Basic Chinese Grammar - Index

Personal pronouns

Nominal measure words

(men) plurals

Verbal measure words

Questions

Complements

Adjectives /

and

Adverbs

Preposition (location)

Negation

Conjunctions

Time/Duration

Aspect

Location/Direction

Attitude

Passive

Modals

construction

...... construction

Chinese Grammar - Personal pronouns

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The most common personal pronouns in Chinese are:

Notes:

he

you (informal)

she

nn

you (formal) [1][4]

it[2]

wmen

we

tmen

they

znmen

we[3]

tmen

they

nmen

you

tmen

they

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

is used to show respect explicitly (to superiors, customers, older people). Where there
is no need to emphasise respect is used instead.
and are used much less thenitortheyin English. Where the reference is
obvious / is usually omitted.
is used by the speaker to explicitly include the listener as a member ofwe
. It can
always be replaced with the more neutral .
There is no plural form for Instead a measure word and numeral is used:

nn r wi

the two of you

nn j wi

how many are you?

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Chinese Grammar - Personal pronouns

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Examples:

w sh xusheng

I am a student.

n y sh xusheng ma

Are you also a student?

t sh losh

He is a teacher.

t sh jioshu

She is a professor.

wmen sh zhnggurn

We are Chinese. (including or excluding

the listener)

znmen zu ba!

Let
s go! (including the listener)

nmen sh ynggurn

Are you English?

tmen sh migurn

They are Americans.

tmen sh gshu

They (group of women) are singers.

zh sh t de hudu. tmen
hn pioliang

These are her flowers. They are

beautiful.
( would usually be omitted.)

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Chinese Grammar - (men) plurals

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is a plural suffix. It is only used with nouns or pronouns that refer to people. It cannot be used in noun
phrases that contain a numeral or a quantifier.

->

wmen

we

->

loshmen

teachers

nshmen, xinshngmen

Ladies and gentlemen

You cannot say:

* w de bn yu rshw g
xushengmen.

My class has twenty-five pupils.

Instead say:

w de bn yu rshw g
xusheng.

My class has twenty-five pupils.

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Chinese Grammar - Questions

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Use the following interrogative pronouns ask questions:

who?

shi

when?

shnme shhu

what?

shnme

why?

wishnme

where?

nl, nr

how?

znmeyng

how many?

j [for up to ten], dusho [ten and more]

how long?

dusho shjin, duji

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Chinese Grammar - Questions

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Note that the interrogative pronoun appears in place of that part of the sentence, that the pronoun asks about.
Examples:

shi zh zi bijng

Who lives in Beijing?

t shnme shhu li bijng

When will he come to Beijing?

t gn shnme

What does he do?

t wishnme zu fij

Why is he taking the plane?

t zh zi nli

Where does he live?

t xu zhngwn xu de znmeyng

How does he learn Chinese?

t yu j g xingd

How many brothers does he have?

t yu dusho qin

How much money does he have?

? t zh zi bijng dusho shjin le

How long did he live in Beijing?

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Chinese Grammar - Questions

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To ask if something is the case add (ma) to a statement:

-> ?

t sh losh. -> t sh losh ma?

He is a teacher. Is he a teacher?

or use an affirmitive / negative structure:

t sh losh. -> t sh b sh losh

-> ? ma?

He is a teacher. Is he a teacher?

You can also form a follow-up question with (ne):

, ?

w sh xusheng, n ne?

I am a student, and you?

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1 of 2

Chinese Grammar - Adjectives, and

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Common single syllable adjectives in Chinese are:

d large

xio

ho

small

good

lo old kui

fast

Common single syllable adjectives in Chinese are:

gnjng

clean

cngmng

clever

htu

confuse

Common single syllable adjectives in Chinese are:

y zu d fngzi

y g xio hizi

ho zhy

lo rn

y ling kui ch

a large house

a small child

good idea

old people

a fast car

Multiple syllable adjectives are linked to the noun with :

y g cngmng de gniang

y pin htu de wnzhng

y jin gnjng de chfng

a clever girl

a confused essay

a clean kitchen
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Chinese Grammar - Adjectives, and

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If the adjective is used predicatively there is no need to use (sh)For this reason some grammars use the
term stative verb instead of adjective. With single syllable adjectives:

hizi xio

the child is small

sh d

the book is large

with multiple syllable adjectives hn, very is used:

fngzi hn

kunchng

The house is
spacious.

losh hn
cngmng

The teacher is clever.

NB: in this context loses its meaningveryunless it is especially emphasised.

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Chinese Grammar - and

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to beis used to link a subject and object.

t sh wde losh

He is my teacher.

Note: In Chinese, adjectives (sometimes called stative verbs) do not need the word
.

t hn cngming

She is very clever.

Not:

to haveis used to express ownership or existence.

[1]

t yu y g ddi

She has a younger brother.

zhl mi yu chosh

There is no supermarket here.

and there are some fixed expression with :

[1]

yuysi

interesting

yuqin

rich

is always negated with (mi) - (miyu) to not have

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Chinese Grammar - Adverbs

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Adverbs modify verbs, adjectives or other adverbs. They appear in front of the word they modify.
Common adverbs are:
Adverbs of time

Adverbs of quantity

ci

only now

chng

often

gng

just now

yjng

already

mshng

immediately

ji

immediately, only, exactly

Adverbs of frequency

du

all

zh

only

zng

altogether

qun

total

also

Adverbs of degree

yu

again (relates to past events)

hn

very

zi

again

gng

more

Adverbs of negation

zu

most

ti

too, very

fichng

extraordinary

not

mi

not (have)

bi

(must) not
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Chinese Grammar - Prepositions(locations)

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Prepositions (Time, Location and Direction)

Common single syllable adjectives in Chinese are:

zi

in, at

zcng

since

cng

from

do

to

xing

towards

yn

along

cho

towards

wng

towards

distant from

Examples:

t zi zhnggu xux

He is studying in China.

t cng ynggu hu q le

He returned home from England.

t cng xinggng do bijng

He travelled from Hong Kong to

Beijing.

gngzu

zcng by t ji zi migu

Since he graduated he has been

working in the States.

tmen cho nn zu

They are heading south.

q lxng le

.../cont
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2 of 2

Chinese Grammar - Prepositions(locations)

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Examples: continued

20

zhl l jchng yu r sh gngl

The airport is 20 kilometres from

here.

t xing t zhun q

He turned to her.

t yn witn snb

He is taking a walk along the Bund.

xusheng du wng jiosh zu

le

The students all headed for the

classroom.

NB: can function as a preposition or as a verb meaningto be in place

. often forms fixed expression
with location words:

... zi ... l inside

... zi ... zhng

in, amongst

... zi ... shng

on top of

Examples: zi as a preposition and a verb:

t zi bijng xu zhxu

She is studying philosophy in Beijing.

xio hizi zi huyun l

The child is in the garden.

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Chinese Grammar - Negation

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The most common way of saying that something is not the case is using (b).

w b sh losh

I am not a teacher.

and for events that are completed use (mi) instead of

With the verb (yu)to have

w mi yu xingdjimi

I don't have brothers or sisters.

t mi q tshgun

She has not gone to the library.

Note: the positive form of the sentence would be (t q le tshgun) She has gone to
the library. Since already implies a completed state, the aspect marker (le) is not needed.
Chinese has no simpleyesorno
. Instead, the main verb is normally repeated, with either (du) to
confirm or (b) to deny added in front.

N sh xusheng ma?

Are you a student?

sh

Yes.

du, sh xusheng

Correct, (I) am a student.

b sh

No.
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Chinese Grammar - Negation

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To say that you agree or disagree you can say:

w tngy

I agree

w b tngy

I disagree

Note on the pronunciation of :

The tone of various according to context. On its own or if is followed by a syllable in the first, second or
third tone, the pronunciation is b. If precedes a fourth tone is pronounced in the second tone b.
W b xingji (I am not homesick)

W b sh losh (I am not a teacher)

(However is normally always written as b even when it is pronounced in the second tone).

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Chinese Grammar - Common conjunctions

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(h): and - can only link words and phrases, not sentences.
Example:

t xhuan ch h kfi

She likes tea and coffee.

(hu)
: or - can only link words and phrases, not sentences
(huzh) : or - can be used with words, phrases and sentences
(hish) : or - used in questions
Examples:

w xing mi y png
chngzh hu y png
pngguzh.

I would like to buy a bottle of

orange juice or apple juice.

w xing chq tiow

huzh zi ji kn dinsh.

I would like to go dancing or to stay

at home and watch TV.

n h ch hish kfi?

Do you drink tea or coffee

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Chinese Grammar - Common conjunctions

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(rgu): if
rgu w yuqin, w ji

mi y ling xn ch

If I had money, I would buy a

new car.

(ksh): but

w xhun tng lixng ynyu, ksh w pngyou xhun tng gdin ynyu.
I like listening to pop music, but my friend likes listening to classical music.

(ynwi): because
w xu zhngwn, ynwi w

I am studying Chinese because I

want to go and travel in China.

t ti mng le, suy b chq

tiow.

She is very busy, therefore she

can
t go out dancing

yo q zhnggu lxng.
(suy): therefore
,

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Chinese Grammar - Common conjunctions

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(surn): although
surn t hn mng, t hish

Although he is very busy, he

has invited us to his home.

chle bijng ywi, w mi q

gu qt dfang.

Apart from Beijing I have not

been to any other places.

, yoqng wmen q t ji.

... (chle ... ywi): except

( ji): is often used to create a link between the idea in the preceding clause and the current clause.

rgu n xing kn dinshi,

wmen ji di zi ji l.

If you want to watch TV, we

can stay at home.

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Chinese Grammar - Aspect

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Chinese uses three particles to express the temporal aspect of a statement.

(zhe) indicates the action is ongoing.

(le) indicates the action is completed but is affecting the current state.
(gu) indicates that something was experienced in the past

losh hi bngzhe, wmen

, b shng k.

The teacher is still ill, we don't go to class.

t hu ji le, wmen ji ch
wnfn.

After he came home, we had supper.

After he comes home, we will have supper.

Note: marks an event as complete, but it can refer to an event in the past, the present or the future.
can also be used as a sentence level particle indicating a change of state.

w rnshi yhyun,

, w q gu bijng.

I know the Summer Palace, I have been to

Beijing.
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Chinese Grammar - Attitude

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is used to soften the tone of an utterance or to establish an emotional link with the listener.
!

kui li a

Come quickly.

zh g wnt hn knnan a

This problem is really difficult!

is asking for agreement or approval of an utterance or to form a polite request.

tmen yjng li le ba

They must have arrived already, mustn't they.

nmen k le ba?

You must be thirsty?

, !

b zo le, wmen zu ba

It is late, let's go!

is used to express an expectation or to ask for additional information.

?

w sh xusheng, n ne

I am a student, and you?

zutin hn r, jntin ne

It was very hot yesterday, what about today?

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Chinese Grammar - Modals

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Chinese uses three particles to express the temporal aspect of a statement.

(hu) ability, future possibility:

w hu shu zhngwn

I speak Chinese.

(nng) possibility, permission:

?

n nng b nng li?

Can you come?

(ky) permission:
?

w ky zi zhl chuyn ma

Can I smoke here?

(yo) to want, to have to, to become:

w yo q zhnggu

I want to go to China.

n yo gng rnzhn di gngzu

You must work more conscientiously.

(xing) wish:
w xing ch gngbojdng

I would like spicy diced chicken with peanuts.

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Chinese Grammar - Modals

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Chinese uses three particles to express the temporal aspect of a statement.

(yuny) willingness:
!

n yuny ji li ba

If you want you can come!

w di zu gngk

I must do my homework.

(di) must:

Note: Here is pronounced di.

(bx) must:

n bx nl gngzu

You must work hard!

(ynggi) ought to:

n ynggi znjng n de fm

You ought to respect your parents.

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Chinese Grammar -

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The use of

is used to indicate that some action is only lasting a short while. It is often used to indicate that
somebody is doing something briefly or when making a request for some help or support.

W b qudng, rng w xing

yxi.

I'm not sure - let me think.

Nn xyo shnme?
W b zhdo. W kn yxi.

What are you looking for?

I don
t know - I am only having a
quick look around.

W zuy zu wn le.
N kn yxi ba.

I have finished my homework.

Can you have a look, please.

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1 of 3

Chinese Grammar - Nominal measure words

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Chinese nouns, preceded either by a number, a demonstrative pronoun, or an interrogative pronoun, require a
measure word before the noun. Some measure words have an English equivalent, e.g.

y sh hu

a bunch of flowers

y qn yng

a flock of sheep

Most Chinese measure words have, however, no English equivalent, e.g. (sn g rn) three people
The most common and generic measure word is (g). It is used with most abstract terms.
Some measure words indicate a quantity and have an English equivalent:

ling png pji

two bottles of beer

y f shuto

a pair of gloves

y kui dngo

a slice of cake

y zhng zh

a piece of paper

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Chinese Grammar - Nominal measure words

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Most Chinese measure words have, however, no English equivalent, e.g. (sn g rn) three people
The most common and generic measure word is (g). It is used with most abstract terms.
Some measure words indicate a quantity and have an English equivalent:

(flat things):

y zhng zhuzi

a table

(books):

y bn cdin

a dictionary

(winding things):

y tio kzi, y tio h

a pair of trousers, a river

(paper work, documents):

y pin wnzhng

an essay

y b yzi, y b ysn

a chair, an umbrella

(something with a handle): ,

Some measure words are very specific to a particular noun (y p m) a horse

Examples:

sn g losh

three teachers

li p m

six horses

lzh g losh

this teacher

zh bn sh

this book

n g losh

what teacher?

n b yzi

which chair?

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Chinese Grammar - Nominal measure words

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Common measure words:

general

bi

cups, glasses

jin

clothes

ji

airplanes,
machines

pin

documents

kui

cakes

png

liquid

zh

animals

things with
handles

bn

books, maps

fng

letters

jin

rooms

plants

ling

cars

wi

person (more
formal than )

zu

buildings,
mountains

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Chinese Grammar - Verbal measure words

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Verbal measure words indicate how often an action is carried out.

(c) is used to say how many times something happened.

(bin) is used to emphasise that an activity was carried out for a number of times completely.
(tng) is used only with verbs of movement like
(q, to go), (zu, to walk), (li, to come), (fi, to fly), (po, to run) etc.
:

w do bijng li gu sn c

I have been to Beijing three

times.

t fi le y tng lndn

She has flown to London once.

He has read this novel

: t zh bn xioshu kn le sh bin (completely) ten times.

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Chinese Grammar - Complements

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Complements are a very common structure in Chinese. They clarify the predicate of a sentence and follow it.
Complements can express result, conclusion, potential or extent.
Extent

n shu hny shu de hn ho

You speak Chinese very well.

The verb is repeated after the object , then plus complement are added.
If there is no object you can simply add and the complement.

n shu hny shu de hn ho

You speak Chinese very well.

Complement of potential

n tng de qngch ma?

Can you hear clearly?

mgo x b gnjng ma?

Can't you wash the mushrooms cleanly?

t zu b lio

She can't go!

is used to add the complement, in negative sentences is replaced by

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Chinese Grammar - Complements

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Complement of result
Either an adjective or noun that follows the main verb to indicate the result of the action.
Typical complements of result are: , , ,

t tng cu le

He misheard.

hizi zu ho t de zuy

The child completed his homework.

w knjin le wde pngyou

I saw my friend.

zh hn zhngyo. w di jzh

This is important. I must remember (it).

Complement of direction
Indicate the direction (metaphorical as well as real) of the action of the main verb.

t po chq le

He ran out.

t xi lu q

He went downstairs.

Complement of direction
Indicate the manner in which something is done. The verb is repeated after the object , then plus
complement are added. If there is no object you can simply add and the complement.

t chfn ch de hn mn

He eats slowly.

t shu de hn kui

He speaks very fast.

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Chinese Grammar -

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is used to link adjective and nouns.

losh de sh

the teacher's book

w de zxngch

my bicycle

The noun can be dropped if it is clear from the context:

zh sh w de

this is mine

losh de zi nr

the teacher's is over there.

With possesive adjective the can be dropped if a close relationship exists between the two.
or
Single syllable adjective can be used as an attribute without

xio hizi b shng xu

Small children don't go to school.

n bin de hizi zi zu shnme

What are the children over there doing

but

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Chinese Grammar - (de)

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is used to combine verbs and adverbs.

t goxng de chng zhe

She is singing happily.

Single syllable adverbs can be used without .

nn mn zu

(You) Please walk slowly.

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Chinese Grammar -

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has a number of different uses.

(di) is a modal verb, meaningto have to do something
.
wde hny b ho, w di

, nl xux

My Chinese is not very good, I must

study conscientiously.

(de) is used to link a complement and the verb.

t xinzi jnzhng de hn

She is very tense at the moment.

See Complements for more details.

(ddo) means toreceive

.
chsh yhu t ddo le

hn du bngzh

He received a lot of help after his accident.

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Chinese Grammar - (li)

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(ddo) means toreceive

.
to come:
complement indicating
movement towards the
speaker:

t shng xngx li
bijing

He came to Beijing last

week.

t jn li le

He came in.

w li chng g

Let me sing.

li y png pji

Bring me a bottle of
beer.

indicating intention to do
something:
ask somebody to bring
something:

* is used to indicate movement away from the speaker: (t jn q le) He went in.

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Chinese Grammar -

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(gi) can function as a preposition or a verb. It is also used in a number of very common expressions.
(gi) as a preposition:

qng n gi w d y g
dinhu

Please give me a call. (lit. Please for

me make a phone call.)

t gi le w y g lw

He gave me a present

(gi) as a verb:

When somebody hands something (e.g. money) to another person the expression or often
accompanies the action.

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Chinese Grammar - Time/Duration

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Time is usually expressed through nominal constructions. If there are several expressions of time, the larger unit
precedes the smaller. The time expresion appears before the predicate.

mngtin w q bijng

I will go to Beijing tomorrow.

jntin w hn li

I am very tired today.

To ask for the time use in the same place as the time expression:
? (n shnme shhu q bijng). When are you going to Beijing?
Duration is expressed as an attribute or complement of the predicate

t zi bijng zh le y nin bn

He lived in Beijing for a year and a half.

tmen tiow tio le y y

They danced all night.

(NB: The main verb of the predicate is repeated before the expression of duration.)
To ask for the duration use
duration:

(dusho shjin) or (duji) in the place of the expression of

? t zi bijng zh le dusho shjin

How long did he live in Beijing for?

How long did they dance for?

tmen tiow tio le duji

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Chinese Grammar - Location

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Location is usually expressed through nominal constructions. Common location words are:

shng xi

qin

hu

zu yu

wi

above below in front behind left right inside outside

also zhng

dng nn

middle east

bi

south west

north

Location words can be used as:

attributes in front of a noun

bi dlu

the large building in the North

after a directional preposition

t gui xing bi

He turned North

following a noun

mn wi

outside the door

d shng

on the floor

The location words can be combined with (or ,).

e.g. (shngbian, above), (hubian, behind), (wibian, outside)
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Chinese Grammar - Location

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The location words can function as:

the subject

dngbian sh y g fndin

On the left there is a hotel.

zxngch zi hubian

The bicycle is at the back.

qinbian de yuj hn d

The post office in the front is very big.

the object

or an attribute

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Chinese Grammar - Passive

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The passive is usually implied by context. Under the influence of Western languages overt passive constructions
have become more common recently. The logical subject of the passive construction is marked by (bi). In
spoken Chinese (rng), ( jio) or (gi) are used as well.

wde b bi t n zu le

My pen was taken away by her.

wde sh rng w pngyou ji le

My book was borrowed by my friend.

If the logical subject is obvious from the context it can be dropped.

tde zxngch bi tu le

His bicycle was stolen.

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Chinese Grammar - - construction

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The construction is specific to Chinese. is inserted before the object and the construction precedes the
verb. The normal sentence order SVO then becomes SOV.

xusheng b zuy zu wn le

The student finished the homework.

The construction can only be used with:

transitive verbs
the objective must be definite (not some abstract concept)
the verb must modify the object in some way
the verb must be followed by some other element (e.g. a complement, )

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Chinese Grammar - ...... construction

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The ...... construction is used to emphasise a particular part of the sentence. precedes the emphasised
phrase, at the end of the sentence.

T sh q nin by de

tmen sh zu fij q shnghi de

He graduated LAST YEAR.

They flew to Shanghai BY PLANE.

If the object of the sentence is to be emphasised, follows the verb.

w xude sh zhngwn

I am studying CHINESE.

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End of Basic Chinese Grammar - Index

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