>吗</em> ? <span class="expl">question</span><span class="pinyin">Tā shì jīqìrén <em>ma</em>?</span><span class="trans">Is he a robot?</span>
  
In order to form negative possession (saying you don't have something) you use the particle [[Negation_of_%22you%22 | "méi"]] instead of "bu." This allows you to say sentences like "Bryan doesn't have a car" or "Vikki doesn't have the books." It is placed after the subject but before the verb [[ASGOOCVO | "yǒu"]] to form the verb [[ASGH7WTY | "méiyǒu"]].
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</div>
  
==Aspect==
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Another important question particle for beginners to understand is [[ASGMJHZO | 呢 (ne)]]. 呢 (ne) is simply added after a topic to turn it into a "what about...?" question. This is useful in conversations to say things like "what about you?" or "what about my money?" This particle is simply tagged onto a subject to form the question.
Many beginners think that Chinese has no grammar. While this belief is false, it usually stems from the fact Chinese has no tenses to express events that took place in either the past or the future. Instead of tense, the language puts more emphasis on [[Aspect | aspect]].  
 
  
=Parts of Speech=
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<div class="liju">
All words can be broken up into parts of speech to define what the word describes. Here, we will briefly recap how these different parts work in English, and explain how the same rules apply to Chinese grammar.
 
  
==Nouns==
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* 我 吃饭 了 。 你 <em>呢</em> ?<span class="pinyin">Wǒ chīfàn le. Nǐ <em>ne</em>?</span><span class="trans">I've eaten. What about you?</span>
Nouns are commonly referred to as "person, place, or thing" words. They would be words like "woman" or "apartment" or "flower." Names are also included as nouns. As you start learning more Chinese vocabulary, many of the words you will learn will be nouns. These will make up the subject and the object of a sentence.
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* 北京 下 雨 了 。 上海 <em>呢</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Běijīng xià yǔ le. Shànghǎi <em>ne</em>?</span><span class="trans">It's raining in Beijing. How about Shanghai?</span>
 +
* 你 说 他们 可以 去 。 我们 <em>呢</em> ? <span class="pinyin">Nǐ shuō tāmen kěyǐ qù. Wǒmen <em>ne</em>?</span><span class="trans">You said they can go. What about us?</span>
  
==Verbs==
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</div>
Verbs are words that describe actions. Examples would include words like "run" or "sit" but they also include words like "is" or "have." In English, we conjugate verbs to express tense and ownership of an action. For example, the verb "swim" becomes "swam" when the action takes place in the past. If you talk about yourself you say "I swim" but when talking about your friend you say "she swims." Chinese does not conjugate verbs. The word stays the same regardless of when the action takes place or who performs it.
+
 
 +
There are of course [[ASGJQPSC|other ways to form questions]]. In English, we use question words, commonly referred to as the "5 W's and 1 H" (what, where, who, when, why, how), to make questions. These question words also exist in Chinese, but their placement within a sentence in Chinese is different from English. The structure of a question in Chinese follows the same structure as a normal statement.
 +
 
 +
For example, in English the structure of the question "Who are you?" puts the question word "who" at the beginning of the sentence. If the person answering this question says, "I am Li Li" we can see that the answer to the question comes at the end of the sentence. In Chinese, the structure of the question to learn someone's name is "You are who?" So the question follows the same structure as the answer (subject-verb-object). This works for all kinds of other questions too. For example, in Chinese, to ask "What is it?" you literally say, "It is what?"
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 什么 <span class="pinyin">shénme</span><span class="trans">what</span>
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* 哪里 / 哪儿 <span class="pinyin">nǎlǐ / nǎr</span><span class="trans">where</span>
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* 谁 <span class="pinyin">shéi</span><span class="trans">who</span>
 +
* 什么时候 <span class="pinyin">shénme shíhou</span><span class="trans">when</span>
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* 为什么 <span class="pinyin">wèishénme</span><span class="trans">why</span>
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* 怎么 <span class="pinyin">zěnme</span><span class="trans">how</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
===Possession===
 +
 
 +
Possession can be shown using the particle [[ASGUHQD2 | 的 (de)]]. This character functions the same way as an apostrophe-"s" does in English and is added after the "owner," before the "thing owned." One interesting result of this extremely versatile system is that you don't need separate words for "my" or "your" or "his"; you just follow the words for "I" or "you" or "he" with a 的 (de).
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 小李 <em>的</em> 手机<span class="pinyin">Xiǎo Lǐ <em>de</em> shǒujī</span><span class="trans">Xiao Li's cell phone</span>
 +
* 我 <em>的</em> 手机<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>de</em> shǒujī</span><span class="trans">My cell phone</span>
 +
* 公司 <em>的</em> 老板<span class="pinyin">gōngsī <em>de</em> lǎobǎn</span><span class="trans">the company's boss</span>
 +
* 他 <em>的</em> 小狗<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>de</em> xiǎogǒu</span><span class="trans">His puppy</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
Possession can also be expressed with [[ASGOOCVO | 有 (yǒu)]], the Chinese verb meaning "to have." Just like we can say in English "I have the tickets" or "she has the camera," 有 (yǒu) can indicate  this type of possession.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 我 <em>有</em> 钱。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yǒu</em> qián.</span><span class="trans">I have money.</span>
 +
* 他 <em>有</em> 两 个 女儿 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>yǒu</em> liǎng gè nǚér.</span><span class="trans">He has two daughters.</span>
 +
* 你 <em>有</em> 工作 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>yǒu</em> gōngzuò ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you have a job?</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
===Negation===
 +
 
 +
The same basic word order holds true when using the negative. Simply put the word [[ASGIPYFV| 不 (bù)]] before [[ASGIPYFV#Negating_Verbs | verbs]] and [[ASGIPYFV#Negating_Adjectives | adjectives]]. This functions much like the word "not" in English.
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 我 <em>不</em> <strong>喝酒</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>bù</em> <strong>hējiǔ.</strong> </span><span class="trans">I don't drink alcohol.</span>
 +
* 他们 <em>不</em> <strong>想 工作</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>bù</em> <strong>xiǎng gōngzuò</strong>.</span><span class="trans">They don't want to work.</span>
 +
* 她 <em>不</em> <strong>漂亮</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>bù</em> <strong>piàoliang</strong>.</span><span class="trans">She is not pretty.</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
When talking about what you do not "have," you use the word [[ASGPNV3Q|没 (méi)]] instead of 不 (bu). It is placed right before the verb [[ASGOOCVO|有 (yǒu)]] to form the "do not have" phrase [[ASGPNV3Q|没有 (méiyǒu)]]. This allows you to say sentences like "Walter doesn't have a car" or "Voltron doesn't have the books."
 +
 
 +
<div class="liju">
 +
 
 +
* 我 <em>没</em> <strong>有</strong> 手机 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méi</em> <strong>yǒu</strong> shǒujī.</span><span class="trans">I don't have a cell phone.</span>
 +
* 我们 <em>没</em> <strong>有</strong> 房子 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>méi</em> yǒu fángzi.</span><span class="trans">We don't have a house.</span>
 +
* 他们 公司 <em>没</em> <strong>有</strong> 电脑 。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen gōngsī <em>méi</em> <strong>yǒu</strong> diànnǎo.</span><span class="trans">Their company doesn't have computers.</span>
 +
 
 +
</div>
 +
 
 +
===Aspect===
 +
 
 +
As we mentioned already, there is a silly notion floating around that Chinese has no grammar. While this belief is false, it probably stems from the fact Chinese has no formal tenses to express events that took place in either the past or the future. Instead of tense, the language makes use of [[Time words and word order|time words]] and puts more emphasis on [[aspect]]. You don't need to worry about this in the beginning; just remember to use time words to make clear when something happened, and the aspect thing will come with time. (Hint: aspect involves the particle 了 (le), which you'll be spending more time with later.)
 +
 
 +
===Parts of Speech===
 +
 
 +
All words can be classified into [[part of speech|parts of speech]] to define what roles the words play in sentences. Here, we will briefly recap how these different parts of speech work in English, and explain how the same rules apply to Chinese grammar.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Noun]]s''' are commonly referred to as "person, place, or thing" words. As you start learning more Chinese vocabulary, many of the words you will learn will be nouns. These will make up the subjects and the objects of the sentences you study.
 +
 
 +
'''[[Verb]]s''' are words that describe actions (sometimes mental or abstract rather than physical). Chinese does not conjugate verbs. Chinese verbs stay the same, regardless of when the action takes place or who performs it.
  
 
Here are some good verbs for beginners to start learning:
 
Here are some good verbs for beginners to start learning:
*[[ASGUN7RX | "Shì" - Verb for "To Be"]]
 
*[[ASGLRWT8 | "Zài" - Verb for "To Be Located"]]
 
*[[ASG04ZCI | "Yǒu" - Verb for "There is/There are"]]
 
*[[ASGUGWVZ | "Jiào" - Verb for "To Be Called"]]
 
*[[ASGFYNCL | "Qù" - Verb for "To Go"]]
 
*[[ASGPS9NY | "Xing" - Verb for "To Have the Surname"]]
 
*[[ASGVT2KN | "Yào" - Verb for "To Be Going To"]]
 
*[[ASG9PQ40 | "Néng" - Verb for "To Have The Ability/Possibility"]]
 
*[[ASG6SPYK | "Kěyǐ" - Verb for "To Have Permission"]]
 
*[[ASGXVEAR | "Yào" - Verb for "To Want To Do"]]
 
  
==Adverbs==
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*[[ASGUN7RX | 是 (shì) - verb for "to be"]]
Adverbs are words that describe verbs. These are words like "quickly" "very" and "also." In English, there are very few rules about adverbs. You can say "I really want it" or "I run too" (with "really" and "too" being the adverbs, and "want" and "run" being the verbs.)In Chinese, the adverb always goes before the verb. This is often confusing to understand at first, but it is actually easy. Using the running example, proper grammar in Chinese would be "I too run." It makes sense and you always do it the same way!
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*[[ASGLRWT8 | 在 (zài) - verb for "to be located"]]
 +
*[[ASG04ZCI | 有 (yǒu) - verb for "there is / there are"]]
 +
*[[ASGUGWVZ | 叫 (jiào) - verb for "to be called"]]
 +
*[[ASGFYNCL | 去 (qù) - verb for "to go"]]
 +
 
 +
'''[[Adverb]]s''' are words that modify verbs and adjectives. In Chinese, the adverb ''always'' goes ''before'' the verb or adjective. Instead of saying "I run also," proper grammar in Chinese would be "I also run." It's very consistent in Chinese.
  
 
Here are some good adverbs for beginners to start learning:
 
Here are some good adverbs for beginners to start learning:
*[[ASG9YK09 | "Dōu" - Adverb for "All"]]
 
*[[The_also_adverb | "Yě" - Adverb for "Also"]]
 
*[[ASG8HVFN | "Tài" - Adverb for "Excessively"]]
 
  
==Adjectives==
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*[[ASG9YK09 | 都 (dōu) - adverb for "all"]]
Adjectives are words that describe nouns. They can describe many things from color, size, quality, etc. In English, adjectives can be used in lots of different ways to describe lots of different things. Chinese has some unique rules about how adjectives interact with different nouns and verbs.
+
*[[ASGG25MD | 也 (yě) - adverb for "also"]]
 +
*[[ASG8HVFN | 太 (tài) - adverb for "too," as in "excessively"]]
 +
 
 +
'''[[Adjective]]s''' are words that describe nouns. Chinese has some unique rules about how adjectives interact with different nouns and verbs.
  
 
Here are some good adjective rules for beginners to start learning:
 
Here are some good adjective rules for beginners to start learning:
*[[Simple_"noun_%2B_adjective"_sentences | Simple Sentences with Adjectives]]
 
*[[ASGUN7RX | "Shì" - Verb for "To Be"]] ''Adjectives are dropped when using this verb''
 
  
==Conjunctions==
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* [[Simple_"noun_%2B_adjective"_sentences | Simple sentences with adjectives]]
Conjunctions are words that join two thoughts together in a sentence. The three most common ones in English are "and" "but" and "or." As you learn more about each of them, you will learn some of the different ways they can be used in sentences.
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* [[ASGUN7RX | 是 (shì) - the verb for "to be"]]
 +
 
 +
'''[[Conjunction]]s''' are words that join two thoughts together in a sentence. The three most common ones in English are "and," "but," and "or." As you learn more about these conjunctions in Chinese, you will discover that they're each a little different from their English equivalents.
  
 
Here are some good conjunctions for beginners to start learning:
 
Here are some good conjunctions for beginners to start learning:
*[[ASGP0KFF | "Hé" - Conjunction for "and"]]
 
*[[ASGA8NIB | "Háishì" - Conjunction for "or"]]
 
  
==Articles==
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*[[ASGP0KFF | 和 (hé) - conjunction for "and"]]
Articles are kind of a confusing concept in English, but basically the only English articles are "a" "an" and "the." We use them when saying things like "I have a laptop" or "Open the door." In many other languages (like Spanish or French) there area lots of rules about articles including things like gender (in Spanish the masculine article of "el" versus the feminine article of "la") or required usage (in French, you can't just say "amor" when talking about "love"- you have to say "el amor.")
+
*[[ASGA8NIB | 还是 (háishì) - conjunction for "or"]]
  
In Chinese, articles don't exist. There is no word for "a" or "the." It makes it really easy and there are no confusing rules to memorize!
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'''Articles''' are kind of a confusing concept in English, but the main English articles are "a," "an," and "the." We use them when saying things like "I have a laptop" or "open the door." In Chinese, articles ''don't exist''. There is no word for "a" or "the" in Chinese.
  
==Measure Words==
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'''Numbers''' are the words we use to express specific quantities. We use numbers to express value, time, and other important functions in our lives. They can be used for all of these same functions in Chinese.  
Measure words are words that describe numbers. In English, we have numbers, but we don't exactly have measure words. They allow you to say exactly what the value (or measurement of something was.) As you read about how to use measurement words, you'll see that even though it is a little new. It is actually very easy!
 
  
Here are some good measure for beginners to start learning.  
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Here are some good number structures for beginners to start learning.
*[[Measure_word | Introduction to Measure Words]]
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*[[ASGI0T9S | Measure Word "Ge"]]
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*[[ASGCRH6P | Structure of numbers]]
*[[ASGJ46H1 | Measure Word "Èr" and "Liǎng"]]
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*[[ASGN6BBU | Structure of times]]
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*[[ASGVH4Q5 | Structure of days of the week]]
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*[[ASGT3KF6 | Structure of dates]]
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'''[[Measure word]]s''' are words that pair up with numbers and help describe the nouns that are being counted (or "measured"). We don't have such a pervasive, complete system for this in English, but we do something similar when we say, "5 pieces of pizza" or "3 sheets of paper."
  
==Numbers==
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Here is the only measure word beginners need to start learning the concept:
Numbers are the words we use to express certain quanities. In English we use numbers to express value, time, and other important functions in our lives. Numbers can be used for counting, math, dates, times, etc. They can be used for all of these same functions in Chinese.
 
  
Here are some good number structures for beginners to start learning.
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*[[ASGI0T9S | Measure word 个 (gè)]]
*[[ASGCRH6P | Structure of Numbers]]
 
*[[ASGVH4Q5 | Structure of Days of the Week]]
 
*[[ASGN6BBU | Structure of Times]]
 
*[[ASGT3KF6 | Structure of Dates]]
 
  
=Ready for more?=
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==Ready for more?==
Of course all of this is just the beginning. There are many more interesting characters and rules that can help you say lots of different things in Chinese. Take a look at the[[Grammar_Points_by_Level | Grammar Points by Level]] page to see where you should start and check out the [[A1_Grammar_Points | A1 page]] for more information.
 
  
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Of course all of this is just the beginning. There are many more interesting grammar patterns that can help you correctly express lots of different things in Chinese. Take a look at the [[A1 grammar points]] for more beginner-friendly grammar help. Just keep in mind that these grammar points are not sequential. Start with what you need help with most, and branch out from there.
  
 
[[Category:Guide]]
 
[[Category:Guide]]

Latest revision as of 16:44, 19 April 2020


As a beginner, Chinese grammar can be challenging to understand. In this quick overview, we will provide you with some basic information on Chinese grammar as well as some good starting points.

Background

English is classified as an Indo-European language. This language family includes a lot of languages spoken in the western world, including the romance languages (such as Spanish, French, and Portuguese) as well as the Slavic languages (such as Russian, Czech, and Polish), and many others. All of these languages have common grammatical features which include conjugating verbs for different tenses, following specific rules about subject-verb agreement, and adding endings to words to make them plural.

Chinese is not part of the Indo-European family at all. Instead, it is classified as a Sino-Tibetan language, and, unsurprisingly, its grammar is quite different from the grammar of those European languages you may have encountered before. Still, Chinese grammar may surprise you with its pleasing simplicity and consistent logical structure.

As a language, Chinese (quote famously) does not have an alphabet. Instead, characters known as “hanzi” (汉字) are used to express the different sounds of the language. These characters can also be written using the roman letters in a system called “pinyin.” All beginners should learn pinyin first. Pinyin is provided for all Chinese characters that appear in A1 and A2 grammar points.

The Basics

There are a number of misconceptions about Chinese grammar, the most egregious being that "Chinese has no grammar." If Mandarin Chinese truly had no grammar, you could make no grammar mistakes, and no learners would ever struggle with it. We will start this overview by looking at some specific areas of Chinese grammar that can sometimes trip up beginners.

Word Order

For many simple cases, the basic sentence structure of Chinese is the same in Chinese as it is in English. Both languages use a subject-verb or subject-verb-object (SVO) formula for making simple sentences. This familiar pattern means that you shouldn't have much trouble with word order at first.

Subject-Verb Examples:

Subject Verb Translation
吃。chī. You eat.
笑。xiào. He laughs.
去。qù. I go.

Subject-Verb-Object Examples:

Subject Verb Object Translation
chī. 肉。ròu. I eat meat.
水。shuǐ. You drink water.
shuō 中文。Zhōngwén. He speaks Chinese.

More examples can be found on our basic word order page.

As sentences get more complex, you'll note that Chinese word order does, in fact, diverge significantly from English word order, even for some relatively simple sentences. For help with those, check out our articles on time words, locations of actions, using simple adverbs correctly, and making simple noun-adjective sentences.

Questions

Simple sentences can be turned into yes/no questions by adding 吗 (ma) to the end of simple statements. For each of the following, you could make a simple statement by dropping 吗 (ma).

  • 他 是 老师 questionTā shì lǎoshī ma?Is he a teacher?
  • 你 喜欢 咖啡 questionNǐ xǐhuan kāfēi ma?Do you like coffee?
  • 他 是 机器人 questionTā shì jīqìrén ma?Is he a robot?

Another important question particle for beginners to understand is 呢 (ne). 呢 (ne) is simply added after a topic to turn it into a "what about...?" question. This is useful in conversations to say things like "what about you?" or "what about my money?" This particle is simply tagged onto a subject to form the question.

  • 我 吃饭 了 。 你 Wǒ chīfàn le. Nǐ ne?I've eaten. What about you?
  • 北京 下 雨 了 。 上海 Běijīng xià yǔ le. Shànghǎi ne?It's raining in Beijing. How about Shanghai?
  • 你 说 他们 可以 去 。 我们 Nǐ shuō tāmen kěyǐ qù. Wǒmen ne?You said they can go. What about us?

There are of course other ways to form questions. In English, we use question words, commonly referred to as the "5 W's and 1 H" (what, where, who, when, why, how), to make questions. These question words also exist in Chinese, but their placement within a sentence in Chinese is different from English. The structure of a question in Chinese follows the same structure as a normal statement.

For example, in English the structure of the question "Who are you?" puts the question word "who" at the beginning of the sentence. If the person answering this question says, "I am Li Li" we can see that the answer to the question comes at the end of the sentence. In Chinese, the structure of the question to learn someone's name is "You are who?" So the question follows the same structure as the answer (subject-verb-object). This works for all kinds of other questions too. For example, in Chinese, to ask "What is it?" you literally say, "It is what?"

  • 什么 shénmewhat
  • 哪里 / 哪儿 nǎlǐ / nǎrwhere
  • shéiwho
  • 什么时候 shénme shíhouwhen
  • 为什么 wèishénmewhy
  • 怎么 zěnmehow

Possession

Possession can be shown using the particle 的 (de). This character functions the same way as an apostrophe-"s" does in English and is added after the "owner," before the "thing owned." One interesting result of this extremely versatile system is that you don't need separate words for "my" or "your" or "his"; you just follow the words for "I" or "you" or "he" with a 的 (de).

  • 小李 手机Xiǎo Lǐ de shǒujīXiao Li's cell phone
  • 手机de shǒujīMy cell phone
  • 公司 老板gōngsī de lǎobǎnthe company's boss
  • 小狗de xiǎogǒuHis puppy

Possession can also be expressed with 有 (yǒu), the Chinese verb meaning "to have." Just like we can say in English "I have the tickets" or "she has the camera," 有 (yǒu) can indicate this type of possession.

  • 钱。yǒu qián.I have money.
  • 两 个 女儿 。yǒu liǎng gè nǚér.He has two daughters.
  • 工作 吗?yǒu gōngzuò ma?Do you have a job?

Negation

The same basic word order holds true when using the negative. Simply put the word 不 (bù) before verbs and adjectives. This functions much like the word "not" in English.

  • 喝酒 hējiǔ. I don't drink alcohol.
  • 他们 想 工作Tāmen xiǎng gōngzuò.They don't want to work.
  • 漂亮 piàoliang.She is not pretty.

When talking about what you do not "have," you use the word 没 (méi) instead of 不 (bu). It is placed right before the verb 有 (yǒu) to form the "do not have" phrase 没有 (méiyǒu). This allows you to say sentences like "Walter doesn't have a car" or "Voltron doesn't have the books."

  • 手机 。méi yǒu shǒujī.I don't have a cell phone.
  • 我们 房子 。Wǒmen méi yǒu fángzi.We don't have a house.
  • 他们 公司 电脑 。Tāmen gōngsī méi yǒu diànnǎo.Their company doesn't have computers.

Aspect

As we mentioned already, there is a silly notion floating around that Chinese has no grammar. While this belief is false, it probably stems from the fact Chinese has no formal tenses to express events that took place in either the past or the future. Instead of tense, the language makes use of time words and puts more emphasis on aspect. You don't need to worry about this in the beginning; just remember to use time words to make clear when something happened, and the aspect thing will come with time. (Hint: aspect involves the particle 了 (le), which you'll be spending more time with later.)

Parts of Speech

All words can be classified into parts of speech to define what roles the words play in sentences. Here, we will briefly recap how these different parts of speech work in English, and explain how the same rules apply to Chinese grammar.

Nouns are commonly referred to as "person, place, or thing" words. As you start learning more Chinese vocabulary, many of the words you will learn will be nouns. These will make up the subjects and the objects of the sentences you study.

Verbs are words that describe actions (sometimes mental or abstract rather than physical). Chinese does not conjugate verbs. Chinese verbs stay the same, regardless of when the action takes place or who performs it.

Here are some good verbs for beginners to start learning:

Adverbs are words that modify verbs and adjectives. In Chinese, the adverb always goes before the verb or adjective. Instead of saying "I run also," proper grammar in Chinese would be "I also run." It's very consistent in Chinese.

Here are some good adverbs for beginners to start learning:

Adjectives are words that describe nouns. Chinese has some unique rules about how adjectives interact with different nouns and verbs.

Here are some good adjective rules for beginners to start learning:

Conjunctions are words that join two thoughts together in a sentence. The three most common ones in English are "and," "but," and "or." As you learn more about these conjunctions in Chinese, you will discover that they're each a little different from their English equivalents.

Here are some good conjunctions for beginners to start learning:

Articles are kind of a confusing concept in English, but the main English articles are "a," "an," and "the." We use them when saying things like "I have a laptop" or "open the door." In Chinese, articles don't exist. There is no word for "a" or "the" in Chinese.

Numbers are the words we use to express specific quantities. We use numbers to express value, time, and other important functions in our lives. They can be used for all of these same functions in Chinese.

Here are some good number structures for beginners to start learning.

Measure words are words that pair up with numbers and help describe the nouns that are being counted (or "measured"). We don't have such a pervasive, complete system for this in English, but we do something similar when we say, "5 pieces of pizza" or "3 sheets of paper."

Here is the only measure word beginners need to start learning the concept:

Ready for more?

Of course all of this is just the beginning. There are many more interesting grammar patterns that can help you correctly express lots of different things in Chinese. Take a look at the A1 grammar points for more beginner-friendly grammar help. Just keep in mind that these grammar points are not sequential. Start with what you need help with most, and branch out from there.