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Word classes › Prepositions › Introducing a target
In Mandarin, the preposition 跟 (gēn) introduces the person or party involved with the subject in an action, conversation, or shared activity. Unlike English prepositional phrases that stand at the end of a sentence, a 跟 phrase must appear b…
View detailsWord classes › Prepositions › Introducing a target
In Chinese, the word 给 (gěi) functions not only as the verb meaning to give, but also as a high-frequency preposition meaning to or for. Under the HSK 2 grammar outline, prepositional 给 (gěi) is placed before the main verb to introduce the …
View detailsWord classes › Prepositions › Introducing direction or path
The preposition 往 (wǎng) introduces the direction or path of an action, corresponding closely to English words like toward or in the direction of. In standard everyday Chinese, the phrase formed with 往 comes directly before the action verb.
View detailsWord classes › Pronouns › Personal pronouns
The personal pronoun 自己 (zìjǐ) means 'oneself' or 'one's own'. Unlike English, which changes forms according to person and number (myself, yourself, themselves), Chinese uses 自己 for all persons, either alone or immediately after another nou…
View detailsWord classes › Pronouns › Interrogative pronouns
The interrogative pronoun 为什么 asks for the reason, cause, or purpose behind an action or state. In standard Mandarin sentences, it usually appears after the subject and before the verb or adjective, though it can also precede the subject to…
View detailsWord classes › Pronouns › Demonstrative pronouns
Beyond basic pointing words for 'this' and 'that', Chinese uses specialized demonstrative pronouns to indicate degree (这么, 那么), manner or type (这样, 那样), and individual distribution (每). Understanding how they combine with adjectives, verbs,…
View detailsPhrases › Structural types › Other structural types
A pivotal phrase (兼语短语) links a verb-object phrase and a subject-predicate phrase around a shared noun. This shared noun acts as the object of the first verb and the subject of the second action or state.
View detailsPhrases › Structural types › Other structural types
A serial verb phrase (连谓短语) joins two or more verb phrases directly under one subject without connecting words. In Chinese, the order of these verb phrases follows time sequence, means before action, or movement before purpose.
View detailsPhrases › Structural types › Other structural types
A “的”字短语 (de-phrase) is formed by placing the particle 的 (de) directly after a pronoun, noun, adjective, or verb phrase without a following noun. The entire phrase functions like a noun, equivalent to English expressions like 'mine', 'the r…
View detailsSentence components › Subject
In Mandarin Chinese, the receiver of an action can stand directly in the subject position without using a passive word. This structure, known as a patient subject (受事主语), is widely used in everyday speech to report the current state or comp…
View detailsMorphemes › Suffixes
The suffix 面 attaches to single-syllable directional roots to form two-syllable location nouns such as 上面, 下面, 里面, and 外面. These two-syllable forms can stand alone as sentence subjects or follow reference nouns to describe spatial relations…
View detailsWord classes › Verbs › Separable words
In Chinese, separable verbs (离合词) act as single vocabulary words in basic statements, but split apart when you add aspect markers, time durations, or specific targets. This lesson explains how to use 帮忙 (to help), 游泳 (to swim), 跳舞 (to dance…
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