Grammar • Fundamentals
Basic Chinese Grammar
Characteristics and Grammar Units
Chinese grammar works differently from European languages in almost every dimension — no conjugation, no tenses, no articles, no plural endings. This page explains exactly what that means and how the language is structured instead.
What Makes Chinese Grammar Unique
No verb conjugation
In English, a verb changes form depending on the subject: I eat, she eats, they ate. In Mandarin, 吃 (chī, eat) is identical for every person, number, and time. The table below shows all six standard persons — the verb never changes.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我吃 | wǒ chī | I eat | 1st person singular |
| 你吃 | nǐ chī | you eat | 2nd person singular |
| 他吃 | tā chī | he eats | 3rd person singular |
| 我们吃 | wǒmen chī | we eat | 1st person plural |
| 你们吃 | nǐmen chī | you all eat | 2nd person plural |
No grammatical tenses — time through context
Chinese does not build tense into the verb. Instead, time is expressed through time adverbs (昨天 zuótiān — yesterday, 今天 jīntiān — today, 明天 míngtiān — tomorrow) placed before the verb, and through aspect markers — particles like 了 (le), 过 (guò), and 着 (zhe) — that indicate whether an action is completed, has been experienced, or is ongoing.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我昨天吃了饭 | wǒ zuótiān chī le fàn | I ate (yesterday) | 昨天 = yesterday; 了 marks completion |
| 我今天吃饭 | wǒ jīntiān chī fàn | I am eating (today) | 今天 = today; present implied |
| 我明天吃饭 | wǒ míngtiān chī fàn | I will eat (tomorrow) | 明天 = tomorrow; future implied |
| 我已经吃了 | wǒ yǐjīng chī le | I have already eaten | 已经 = already; 了 = completed |
No articles and no grammatical gender
There is no equivalent of "a", "an", or "the" in Mandarin. Nouns have no grammatical gender — 书 (shū, book) is simply a book, with no masculine or feminine form. This removes an entire layer of memorisation that English and Romance language learners impose on each other.
No plural forms — number + measure word instead
Nouns do not change form to indicate plurality. Instead, Chinese uses a number + measure word (量词 liàngcí) before the noun. The noun itself stays the same.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 一本书 | yī běn shū | one book | 本 is the measure word for books |
| 三本书 | sān běn shū | three books | 书 (book) does not change |
| 一个人 | yī gè rén | one person | 个 is the general measure word |
| 很多人 | hěn duō rén | many people | 人 (person) does not change |
Topic-prominent language
Chinese is often called a topic-prominent language: a sentence frequently begins with the topic (what is being discussed), followed by a comment about that topic. The topic need not be the grammatical subject. For example: 那本书，我看完了 (nà běn shū, wǒ kàn wán le) — "That book, I have finished reading it." The book is the topic; the speaker's action is the comment.
Grammar Units in Chinese
Chinese linguists describe grammar in terms of four hierarchical units, from smallest to largest:
The smallest meaningful unit. In Chinese, usually one syllable = one character = one morpheme.
Free morphemes or combinations of morphemes that function as a unit in sentences.
A combination of words that functions as a grammatical unit but is not a complete sentence.
A complete thought with a subject and a predicate — the basic unit of communication.
Sentence Structure Basics
The standard Mandarin sentence follows Subject-Verb-Object (SVO) order. Time expressions (when) come before the verb, and place expressions (where) also come before the verb — but after time. The ordering rule is: Time → Place → Verb.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我喝茶 | wǒ hē chá | I drink tea | Basic SVO |
| 我昨天喝茶 | wǒ zuótiān hē chá | I drank tea yesterday | Time before verb |
| 我在家喝茶 | wǒ zài jiā hē chá | I drink tea at home | Place before verb |
| 我昨天在家喝茶 | wǒ zuótiān zài jiā hē chá | I drank tea at home yesterday | Time → Place → Verb |