Chinese Grammar Wiki (Beginner)

Question 1

Subject + 没 + 有 + Object

Adverb

Answer 1

Nearly all verbs can be negated with 不. The verb 有 (yǒu) is an exception, and must be negated with 没 (méi).

Question 2

Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]

Adverb

Answer 2

“all”

Remember that 都 appears after the subject.

Question 3

[Subject which is two people or things ] + 都 + [Verb Phrase]

Adverb

Answer 3

“both”

Question 4

Subject + 也 + [Verb Phrase]

adverb

Answer 4

Since it is an adverb, “也” is inserted after the subject, before the verb or auxiliary verb

Question 5

Subject + 也 + Adverb + Adjective

Adverb

Answer 5

也 can also be used with adjectives. However, because it is an adverb, it needs to be followed by a verb. The stative verb 很 is therefore often used.

Question 6

Option A + 还是 + Option B ? /
Subject + Verb + Option A + 还是 + Option B ?
(Conjunction)

Answer 6

还是 is used to ask people to make that choice between the two [options].

Question 7

Number + 个 + Noun

M.W.

Answer 7

You can specify the quantity of any noun with this structure. Note that any time you want to state how many of a noun in Chinese, you probably need a measure word. First get used to doing it with 个.

Question 8

x 年 y 月 z 日 (written) /

x 年 y 月 z 号 (spoken)

Answer 8

As with many things in Chinese, dates are arranged from largest unit to smallest: year, month, day.

Question 9

x 点+ x 分

Answer 9

Times of the day in Chinese are formed with a number 1 to 12 (一 to 十二) followed by 点. This 点 is equivalent to o’clock in English. In China, people generally use a twelve hour clock, preceded by 上午 (a.m.) or 下午 (p.m.) if necessary

Question 10

Subject + Verb + 过 + Object

particle

Answer 10

What this expresses is that the verb has been done at least once before, without specifying a particular time. 过 is used to talk about whether something has ever happened - whether it has been experienced.

Question 11

Subject + 没 + Verb + 过 + Object

particle

Answer 11

Because 过 is used to talk about past actions, it should be negated with 没.

Question 12

Subject + 没有 + Noun

Verb

Answer 12

没有 (méiyǒu) means “to not have” and can be used to express that someone or something lacks something else. This can be used to express a lack of something tangible, like a date for the prom, or something more abstract, like a goal in life, or time, or “patience for your shenanigans.” 没有 can be shortened to 没 without altering its meaning.

Question 13

Subject + 在 + Place

Verb

Answer 13

The verb 在 is used to express existence in a place. Remember that you don’t need another verb in this construction.

Question 14

Place + 有 + Object

Verb

Answer 14

The verb 有, “to have”, can also be used to express existence. This is similar to saying “there is” or “there are” in English.

Question 15

Subject + 叫 + Name

Verb

Answer 15

The verb 叫 means both “to call” and “to be called”. It’s an easy way to give names.

Question 16

Subject + 去 + Place

Verb

Answer 16

The verb 去 means “to go,” and is an easy way to talk about going to places.

Question 17

Subject + 姓 + Surname

Verb

Answer 17

You can use 姓 to tell someone your own surname, or that of someone else.

Question 18

Subject + 会 + Verb + Object

aux. verb

Answer 18

The verb 会 (huì) can be used to express ability that has been learned, i.e. a skill. In this case 会 is an auxiliary verb.

Question 19

Subject + 能 + Verb + Object

aux. verb

Answer 19

The verb 能 is used to express either ability or possibility. 能 indicates ability when used with activities that are not consciously learned or studied. When used with activities that are consciously learned or studied, 能 generally means that circumstances do not allow execution of the action. In other words, it’s not possible. Sometimes this is a bit of an exaggeration and actually just means it’s “not allowed.” Because 能 can express possibility, it is often used to form polite questions, something like “would it be possible” in English.

Question 20

Subject + 可以 + Verb + Object

aux. verb

Answer 20

Permission is expressed with the auxiliary verb 可以. It might be helpful to think of 可以 as meaning “may.” Use this structure to express permission to do things.

Question 21

Subject + 要 + Verb + Object

aux. verb

Answer 21

The verb 要 (yào) can be used as an auxiliary verb to indicate wanting to do something.

Question 22

Subject + 怎么 + Verb + Object /
Topic + 怎么 + Verb
(verb phrase)

Answer 22

The question word 怎么 is used to ask how in Chinese. It is inserted in front of the verb that’s being asked about. Note that the subject can often be omitted from general “how to” questions, and there doesn’t always have to be an object. /
The object doesn’t have to come after the verb. Sometimes it moves to the front of the question, establishing what the question is going to be about, before getting specific with the “how” question.

Question 23

Subject + 没有 + Verb

verb phrase

Answer 23

Usually verbs can be negated with 不, but that construction is used for habitual or present actions. If the verb is about an action in the past, though, 没有 should be used. Remember that 了 is not used with 没有.

Question 24

不要 + Verb

verb phrase

Answer 24

Negative commands in Chinese (“do not” or “don’t”) are formed with 不要. Usually the subject is omitted, as in English. This is similar to the other negative command “别”.

Question 25

不 + V / 不 + Adj

verb phrase

Answer 25

Use 不 (bù) to negate verbs in the present or future.

Question 26

Subject + Verb + 一下 + Object

verb phrase

Answer 26

To express that a verb is carried out briefly or “a little bit,” you can add 一下 after it. Sometimes 一下 can soften the tone. Often, adding 一下 just makes the Chinese feel more natural.

Question 27

Subject + Verb / Subject + Verb + Object

Basic word order

Answer 27

In its most basic form, Chinese word order is very similar to English word order.

Question 28

Subject + 一直 + Predicate

Adverb

Answer 28

This structure expresses the continuation of an action or a circumstance.

Question 29

Subject + 总是 + Verb / 总是 + Modifier + Adj / 总是＋subject+verb

adverb

Answer 29

“总是” is an adverb that is often translated to English as “always”. It is placed before the verb that it modifies / When 总是 is used together with an adjective, you will need to add a modifier in the middle, such as “这么”, “那么”, “很”, “特别” etc. / When the subject is put after 总是，the emphasis is on the subject itself

Question 30

更 + adj / A 比 B + 更 + adj

Adverb

Answer 30

To express “even more,” use 更 (gèng). It frequently comes before adjectives. / While 更 is not a substitute for 比 (the classic comparison word), the two can be used together. This expresses that “A is even more Adj. than B.”

Question 31

Subject + 刚 + V. / Subject + 刚 + VO + Duration

Adverb

Answer 31

刚 expresses that the action happened not long ago. It’s used the same way as 刚刚. / 刚 can also express “from the time an action happens until the present time”.

Question 32

Subject + 也 + 都 + Verb / Adj.

Adverb

Answer 32

Sometimes you want to say that a group of people have something in common with something else. If this is the case you’ll want to use 也 (yě) and 都 (dōu) at the same time. Put 也 first!

Question 33

Subject + 差不多 / A 跟/和 B + 差不多 / 差不多 + Adj./Verb / 差不多 + 数量短语/时间短语

Answer 33

差不多 (chàbùduō) can be used as an adjective or an adverb to express that aspects of one or more things are close to each other or the difference between them is small. As an adjective, 差不多 can be placed directly after the subject of the sentence and, when coupled with a 的, can modify nouns

Question 34

Subject + 又 + Adjective 1 + 又 + Adjective 2

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 34

The character 又 (yòu) can be used to attribute two qualities to something. Notice that as in English, the two words can’t contrast in feeling. They must both be bad or both be good.

Question 35

Subject + 不太 + Adjective

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 35

You may be familiar with using 太 (tài) to express “too” in the sense of “too expensive.” There’s a similar pattern in the negative, which just means “not very” or “not so” (literally “not too”). Note that this pattern does not normally use 了 (le). This pattern can be used with some psychological verbs (e.g. 喜欢, 想，明白)

Question 36

Subject + 多 + Adjective

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 36

多 (duō) is often used to ask about the extent of something. This is an easy way to ask “How [adjective] is [subject]?”

Question 37

Noun 1 + 跟 / 和 / 像+ Noun 2 + 一样 – Noun 1 + 跟 / 和 / 像 + Noun 2 + 一样 + Adjective
(Adverb w/ adj)

Answer 37

As well as with 比 and 没有, there is a third way to make basic comparisons: with 一样 (yīyàng).
Rather than expressing that two things differ regarding a particular quality, 一样 is used to express that two things are the same in some way. To add an adjective into the mix, just place it after 一样. This describes Noun 1 as being as adjective as Noun 2.

Question 38

Subject + 还 + Verb + Object / Subject + 还 不 + Verb + Object

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 38

还 (hái) can be used to indicate that something is continuing - that it’s still a particular way. Often the auxiliary verb 在 will appear with 还, as it is natural to talk about continuous actions that are still happening. When you put 不 or 没 after 还 (hái) in a question sentence, it can be used to emphasize the idea of what should be happening in a more idiomatic way.

Question 39

Subject + 有点（儿） / 有一点（儿） + Adjective

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 39

To say that something is “a little too … “ or “a bit too …”, 有点 or 有一点 are often used.

Question 40

Place1 + 离 + Place2 + Adverb + 近/远

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 40

his pattern is normally used to simply express that one place is (not) close or (not) far from another place.

Question 41

Subject + 多 + Adjective

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 41

As well as asking about degree, you can also use 多 (duō) to intensify adjectives.

Question 42

Subject + 还 好 / Subject + 还 可以 / Subject + 还 行 / Subject + 还 不错
(Adverb w/ adj)

Answer 42

As well as continuation, 还 (hái) can also be used to weaken positive adjectives. This is similar to saying “quite” or “reasonably” in English.

Question 43

Adjective + 的 + Noun

Adverb w/ adj

Answer 43

A very common way to modify nouns is to attach an adjective to them using 的 (de).

Question 44

Phrase + 的 + Noun

Answer 44

As well as attaching adjectives to nouns, 的 (de) can be used to attach whole phrases to nouns. In English this is often achieved with “who” or “that”, e.g. in “The man who went to Beijing” or “The book that I bought yesterday”.

Question 45

最 + Adjective / 最 + Adjective (+ 了)

Answer 45

fattest, most complex, etc.) in Chinese is to use 最 (zuì) before an adjective. Occasionally you’ll also see a 了 added after the adjective. This adds emphasis to the “-est.”

Question 46

Possibility 1 + 或者 + Possibility 2

Conjunction

Answer 46

Whilst 还是 is used for “or” in questions, 或者 is used for “or” in statements.

Question 47

Result ，因为 + Reason

Answer 47

In this structure, we first state the result, and then give the reason in the next statement after the 因为.