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Chinese Grammar Core Course This compact course turns the most reusable Chinese grammar patterns into a sequence you can read, say, and rebuild. Treat every example as a frame: change one word, then say the new sentence aloud.
Core patterns Read the pattern, cover the translation, and rebuild the sentence from its meaning. Return to the detailed articles for exceptions and nuance.
For English speakers, the main adjustment is not basic SVO order but keeping time, place, aspect markers, and complements in their Chinese positions.
01
Build a sentence Build the predicate first, then decide which information belongs before it. English lets many adverbials drift; Chinese rewards a stable frame.
Sentence frame: subject–time–place–verb–object Chinese often keeps the action early and places time before the action. Build the short subject–verb–object spine first, then add time and place. Predicates: noun, adjective, and verb sentences A noun predicate normally needs 是, while an adjective can be the predicate directly. 很 often links a neutral description rather than simply meaning “very”. Time, place, and movement Time usually comes before the verb; a place where an action happens normally comes before that verb too. Do not copy English post-verbal place phrases blindly. Negation: 不, 没(有), and 别 Use 不 for habits, intention, and future; use 没(有) for an action that did not happen. 别 is a direct negative request. 02
Describe and ask Ask what is being described before choosing 的, 地, or 得. A question is built by leaving the answer slot open, not by turning the sentence around.
Questions without inversion Question words stay in the slot where the answer would go. Yes–no questions use 吗, an A-not-A pattern, or an interrogative word; the word order does not flip. Modifiers: 的, 地, and 得 的 attaches a modifier to a noun, 地 marks the manner before a verb in formal writing, and 得 introduces a complement after a verb. First decide what is being modified. Numbers and measure words A number normally needs a measure word before a noun, and 两 is common before measure words. Learn noun and measure word together as one usable chunk. Existence, location, and identification 有 introduces what exists somewhere; 在 states where a known item is; 是 identifies or classifies. Switching these changes the information focus. 03
Time, ability, comparison Do not translate tense word for word. Choose whether you mean a completed event, an action in progress, a continuing state, an experience, an ability, or a comparison.
Completed events with 了 了 marks a bounded or newly relevant event, not a simple past tense. Look for a completed action, a change of situation, or a contrast with the present. Ongoing, continuing, and experienced actions 在/正在 show an action in progress, 着 highlights a continuing state, and 过 marks life experience. Choose the viewpoint before choosing a marker. Modal verbs and intention 会 can mean learned ability or prediction; 能 concerns practical possibility; 可以 grants permission; 想 and 要 express desire or plan. Their differences matter more than an English “can”. Comparison and degree With 比, do not add 很 before the adjective. Use 没有 for “not as … as”, and use 一点儿 or 更 to express small or greater degree. 04
Move information These structures change what the listener notices first: a handled object, an affected subject, a route, a recipient, or a purpose. Keep the result visible.
Result and directional complements A complement tells whether an action succeeded, finished, found something, or moved in a direction. It is part of the verb phrase, so keep it next to the verb. Duration, frequency, and repetition Duration answers “for how long”, frequency answers “how often”, and number of times answers “how many times”. Their positions depend on whether the object is definite. 把: handling a known object 把 brings a definite, affected object before the verb and normally requires a result, location, quantity, or other outcome. It is not a decorative replacement for normal order. 被: affected subject and passive meaning 被 foregrounds the person or thing affected, often when the result matters or is unwelcome. Chinese also frequently leaves the agent unstated. 05
Link ideas Use connectors to state the relationship between ideas instead of relying only on intonation. Particles then adjust how direct, shared, or tentative the utterance sounds.
Coverbs: paths, recipients, and viewpoint Words such as 在, 从, 到, 给, 跟, and 对 introduce the setting, path, recipient, companion, or viewpoint before the main verb. Read them as a relationship, not as isolated translations. Serial verbs and purpose Several verbs can share one subject without extra “to” or “and”: go somewhere, then do something. Keep the actions in their real-world order. Connectors and logical flow Because–therefore, although–but, and if–then pairs make the relationship visible. Do not use both halves mechanically when context already makes one clear. Sentence particles and reduplication 吗, 呢, 吧, and sentence-final 了 manage questions, shared context, softening, and change. Reduplication can make a brief action or a request sound lighter. 06
Read, write, review Reading and writing are the transfer test. Parse a sentence before translating it, and revise your own sentence by checking one grammatical decision at a time.
Reading by grammatical blocks Find the main predicate before translating. Then bracket time, place, coverb phrases, modifiers, and complements; a long sentence becomes several manageable blocks. Writing a controlled paragraph Draft from a skeleton: topic, time/place, action, result, and reason. Check measure words, negation, and aspect before you add more vocabulary. Editing with contrasts A strong revision asks targeted questions: 不 or 没? 的 or 得? 比 or 没有? Then read the sentence aloud for its information order. Cumulative review and diagnostic A diagnostic should reveal a next step, not merely give a score. Rebuild the answers from meaning, mark weak patterns, and return to a single unit the next day.