Grace Mandarin Chinese

Chinese Hack: Breaking down sentence structures in Mandarin

  1. Forming a Chinese sentence depends more on its meaning instead of its form.

你知道那个人是谁吗？Nǐ zhīdào nàgè rén shì shéi ma?  – Do you know who that person is?

不知道， 可能是新员工， 要不要问他？Bù zhīdào, kěnéng shì xīn yuángōng, yào bùyào wèn tā? / 我不知道， 他可能是新员工， 我们要不要问他？Wǒ bù zhīdào, tā kěnéng shì xīn yuángōng, wǒmen yào bùyào wèn tā? – I don’t know, he’s probably a new employee. Shall we ask him?

你吃晚餐了吗？ － 我吃晚餐了。／吃了。Nǐ chī wǎncānle ma? – Wǒ chī wǎncānle./Chīle. – Have you had dinner yet? – Yes, I have.

  1. The Chinese sentence structure is not always in the S – V – O order.
  2. There is usually a special character in the sentence, such as: 把，被 bǎ, bèi.
  3. The functions of these special structures are different.

他吃了苹果。Tā chīle píngguǒ. – He ate an/ the apple.

他把苹果吃了。Tā bǎ píngguǒ chīle. – He ate THE APPLE.

苹果被他吃了。Píngguǒ bèi tā chīle. – THE APPLE was eaten by him.

  1. Chinese is a topic-prominent language.

车子修好了。Chē zǐ xiūhǎole. – Someone / I got the car fixed.

车子修好了，就像新的一样。Chē zǐ xiūhǎole, jiù xiàng xīn de yīyàng. – Someone / I got the car fixed, it is just like a new one.

真的，就像新的一样。Zhēn de, jiù xiàng xīn de yīyàng. – Indeed, it is just like a new one.

但还是不好开。Dàn háishì bù hǎo kāi. – But it still doesn’t drive well.

那部电影我看过了。Nà bù diànyǐng wǒ kànguòle. – I’ve watched the movie.

这件事我觉得 Zhè jiàn shì wǒ juédé  + your opinion

  1. A special structure we use a lot.

我看不懂。他跑很快。Wǒ kàn bù dǒng. Tā pǎo hěn kuài. – I can’t understand [what I read, what I saw]. He runs fast.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/XD8Df7k4PHI?start=00

How to Express Tenses in Mandarin Chinese | Past tense, Present continuous tense, Future tense

他来我家。他昨天来我家。他明天来我家。

Tā lái wǒjiā. Tā zuótiān lái wǒjiā. Tā míngtiān lái wǒjiā. – He comes to my house. He came to my house yesterday. He will come to my house tomorrow.

  1. Past Tense

– time words: 昨天，上个月，去年 zuótiān, shàng gè yuè, qùnián – Yesterday, last month, last year

– adverbs: 刚刚， 以前， 已经， 曾经 gānggāng, yǐqián, yǐjīng, céngjīng – just now (a short time ago), before, already, once

我昨天吃一个蛋糕。Wǒ zuótiān chī yīgè dàngāo. – I ate a cake yesterday.

我已经吃一个蛋糕。Wǒ yǐjīng chī yīgè dàngāo. – I already ate a cake.

我已昨天经吃一个蛋糕。Wǒ yǐ zuótiān jīng chī yīgè dàngāo. – I already ate a cake yesterday.

  1. Present Continuous Tense

– adverbs: 正在 zhèngzài, 在 zài

他（正）在看书。Tā (zhèng) zài kànshū.  – He is reading a book.

  1. Future Tense

– auxiliary verbs: 要，会，打算 Yào, huì, dǎsuàn – to want to/to be going to,    will,    to be planning to

我要写一篇文章。Wǒ yào xiě yī piān wénzhāng. – I am going to write an article.

我会去学校。Wǒ huì qù xuéxiào. – I will go to school.

我打算辞职。Wǒ dǎsuàn cízhí. – I’m planning to quit my job.

– time words: 明天，下个月，明年 Míngtiān, xià gè yuè, míngnián  – Tomorrow, next month, next year

– adverbs: 等一下，之后，将来 Děng yīxià, zhīhòu, jiānglái – later/ wait a second, after(wards), in the future

我明天跟你说。Wǒ míngtiān gēn nǐ shuō. – I will tell you tomorrow.

我等一下跟你说。Wǒ děng yīxià gēn nǐ shuō. – I will tell you later.

你明天要做什么？Nǐ míngtiān yào zuò shénme? – What are you going to do tomorrow?

跟朋友出去玩。Gēn péngyǒu chūqù wán. – I’ll hang out with my friends.

https://www.youtube.com/embed/hhWZq1P1MZg?start=300

Can Chinese Verbs be Separated?! | Chinese Separable Verbs

  1. 吃饭 chīfàn – to have a meal

你吃过饭了吗？Nǐ chīguò fànle ma? – Have you eaten yet?

她说她吃不下饭。Tā shuō tā chī bù xiàfàn. – She said she has no appetite.

  1. 照相 Zhàoxiàng – to take a picture

https://www.youtube.com/embed/R5cr18UGK2Y?start=00

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLwFUKjRMEUxyQm1IBZeenvObIhC1YBux7