Chinese Grammar Basic - Mixed 2

Introduction

Basic Mandarin starts to click when you can recognise the sentence patterns behind everyday speech. This chapter brings together a practical mix of beginner structures that learners often meet separately but need to use together in real conversation.

You'll work through patterns from 时间词语序 (time word order) to 姓 (surname is), paying attention to how word order, particles, and complements shape natural Chinese.

Themes

All Chinese Grammar Basic in This Chapter (6)

1. 时间词语序 (time word order) jīntiān In Chinese, time expressions are placed either before the subject or between the subject and the verb — never at the end of the sentence ...
2. 怎么样 (how about) zěnmeyàng The expression 怎么样 (zěnmeyàng) is used to ask for someone's opinion or evaluation about something. It is placed at the end of the questio...
3. 岁 (years old) suì The measure word 岁 (suì) is used after a number to express age. Unlike English, Chinese does not need a verb like 'to be' — the subject i...
4. 叫 (to be called) jiào The verb 叫 (jiào) is used to state or ask someone's name. In the pattern Subject + 叫 + Name, it means 'to be called' or 'my name is.' No ...
5. 是 (to be) shì The verb 是 (shì) connects a subject to a noun or noun phrase, similar to 'is/am/are' in English. It is used to identify, classify, or equ...
6. 姓 (surname is) xìng The verb 姓 (xìng) is used to state or ask about someone's family name (surname). The pattern Subject + 姓 + Surname means 'one's surname i...