How To Build Sentences In Mandarin

How To Build Sentences In Mandarin How To Successfully Build Sentences In The Chinese Language ChaptersWhy Learn About Sentence Structure In Mandarin?Grammar Rules For Constructing Sentences In ChineseSimple Sentence Construction For Basic MandarinUnderstanding English Sentence StructureUnderstanding Chinese Sentence StructureMake A Simple Phrase In Mandarin ChineseIt might surprise you to know that grammatically Chinese is reasonably easy to learn. Even though you have to learn a huge number of characters and Chinese words. According to the BBC, of the 50,000+ Chinese characters in Mandarin Chinese only 20,000 are in regular use and you only actually need to know 2-3000 Chinese words to read a newspaper.When thinking of how to build sentences in Chinese, just call me the language learning tips fairy, you have now gone from having to learn 50,000 words to 3,000 in the space of reading this article. I have more good news too that there is no gender, no conjugations to learn, no singular or plural either plus all verbs stay in their infinitive form. Could it be that the hardest thing about Chinese language course learning is the story that we are telling ourselves about how hard it is?.Before you start jumping for joy at all of the things that you don’t have to learn while studying Mandarin Chinese. Let's take a look at how to build a sentence in Chinese and what rules of grammar do exist to achieve this. Here are all of our tips for learning to write, progress and speak fluently in the language of Confucius!To build a sentence in Chinese, it is still necessary to know words in the language.Photo Source: UnsplashPlace describes whereTime describes whenThe simplicity of the Chinese sentence structure will allow you to focus on learning the words that you need, to create well-constructed sentences. As in 80% of cases, the Chinese sentence will be composed of a (Subject) + (Verb) + (Object).One and the same sentence can have multiple writings. Photo Source: UnsplashUnderstanding English Sentence StructureNow if you think that Chinese is hard, have a go at r efreshing your English grammar. Of course, as an English speaker, you know how to speak. But do you know ‘why’ you structure your sentences the way that you do? Somehow English speakers have learnt all of the grammatical rules that are required to speak English with great fluency. When you want to create a sentence in English, there are 5 sentence structures. Looking at creating five simple sentences in English you have the following.Subject+Verb, e.g. the boy Jumps.Subject+Verb+object, e.g. the child pets the cat.Subject+verb+adjective e.g. Tina is funny.Subject+Verb+adverb, e.g. Mario cries loudly.Subject+verb+noun, e.g. I am the mother.All of these sentences can be lengthened by adding adjectives, adverbs, and objects. They can be combined with a coordinating conjunction (such as ‘and’) to create compound sentences, complex sentences or complex compound sentences. The complicated thing in English, however, is that there is some flexibility where you put some of the words in the sentence. This word order can change based on what you want to accentuate and highlight, or even just based on your own preference.A Simple Sentence example is = (Subject)+(Verb)+(Object)+(Time)+(Place)Understanding Chinese Sentence StructureChinese sentences can be simple or complex. The Simplest sentences would contain at least 2 parts (subject+verb/adjective).   Although the most common Simple Sentence structure is   (Subject)+(Verb)+(Object). This structure forms the base for building all other sentence structures in Mandarin Chinese. Simple sentences can also   include the following:The subject is the person or thing being dealt withThe predicate is the part of the sentence containing the verbThe object is a noun which is controlled by the verbAttributive works to modify the adjective or nounAdverb works to modify or qualify the adjectiveComplement Helps to support the predicate verb/adjectiveSimple Sentence ExamplesYou will see in the below example that everything has i ts place in the sentence and while you can add more information to the sentence, it doesn’t change the order of the words.Subject+verb+object - (wo ài ta) I love him.Subject+adverb+verb+Object - (wo zhi ài ta) I only love him.Subject+adverb+verb+Attributive+Object - (wo zhi ài wo jì yì zhòng dì ta) I only love my memories of him.Sentences are the foundation of the Chinese language. Photo Source: UnsplashMake A Simple Phrase In Mandarin ChineseWhen you see the characters of Mandarin, especially when viewing it presented in large volumes of books. You may think how difficult it is the learn Chinese and even more impossible to build a sentence in the language. Yet it is so easy because of the defined structure that is used in Chinese.No grammar, no conjugations, no tenses or genders to learn, just a simple structure to remember. This makes starting with sentence structure great for beginners who may feel intimidated by the language.The key thing to remember is the placement of the verb, which is very important. The right place for the verb to go is always after the subject.   In very basic sentences this can be shown in 2 ways:Subject + predicate,Subject + verb + complement.For the first way, here are some examples:Subject +Verb (Ta xiào) - he laughs.Subject +Verb (Wo qù) - I leave.Here are some examples of the second way:Subject + verb + complement (Ta shuo zhongwén) - he speaks Chinese.Subject + verb + complement (Wo xiang chi zhongguó cài) - I want to eat Chinese.Subject + verb + complement (Ni yào zuò shénme) - what do you want to do?.When the verb doesn’t fit perfectly into the sentence category. The sentence is extended to give information on age, nationality, date, time or price. Here are some examples :How old are you? - Ni ji suì?I am ten years old - Wo shì shí suìWhere are you from? Am I from Beijing - Ni cóng nali lái? Wo láizì beijingHe is a teacher - Ta shìgè laoshiWhat time is it? It is three o'clock now. - Xiànzài shà ¬ ji dian? Xiànzài shì san dian zhong.Even if the sentences are easy to build it still remains imperative to learn Chinese tones, Chinese vocabulary, Chinese verbs are essential. Learning to read and write is also very important for your learning Chinese and can be the catalyst to your fluency.Find the best Mandarin classes London.This article is just an introduction to Mandarin Chinese sentence structure, and I hope it has fuelled your passion for studying even more about this fantastic language and culture. Chinese is one of the oldest languages in the world with a rich history and civilization.There are lots of things that we can do to discover Mandarin through words and phrases; plan some China travel, study in China, practice through speaking Chinese with Chinese people and connecting with Chinese speakers, meet new Chinese friends in Chinese online classes. Whatever you decide to do, it is time to learn to speak Chinese.