Word order — same as English
Basic declarative sentences follow Subject–Verb–Object, exactly like English:
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我喝茶 | wǒ hē chá | I drink tea |
| 我吃飯 | wǒ chīfàn | I eat (a meal) |
| 你學中文 | nǐ xué Zhōngwén | you study Chinese |
| 他住台北 | tā zhù Táiběi | he lives in Taipei |
| 我們去夜市 | wǒmen qù yèshì | we go to the night market |
Modifiers come before what they modify — time, place, and manner phrases sit between subject and verb: 我今天吃飯 'I today eat', 我在台北住 'I in Taipei live'.
The three workhorse verbs
Three verbs cover most beginner sentences — and they are not interchangeable:
- 是 shì — 'to be' (identity). Links two nouns: 我是學生 (wǒ shì xuéshēng) 'I am a student'. Negate with 不: 我不是學生 'I am not a student'.
- 有 yǒu — 'to have / there is'. Possession and existence: 我有問題 'I have a question', 有Wi-Fi嗎 'is there Wi-Fi?'. Negate ONLY with 沒: 沒有問題 'no problem'.
- 在 zài — 'to be at' (location). 我在台北 'I am in Taipei', 廁所在哪裡 'where is the restroom?'. Never use 是 for location.
No conjugation — time by context
Verbs never change form. Instead of 'eat/ate/will eat', Mandarin keeps 吃 and lets time words and aspect particles do the work:
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我昨天去夜市 | wǒ zuótiān qù yèshì | I went to the night market yesterday |
| 我明天去夜市 | wǒ míngtiān qù yèshì | I'll go to the night market tomorrow |
| 我吃飯了 | wǒ chīfàn le | I ate / I've eaten |
| 我吃過臭豆腐 | wǒ chīguò chòudòufǔ | I've tried stinky tofu (experience) |
The negation & aspect article goes deep on 了/過/在 — for now just notice that the verb never changes.
Adjectives need no 'to be'
Mandarin adjectives behave like verbs — they predicate directly, usually with 很 (hěn, 'very') which here mostly just makes the sentence feel complete rather than adding real intensity:
| Mandarin | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我很好 | wǒ hěn hǎo | I'm fine / very good |
| 天氣很熱 | tiānqì hěn rè | the weather is hot |
| 這個很貴 | zhège hěn guì | this is expensive |
| 台灣很美 | Táiwān hěn měi | Taiwan is beautiful |
Mini practice
How do you say 'I am a student'?
我是學生 (wǒ shì xuéshēng) — 是 links identity between two nouns.
'I am in Taipei' — 是 or 在?
在 — 我在台北 (wǒ zài Táiběi). 在 is for location; 是 is for identity.
How does Mandarin say 'I ate' without conjugation?
我吃飯了 or 我昨天去夜市 — the verb stays fixed; 了 or a time word carries the past meaning.
Does 很 (hěn) always mean 'very'?
Often it just links the adjective naturally — 我很好 is 'I'm fine', not literally 'very good'.
