1. Chinese grammar
Chinese grammar is a key to study Chinese language. With knowledge of certain amount Chinese
characters, you need to learn Chinese grammar. Our free online lessons will introduce basic
knowledge of Chinese grammar, from morphemes, words, compounds and sentences, these basic
units of Chinese language to the usage of each different types of words, i.e., nouns, verbs, adjectives,
numerals, measure words, pronouns, adverbs, particle, propositions, etc. Our lessons also include
knowledge of sentences and corresponding exercises.
Lesson 01: Brief Introduction of Chinese Grammar and Its
Units
Part One: Basic knowledge of Chinese grammar
Part Two: the definition of Morpheme and its types
Part Three: Knowledge of Word: the definition, structures and its types
Part Four: Knowledge of compound: the definition, structures and its types
Part Five: Knowledge of sentence: the constituent structure and its types
Lesson 02: Verb
Part One: General knowledge of verb and its reduplication
Part Two: Copular sentence
1. Basic Units of Chinese Grammar
Basic units of Chinese are Morpheme, Word, Compound and Sentence.
1). Morpheme - 语素. The smallest meaningful unit of Chinese language. Each morpheme most of
time has one syllable, such as '人' and '好', and a few has more syllables, such as '巧克力' and 葡萄'.
2). Word - 词. Word is the smallest unit which can use independently, which is formed of one or
more morphemes, such as '大', '沙发', '永远', '图书馆' and '现代化'.
3). Compound - 词组 or 短语. More than one word occur together based on certain rules make
compounds, such as '首都北京' and '非常喜欢'.
4). Sentence - 句子. This a unit which can express certain meaning completely. Sentences need to
have certain tones, which is shown by full stops, question marks, excalmatory marks etc.

2. 2. Word Type
Based on the grammatical funtions, words can be defined as Full Words (实词) and Empty Words
(虚词), concretely they are nouns (名词), verbs (动词), adjectives (形容词), numerals (数词),
measure words (量词), pronouns (代词), adverbs (副词), particle (助词), prepositions (介词),
onomatopoeia words (象声词), conjunctions (连词) and exclamation (叹词).
3. Word Structure
One-morpheme words are called Simplex Words (单纯词), which basically have two different
types: monosyllabic (单音节的) and polysyllabic (多音节的). Those polysyllabic words have the
following different structures: double-initial-consonant words (双声词), double-final-sound words
(叠韵词), reduplications (叠音词) and transliterations (音译外来词).
Words, which are formed of more than one morphemes, are called Composite Words (合成词),
can be divided into the following different structures based on the relationship between their
morphemes: coordination (联合型 or 并列式), modification (偏正型), complement (补充型), verb-
object (动宾型), subject-predication (主谓型), affixed (附加式) and reduplication (重叠式).
4. Constituent Structure of Sentences
Subject (主语), predicate (谓语), object (宾语), attribute (定语), adverbial modifier (状语) and
complement (补语).
5. Sentence Type
Based on its mood, a sentence can be a declarative sentence (陈述句), an interrogative sentence
(疑问句), an imperative sentence (祈使句) or an interjectional sentence (感叹句).
Based on its structure, a sentence can be named as a simple sentence (单句) or a complex sentence
(复句). A simple sentence can be a predication sentence (主谓句) or a non-predication sentence
(非主谓句).
6. heCharacteristics of Modern Chinese Grammar
1). the lack of morphological changes.
Quite difference from English language, the morphological change does not happen as a common
phenomenon.
a. Generally, a reduplicated word form of a verb is ABAB, such as 打扫打扫 and 商量商量; a
reduplicated word form of an adjective is AABB, such as 漂漂亮亮 and 干干净净, but a few
adjectives can be reduplicated in ABAB, like 雪白雪白 or 通红通红. Also, not all verbs or
adjectives have reduplication forms, we cannot say '担心担心' or '美美丽丽'.

3. b. Most plural nouns in English end in s, while in Chinese, we use '们', but this character cannot be
used commonly either. We say '他们' and '人们', but we do not say '书们'. We also say '工人们' but
in this sentence '他们是工人', we do not say '他们是工人们.'
c. Contrary to English, Chinese verbs do not change based on tense or gender, number, case, or
person of the subject. Pronouns do not have morphological changes no matter they as used in the
nominative, accusative or possessive case.
2). the Importance of Words Order and Usage of Function Words (Empty Words)
a. The change of words order changes the meaning of the sentence or phrase.
e.g.我喜欢她. (I like her.) --- >她喜欢我. (She likes me).
e.g.不很快 ( Not very fast) ---->很不快 (very slow)
b. The meaning changes with/without function words or with different function words.
e.g.读书 (read book) --->读的书 (the book which is read) the emphasis of the phrase changes from
the action 'read' to the subjection of the action 'the book' after the word '的' is added in the phrase.
e.g.我把他打败了(I beat him). --->我被他打败了(I am beaten by him).
1. What is Morpheme
Morpheme (语素), one of the basic units of word structure in Chinese grammar, is the smallest
combination of meaning and phonetic sound in Chinese language. For example, '书' (book) is a
morpheme, its phonetic sound is 'shū' and its meaning is '成本的著作'; '马虎' is also a morpheme,
its phonetic sound is 'mǎhu' and its meaning is '不认真'. Morphemes can not be separated into any
smaller combinations of meaning and sound, otherwise, it either means nothing or means something
which completely irrelevant to its original meanings.
In most cases, each morpheme has one syllable, such as '人', '天', '吗', '好' etc.; there are also two-
syllable morphemes, such as '参差', '荒唐', '尼龙' etc.; a few has more syllables, such as '巧克力'
'萨其马', '法西斯', '乌鲁木齐' etc. Some two-syllable morphemes actually are transliterations from
other languages and almost all three-syllables morphemes are transliterations.
2. Morpheme Types
From above, we know, a morpheme can be a one-syllable morpheme or a multi-syllable
morpheme according to the number of its syllables. Besides this, by its ability to make up words, a
morpheme can also be classified into three types:
1). Free morpheme - 自由语素. This kind of morphemes can be used independently as words, and
also they can make up words with other free morphemes, such as:

4. 地 水 走 谁 我 把 行 又 好 不 牛
2). Half-bound morpheme - 半自由语素. This kind of morphemes cannot be used independently
as words, but only work with other morphemes to make up words, while their positions are not
fixed, such as:
语 卫 伟 泽 境 习 民 荣
3). Bound morpheme - 不自由语素. This kind of morphemes cannot be used independently as
words, but only work with other morphemes to make up words, while their positions are fixed, such
as:
阿 第 子 们 儿 (花儿) 老 (老张) 家 (画家, 作家)
tip: in word '花儿', '儿' is a bound morpheme, but in word '儿子', it is a free morpheme, means 'son'.
To say a morpheme is a free one or bound one, you need to know its meaning, which is the most
important element.
1. What is Word?
Word (词) is the smallest grammatical unit which can use independently. 'Use Independently'
means it can either make a sentence by itself or work independently as a structural constituent of a
sentence. For example, in this sentence '他又来了.' '他', '又', '来' and '了' call all use independently,
they are all words.
A free morpheme can be a word or occur with another free morpheme to be a word; half-bound and
bound morphemes cannot make words themselves, but can do when use with other morphemes
(free, half-bound or bound one/ones). To distinguish between a morpheme and a word, you need to
judge whether it is can be used independently; to distinguish between a word and a compound, you
need to judge whether it is the smallest unit.
2. Word Structure
A word is formed of one or more morphemes, among these morphemes, the one which shows its
basic meaning is called the root (词根) and the other one attached to the root is called the affix
(词缀), for example, '刀子', '刀' is the root, and '子' is the affix. Not all words have affixes, in most
cases, words have more than one roots, such as '纸张', '国家' and '月亮', etc.
One-morpheme words are called Simplex Words (单纯词); Words, which are formed of more than
one morphemes, are called Composite Words (合成词).
1). Simplex Word -单纯词

5. a. Monosyllabic Word -单音节单纯词
examples: 天 人 江 写 我 四 啊 看
b. Polysyllabic Word -多音节单纯词, most of which are bisyllabic words.
a). Double-Initial-Consonant Words -双声词, which have the same initial consonants:
e.g. 仿佛 - fǎngfú 忐忑 - tǎntè 参差 -cēncī 蜘蛛 - zhīzhū
b). Double-Final-Sound Words - 叠韵词, which have the same final sounds:
e.g. 烂漫 - lànmàn 从容 - cóngróng 逍遥 - xiāoyáo
哆嗦 - duōsuō
c). Reduplications -叠音词, which have two same sounds:
e.g. 猩猩 -xīngxing 往往 - wǎngwǎng 悄悄 - qiāoqiāo
d). Transliterations -音译外来词
e.g. 咖啡 - kāfēi 沙发 - shāfā 巧克力 - qiǎokèlì
e). others
e.g. 蝴蝶 - húdié 蝙蝠 - biānfú
2). Composite Words -合成词
Based on the relationship between its two root morphemes, the structure of a composite word can
be one of the followings:
a. Subject-Predication - 主谓型. The former root is a subject and the latter one states the subject.
e.g. 地震 年轻 心酸 空调
b. Verb-Object - 动宾型 or 述宾型. The former root expresses a certain action and the latter one is
the objert of the action.
e.g. 举重 美容 承包 挂钩
c. Modification - 偏正型. The former root modifies the latter one.
e.g. 气功 冰箱 笔直 火红
d. Complement - 补充型. The latter root complements or explains the former one.
e.g. 提高 推广 立正 改进
e. Coordination -联合型 or 并列型. Two roots have the same, similiar, related or opposite
meanings.

6. e.g. same meanings: 价值 改革 寒冷 组装;
related meangings: 骨肉 风浪 门户 方圆
opposite meanings: 忘记 动静 干净 好歹
f. Reduplication - 重叠式. One root repeats itself.
e.g. 姐姐 哥哥 偏偏 仅仅 刚刚
When there are affixes, it is:
g. Affixed - 附加式. There are two kinds of affixed words:
a). affix - root: 老虎 老乡 老外 小李 第一 阿姨
b). root - affix: 刀子 胖子 石头 苦头 花儿 作者 读者
3. Word Type
Based on the grammatical funtions, words can be defined as Content Words or Full Words (实词)
and Function Words or Empty Words (虚词).
1). Full words - 实词.
Full words have real meanings and can work as sentence constituents. Based on its grammatical
funtions, a full word can be one of the followings:
a. Noun - 名词
e.g. 中国 车辆 秋天 星期天 中间
b. Verb - 动词
e.g. 走 爱 在 有 是 回来 能够
c. Adjective - 形容词
e.g. 勇敢 好 短 快 多少 轻松
d. Numeral - 数词
e.g. 五 亿 零 第 七
e. Measure Word - 量词
e.g. 尺 斤 两 个 篇 杯 遍
f. Pronoun - 代词
e.g. 我 你们 谁 这 那 哪里 怎么样

7. g. Adverb - 副词
e.g. 很 极 都 已经 必须 特意 难道
h. Onomatopoeia Word - 象声词
e.g. 呼呼 叮当 哗哗 咣 轰隆
i. Exclamation - 叹词
e.g. 啊 哎呀 喂 哦 唉
2). Empty Words - 虚词 .
a. Preposition - 介词
e.g. 从 在于 按照 由于 对于 比 除了
b. Particle - 助词
e.g. 的 得 地 着 了 过 似的
c. Conjunction - 连词
e.g. 和 同 而且 不但 因此
1. What is Compound
Words occur together based on certain grammatical rules and meaning make compounds (词组 or
短语), such as '阳光灿烂' and '好极了'.
2. Compound Structure
According to the types of the words which make a compoun, a compound can be a combination of
full words or full words and empty words.
1). Compounds formed of full words
This kinds of compounds can be categoried according to the relationship between these words, their
types and their order.
a. Subject-Predication - 主谓短语.
e.g. 生活美好 今天星期三 他中等身材
b. Verb-Object - 动宾短语.
e.g. 盖房子 热爱祖国 去学校 阅读小说

8. c. Modification - 偏正短语.
e.g. 遥远的地方 祖国大地 大力支持 独立思考
d. Complement - 中补短语.
e.g. 考虑周到 差得多 拿出来 做不完
e. Coordination - 联合短语.
e.g. 科学技术 酸甜苦辣 细致而周到 你、我、他
f. Apposition - 同位短语. The two parts of the compound mean the same thing.
e.g. 我们大家 你们几位 首都北京 绘画这种艺术
g. Measure-Word Compound - 量词短语, formed of numerals or demonstrative pronouns and
measure words.
e.g. 一斤 五次 四公里 那堆 这片
h.OrientationCompound - 方位短语, which shows the position, time or certain area.
e.g. 两年前 他们之间 广场东边 感情上
2). Compounds formed of full words and empty words
a. PropersitionCompound - 介词短语, formed of propersitions attached to nouns or nominal
phrases.
e.g. 关于这个问题 往北 由于这个原因
b. 'De' Compound - '的'字短语, formed of '的' attached to nominal, verbid or adjectival words.
e.g. 学校的 冰凉的 自己的
c. 'Suo' Compound - '所'字短语, formed of '所' plus a verb to make a nominal phrase.
e.g. 所想 所认识 所关心
d. Metaphorical Compound - 比况短语. This is a adjectival phrase formed of certain particle
(似的、一样、etc) attached to nominal or verbid words.
e.g. 母亲般的 飞似的 (像)老虎一样
3. Compound Type
Based on the grammatical funtions, compounds can be categoried asnominall compounds
(名词性短语),verbid compounds (动词性短语), adjectival compounds (形容词性短语) or
adverbial compounds (副词性短语), which is mainly determined by their head words (中心词).

9. 1.nominall compound - 名词性短语, which includes all compounds which use nouns as head
words, such as subject-predication compounds, modification compounds, measure-word
compounds, coordination compounds, apposition compounds, 'De' and 'Suo' compounds etc.
e.g. 好客的主人 祖国大地 三吨
2.verbid compound - 动词性短语, includes all compounds which use verbs as head words, such as
subject-predication compounds, verb-object compounds, complement compounds, coordination
compounds, modification compounds etc.
e.g. 干得漂亮 学习德语
3. adjectival compound - 形容词性短语, includes all compounds which use adjectives as head
words, such as modification compounds, complement compounds etc.
e.g. 聪明可爱 非常便宜 特别高
4.adverbial compound - 副词性短语, includes all compounds which use adverbs as head words,
usually work as adverbial modifier in sentences, such as propersition compounds.
Verbid compounds and adjectival compounds usually work as predicate parts in sentences, so they
are also called predicative compounds (谓词性短语)
1. Constituent Structure of Sentences - 句子的成分
1). Subject - 主语
eg. 我是个初中生.
eg. 正月十五是元宵节.
2). Predicate - 谓语
eg. 我们下午去书店.
eg. 春天来了.
3). Object - 宾语
eg. 妈妈在打电话.
eg. 你打扫卫生吧.
4). Attribute - 定语
eg. 今天的饭太丰盛啦!
eg. 这是我的朋友.

10. 5). Adverbial modifier - 状语
eg. 他到底来不来?
eg. 在这个领域, 他是专家.
6). Complement - 补语 - a kind of verb modifier
eg. 我做完了作业.
eg. 一个老大爷走了出来.
2. Sentence Type - 句子的种类
1). Based on the mood, a sentence can be a declarative sentence, an interrogative sentence, an
imperative sentence or an interjectional sentence.
a. Declarative Ssentence - 陈述句
eg. 明天是除夕.
eg. 现在停电了.
b. Interrogative Sentence - 疑问句
eg. 今天是星期几?
eg. 你去吗?
c. Imperative Sentence - 祈使句
eg. 快点!
eg. 请安静!
d. Interjectional Sentence - 感叹句
eg. 这个广场好大啊!
eg. 这幅画真漂亮!
2). Based on the structure, a sentence can be a simple sentence or a complex sentence. A simple
sentence can be a predication sentence or a non-predication sentence.
a. Simple Sentence - 单句. A simple sentence can be a predication sentence or a non-predication
sentence.
a). Predication Sentence - 主谓句
我看过这部电影. - verbidpredication sentence 动词性谓语句
今天情人节. - nominallpredication sentence 名词性谓语句

11. 这个苹果可真够大的. - adjectivalpredication sentence 形容词性谓语句
她心肠软. - subject-predicationsentence 主谓谓语句
b). Non-Predication Sentence - 非主谓句
禁止吸烟! - verbidnon-predication sentence 动词性非谓语句
好! - adjectival non-predication sentence 形容词性非谓语句
多壮丽的山河! - nominallnon-predication sentence 名词性非谓语句
b. Complex Sentence - 复句. The complex sentence is made up of more than one simple sentences,
each of which can ether be a predication sentence or a non-predication sentence.
The same as in English, verbs show actions, mental activities or show something exists, changes or
disappears etc.
Examples:
actions: 走 看 批评 学习 研究 开始 禁止 进行
mental activities: 喜欢 恨 怕 想念 希望 担心 讨厌
existence, change or disappearance: 存在 发生 有 发展 生长 死亡 消失
possibility, wish or necessity: 能 能够 会 可以 愿意 要 肯 敢 应当 应该
judgement: 是
direction: 上 下 进 出 去 起来 回去
Verbs usually use as predicates in sentences, which generally have the following grammatical
characteristics:
1. Verbs can be modified by adverbs, such as : '果然来了', ' 再写一个字'; but most verbs can not be
modified by adverbs which show levels except for auxiliaries (助动词) and verbs which show
mental activites.
correct examples: 很生气 非常喜欢 不太愿意
wrong examples: 很打电话 非常写作业 不太来

12. 2. Verbs are always used as predicates and most of them can be followed by objects, which work
like transitive verbs in English.
爸爸在看电视。 --- > verb 看 -- object 电视
工人们在盖大楼。 --- > verb 盖 -- object 大楼
谁擦窗户？ --- > verb 擦 -- object 窗户
Objects of certain verbs can only be verbs, adjectival or verbid words, such as:
开始 进行 希望 打算 感到 觉得 认为
examples:
开始学习 进行工作 打算出门 感到高兴
Some verbs can not have objects, which is like intransitive verbs do, such as:
示威 成功 失败 出发 劳动 毕业
3. Verbs can often be followed by '着' '了' '过' to show the statue of an action. How to use these
words to specific the time of an action will be given later.
他正在写着信。(动作正在进行 -- the action 'write' is being done)
他写了一封信。(动作已经完成 -- the action 'write' was done)
他给我写过一封信。(动作发生过 -- the action 'write' has been done)
4. Verbs can be used in both positive and negative ways to propose questions.
你去不去超市？
你听不听我说？
disyllabic verbs can work in the form of 'A 不 AB' or 'A 没 AB' to propose questions:
他回没回来？
他喜不喜欢我送的礼物？
你习不习惯在中国的生活？
The word '吗' is not necesary at the end of sentences above. It is not correct to say '他回没回来吗？
'