Chinese Grammar Fundamentals

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Questions and Answers

What is the typical word order in Chinese sentences?

  • Verb-Subject-Object (VSO)
  • Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) (correct)
  • Object-Verb-Subject (OVS)
  • Subject-Object-Verb (SOV)

Which particle indicates the passive voice in Chinese?

  • (ba)
  • (de)
  • (le)
  • (bei) (correct)

How do Chinese verbs indicate tense, mood, or voice?

  • With time words
  • Through conjugation
  • Using aspect markers (correct)
  • Through verb suffixes

Which word is used to indicate negation in Chinese?

<p>(bù) (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

How are comparisons made in Chinese?

<p>Using (bǐ) and (gèng) (C)</p> Signup and view all the answers

What particle is used to indicate possession in Chinese?

<p>(de) (A)</p> Signup and view all the answers

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Study Notes

Word Order

  • Chinese has a subject-verb-object (SVO) word order, similar to English.
  • However, Chinese grammar is more flexible and word order can change depending on the context.

Particles

  • Particles are small words that indicate the relationship between words in a sentence.
  • Common particles include:
    • (de) indicating possession or attribute
    • (le) indicating completion or change of state
    • (ba) indicating the topic or object
    • (bei) indicating the passive voice

Verb Conjugation

  • Chinese verbs do not conjugate according to tense, mood, or voice.
  • Instead, time and aspect are indicated by:
    • Aspect markers (e.g., (le), (guo), (zhe)) to indicate completed, experienced, or ongoing actions
    • Time words (e.g., (jin tian) "today", (zuotian) "yesterday") to indicate time

Negation

  • Negation is indicated by the word (bu) before the verb.
  • Example: (wǒ bù xǐ huān chī píng guǒ) "I don't like eating apples"

Questions

  • Questions are formed using:
    • (shén me) "what"
    • (nǎ lǐ) "where"
    • (shuí) "who"
    • (jǐ) "how many" or "how"
  • Example: (nǐ jiào shén me míng zì) "what's your name?"

Possession

  • Possession is indicated by the particle (de) between the possessor and the possessed.
  • Example: (wǒ de shū) "my book"

Comparisons

  • Comparisons are made using:
    • (bǐ) to indicate "than"
    • (gèng) to indicate "more" or "very"
  • Example: (tā bǐ wǒ gāo) "he is taller than me"

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