Difference between revisions of "Negation of "you" with "mei""
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Revision as of 05:38, 18 March 2013
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Keywords
The verb 有 (yǒu) is negated differently from ordinary verbs.
Structure
Nearly all verbs can be negated with 不. The verb 有 (yǒu) is an exception, and must be negated with 没 (méi).
Subject + 没 + 有 + Object
Examples
- 我 没 有 手机。I don't have a mobile phone.
- 他 没 有 多少 钱。He doesn't have any money.
- 我们 没 有 自己的 房子。We don't have our own house.
Remember that trying to negate 有 with 不 is a classic mistake that many people make in the early stages of studying Chinese:
- 我 不 有 汽车。
- 我 没 有 汽车。
Never use 不 with 有.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 51) →buy
- 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 382) →buy
