Chinese Sentence Structure
Patterns, Particles & Key Constructions

A good grasp of Chinese sentence structure means knowing the basic SVO pattern, the sentence-final particles that express mood and aspect, and three essential construction types: 把 (disposal), 被 (passive), and 比 (comparison).

Basic Morphemes Words Compounds Sentences Verbs

Basic Sentence Patterns

Every Chinese sentence is built on a small number of fundamental patterns. The core is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), but adjectives can function directly as predicates, and the verbs 是 (to be) and 有 (to have) take their own constructions.

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Notes
他来了	tā lái le	He came / He has come	S + V (+ 了 for completion)
我喝水	wǒ hē shuǐ	I drink water	S + V + O (basic SVO)
他是老师	tā shì lǎoshī	He is a teacher	S + 是 + Noun (identity)
天气很好	tiānqì hěn hǎo	The weather is good	S + Adj (adjective as predicate; 很 = buffer)
我有书	wǒ yǒu shū	I have books	S + 有 + O (possession)
我没有钱	wǒ méiyǒu qián	I have no money	S + 没有 + O (negated possession)

Adjectives as predicates: Unlike English, Chinese adjectives do not need a linking verb like "is". You can say 天气好 (weather good) directly. However, in practice, 很 (hěn, very) is almost always inserted as a buffer — 天气很好 — not because the weather is necessarily "very" good, but because a bare adjective without 很 implies a comparison (the weather is good [compared to something else]).

Sentence-Final Particles (语气助词)

Mandarin uses particles placed at the end of sentences (or after the verb) to express aspect, mood, and the speaker's attitude. These particles are extremely common and can dramatically change the meaning of an identical sentence.

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Notes
你好吗？	nǐ hǎo ma?	Are you well? / How are you?	吗 — turns statement into yes/no question
你喝茶吗？	nǐ hē chá ma?	Do you drink tea?	吗 at end of S+V+O
你呢？	nǐ ne?	What about you?	呢 — asks about the topic in context
书呢？	shū ne?	What about the book? / Where is the book?	呢 — asks for a topic's status
走吧	zǒu ba	Let's go	吧 — suggestion or mild command
你是老师吧	nǐ shì lǎoshī ba	You're a teacher, right?	吧 — seeking confirmation
他来了	tā lái le	He came / He's here now	了 — completed action or change of state
我去过北京	wǒ qùguò Běijīng	I've been to Beijing (before)	过 — past experience at some point in life
门开着	mén kāi zhe	The door is open (and remains open)	着 — ongoing state, not action in progress

了 (le) has two distinct uses. As a sentence-final particle, 了 signals a change of state or a new situation (他来了 — he has come/arrived). As a post-verbal particle, 了 marks completion of an action (我吃了饭 — I ate). Both uses are very common; context and position clarify which is intended.

Common Sentence Structures

把The Bǎ Sentence — Disposal Construction

The 把 construction is used when the subject does something that disposes of, moves, or affects an object in a specific way. The key feature is that 把 moves the object to a position before the verb, and the verb must be followed by a complement (a result, direction, or particle) — a bare verb after 把 is ungrammatical.

Pattern: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + Complement

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Notes
我把书放在桌子上	wǒ bǎ shū fàng zài zhuōzi shàng	I put the book on the table	把 + object before verb; verb must have complement
他把作业做完了	tā bǎ zuòyè zuòwán le	He finished doing his homework	把 + 作业 (object) + 做完了 (verb + result)
请把门关上	qǐng bǎ mén guānshàng	Please close the door	Polite request using 把 structure

被The Bèi Passive — Passive Voice

The 被 construction marks the passive voice — the grammatical subject receives the action rather than performing it. In Chinese, the 被 passive often carries a slightly negative or unfavourable connotation (something unfortunate happened to the subject), though this is not a strict rule in modern usage.

Pattern: Object/Topic + 被 + (Agent) + Verb + Complement

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Notes
书被我拿走了	shū bèi wǒ ná zǒu le	The book was taken away by me	书 (topic) + 被 + agent + verb
他被老师批评了	tā bèi lǎoshī pīpíng le	He was criticised by the teacher	Common被 passive with a clear agent
蛋糕被吃完了	dàngāo bèi chī wán le	The cake was eaten up	被 without agent — agent is unknown or irrelevant

比The Bǐ Comparison — Comparing Two Things

The 比 construction expresses comparison between two things. The adjective or quality comes after the comparison target — the opposite of English word order ("more expensive than" vs. 比…贵). Do not use 更 (gèng, more) or 非常 (very) with 比; instead, use 得多 (by a lot) or a specific degree.

Pattern: A + 比 + B + Adjective / (得多 for emphasis)

Chinese	Pinyin	English	Notes
他比我高	tā bǐ wǒ gāo	He is taller than me	S + 比 + comparison target + adjective
今天比昨天冷	jīntiān bǐ zuótiān lěng	Today is colder than yesterday	Comparing times, places, or things
她比我学习好	tā bǐ wǒ xuéxí hǎo	She studies better than me	比 with a verb phrase
这个比那个贵得多	zhège bǐ nàge guì de duō	This one is much more expensive than that one	得多 = by a large degree

Negating comparisons: To say "A is not as [adj] as B", use A + 没有 + B + 那么 + Adjective: 他没有我那么高 (He is not as tall as me). Do not use 不比 for this — 不比 means "not more than", which is a different nuance.

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