🏗️ Building Sentences in Chinese: Your LEGO Adventure!
Imagine you have a box of LEGO blocks. Each block is a word, and the way you snap them together creates a sentence. In Chinese, the blocks follow a special order — and once you learn the pattern, you can build anything!
🧱 Basic Word Order: Subject + Verb + Object
Think of it like this: WHO + DOES WHAT + TO WHAT
In English, we say: “I eat apples.” In Chinese, it’s the same order!
我 吃 苹果。
- 我 (wǒ) = I
- 吃 (chī) = eat
- 苹果 (píngguǒ) = apple
graph TD A["Subject 主语"] --> B["Verb 动词"] B --> C["Object 宾语"] D["我 I"] --> E["吃 eat"] E --> F["苹果 apple"]
More Examples:
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 她 喝 水。 | Tā hē shuǐ. | She drinks water. |
| 他 看 书。 | Tā kàn shū. | He reads (a) book. |
| 我们 学 中文。 | Wǒmen xué Zhōngwén. | We learn Chinese. |
Remember: Chinese word order is SIMPLE — just like English! WHO + DOES + WHAT.
📢 Topic-Comment Structure: “About THIS… HERE’s the story”
Sometimes Chinese likes to put the most important thing FIRST. It’s like saying: “About pizza — I love it!”
Topic + Comment
- Topic = What you’re talking about
- Comment = What you want to say about it
这本书，我看过了。
- 这本书 (zhè běn shū) = This book (topic)
- 我看过了 (wǒ kàn guò le) = I have read (comment)
“This book — I’ve read it!”
graph TD A["Topic 话题"] --> B["Comment 评论"] C["这本书 This book"] --> D["我看过了 I've read"]
Examples:
| Chinese | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 苹果，我喜欢。 | Píngguǒ, wǒ xǐhuan. | Apples — I like them. |
| 北京，他去过。 | Běijīng, tā qù guò. | Beijing — he’s been there. |
Pro Tip: The topic is like shining a spotlight. You tell everyone what you’re about to discuss, THEN you share your thought!
✅ The Verb 是 (shì): The “Equals Sign”
是 is like the = sign in math. It connects two things that are the SAME.
我 是 学生。
- 我 (wǒ) = I
- 是 (shì) = am (equals)
- 学生 (xuésheng) = student
“I = student” → “I am a student.”
graph LR A["我 I"] --> B["是 ="] B --> C["学生 student"]
When to use 是:
- Stating identity: 她是老师。(She is a teacher.)
- Defining things: 这是苹果。(This is an apple.)
- Nationality: 我是美国人。(I am American.)
When NOT to use 是:
- With adjectives! (We’ll learn this later)
- ❌ 我是高。
- ✅ 我很高。(I am tall.)
📦 The Verb 有 (yǒu): “To Have” or “There Is”
有 means two magical things:
- To have (ownership)
- There is/are (existence)
Meaning 1: To Have
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我有书。 | Wǒ yǒu shū. | I have (a) book. |
| 她有猫。 | Tā yǒu māo. | She has (a) cat. |
Meaning 2: There is/are
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 桌子上有书。 | Zhuōzi shàng yǒu shū. | There’s a book on the table. |
| 教室里有学生。 | Jiàoshì lǐ yǒu xuésheng. | There are students in the classroom. |
graph TD A["有 yǒu"] A --> B["To Have 拥有"] A --> C["There is 存在"]
🚫 Negation: 不, 没, 别 — The Three “No” Brothers
Meet the NO family! Each brother says “no” in a different situation.
不 (bù) — “Do Not” for Habits & Will
Use 不 for:
- Things you DON’T do (habits)
- Things you WON’T do (will)
- Describing with 是
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我不吃肉。 | Wǒ bù chī ròu. | I don’t eat meat. |
| 她不是老师。 | Tā bú shì lǎoshī. | She is not a teacher. |
| 我不去。 | Wǒ bú qù. | I won’t go. |
没 (méi) — “Did Not” for Past & 有
Use 没 for:
- Things you DIDN’T do (past)
- To negate 有
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我没吃饭。 | Wǒ méi chīfàn. | I didn’t eat. |
| 他没有钱。 | Tā méiyǒu qián. | He doesn’t have money. |
| 她没来。 | Tā méi lái. | She didn’t come. |
别 (bié) — “Don’t!” for Commands
Use 别 for:
- Telling someone NOT to do something
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 别走！ | Bié zǒu! | Don’t go! |
| 别吃！ | Bié chī! | Don’t eat! |
| 别说话。 | Bié shuōhuà. | Don’t talk. |
graph TD A["Negation 否定"] A --> B["不 bù<br>Habits/Will"] A --> C["没 méi<br>Past/有"] A --> D["别 bié<br>Commands"]
Memory Trick:
- 不 = I DON’T (general)
- 没 = I DIDN’T (past)
- 别 = DON’T do it! (command)
❓ Forming Questions: The Magic 吗
The easiest way to ask a question in Chinese? Just add 吗 (ma) at the end!
Statement → Question
| Statement | Question |
|---|---|
| 你是学生。(You are a student.) | 你是学生吗？(Are you a student?) |
| 他喝咖啡。(He drinks coffee.) | 他喝咖啡吗？(Does he drink coffee?) |
| 她有猫。(She has a cat.) | 她有猫吗？(Does she have a cat?) |
It’s like adding a “?” to ANY sentence. The word order stays EXACTLY the same!
graph LR A["Statement 陈述句"] -- "+吗" --> B["Question 问句"] C["你是学生。"] -- "+吗" --> D["你是学生吗？"]
🔄 A-不-A Question Pattern: “Do or Don’t?”
Want to ask “Do you or don’t you?” This pattern is SUPER useful!
Structure: Verb + 不 + Verb
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你去不去？ | Nǐ qù bu qù? | Are you going (or not)? |
| 你喜欢不喜欢？ | Nǐ xǐhuan bu xǐhuan? | Do you like it (or not)? |
| 是不是？ | Shì bu shì? | Is it (or not)? |
| 有没有？ | Yǒu méiyǒu? | Is there / Do you have (or not)? |
Special Rule: For 有, we use 没 instead of 不!
- ✅ 你有没有钱？(Do you have money or not?)
- ❌ 你有不有钱？(Wrong!)
graph TD A["A-不-A Pattern"] B["去不去?<br>Go or not?"] C["是不是?<br>Is it or not?"] D["有没有?<br>Have or not?"] A --> B A --> C A --> D
🔗 Basic Conjunctions: 和 (hé) & 或者 (huòzhě)
和 (hé) — “And”
和 connects nouns, NOT sentences!
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我和你 | wǒ hé nǐ | me and you |
| 苹果和香蕉 | píngguǒ hé xiāngjiāo | apples and bananas |
| 爸爸和妈妈 | bàba hé māma | dad and mom |
Sentence Example:
- 我和她是朋友。(Wǒ hé tā shì péngyou.) — Me and she are friends.
- 我喜欢猫和狗。(Wǒ xǐhuan māo hé gǒu.) — I like cats and dogs.
⚠️ Don’t use 和 to connect sentences!
- ❌ 我吃饭和她喝水。
- ✅ 我吃饭，她喝水。
或者 (huòzhě) — “Or”
或者 offers choices!
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 咖啡或者茶 | kāfēi huòzhě chá | coffee or tea |
| 今天或者明天 | jīntiān huòzhě míngtiān | today or tomorrow |
Sentence Example:
- 你要咖啡或者茶？(Nǐ yào kāfēi huòzhě chá?) — Do you want coffee or tea?
- 我们去北京或者上海。— We’ll go to Beijing or Shanghai.
graph TD A["Conjunctions 连词"] A --> B["和 hé = AND<br>connects nouns"] A --> C["或者 huòzhě = OR<br>offers choices"]
🎯 Quick Summary: Your Sentence Building Toolkit
| Concept | Key Point | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Word Order | Subject + Verb + Object | 我吃苹果。 |
| Topic-Comment | Important thing first | 这本书，我看过了。 |
| 是 | “equals” for identity | 我是学生。 |
| 有 | “have” or “there is” | 我有书。/ 桌子上有书。 |
| 不 | Negate habits/will | 我不吃。 |
| 没 | Negate past/有 | 我没吃。/ 我没有。 |
| 别 | Command “don’t” | 别走！ |
| 吗 Questions | Add 吗 to any statement | 你是学生吗？ |
| A-不-A | “Do or don’t?” | 你去不去？ |
| 和 | “and” for nouns | 猫和狗 |
| 或者 | “or” for choices | 咖啡或者茶 |
🚀 You Did It!
You now have ALL the building blocks to create basic Chinese sentences. Just like LEGO, practice snapping these pieces together, and soon you’ll be building skyscrapers of conversation!
Remember:
- Chinese word order is SIMPLE
- 是 = equals, 有 = have/there is
- Three “NO” brothers: 不 (don’t), 没 (didn’t), 别 (don’t!)
- Questions: Add 吗 OR use A-不-A
- 和 = and, 或者 = or
Now go build some sentences! 🏗️🇨🇳