Chinese grammar has no conjugation, tenses, plurals or gender. Meaning comes from word order plus a small set of patterns and particles. Master the 12 patterns below — basic SVO, 是…的, 了, 把, comparison with 比, and a few more — and you can build the vast majority of everyday Chinese sentences.
Most people brace for Chinese grammar like it’s a second wall after the characters. Then they discover the secret no one mentions: it’s the easy part. There are no verb endings to memorise, no irregular conjugations, no genders. Instead, Chinese runs on a handful of reusable sentence patterns. Learn the templates and you stop translating word-by-word and start speaking. Here are the 12 that do the heavy lifting — each with pinyin and a model sentence you can copy.
1. The basic sentence: Subject + Verb + Object
Just like English. This is your foundation.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我爱你 | wǒ ài nǐ | I love you |
| 他喝茶 | tā hē chá | He drinks tea |
2. Negation: 不 (bù) and 没 (méi)
Use 不 for general/present/future negation and habits; use 没 to say something didn’t happen or you don’t have it.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我不喝咖啡 | wǒ bù hē kāfēi | I don’t drink coffee |
| 我没有钱 | wǒ méiyǒu qián | I don’t have money |
| 我没去 | wǒ méi qù | I didn’t go |
3. Yes/no questions with 吗 (ma)
Take any statement, add 吗 at the end — done. No word-order change, no rising intonation needed.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 你是学生吗？ | nǐ shì xuésheng ma? | Are you a student? |
| 你喜欢中国吗？ | nǐ xǐhuan Zhōngguó ma? | Do you like China? |
4. The 是…的 (shì…de) structure
Used to emphasise when, where, how or who something happened, for events you already know occurred.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我是坐飞机来的 | wǒ shì zuò fēijī lái de | I came by plane (it was by plane) |
| 他是昨天到的 | tā shì zuótiān dào de | He arrived yesterday |
5. Completed action / change: 了 (le)
The famous particle. It signals a completed action or a change of state — not strictly “past tense.”
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我吃了 | wǒ chī le | I ate / I’ve eaten |
| 下雨了 | xià yǔ le | It’s started raining (change) |
6. Possession & description: 的 (de)
The all-purpose linker — like English ’s or “of,” and for attaching adjectives to nouns.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我的书 | wǒ de shū | my book |
| 漂亮的房子 | piàoliang de fángzi | a beautiful house |
7. Adjectives with 很 (hěn)
In Chinese, adjectives act like verbs — you don’t need “is.” 很 (hěn) usually links subject and adjective (and is often not literally “very”).
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我很忙 | wǒ hěn máng | I’m busy |
| 天气很好 | tiānqì hěn hǎo | The weather is nice |
8. Comparisons with 比 (bǐ)
Pattern: A + 比 + B + adjective. Clean and logical.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我比你高 | wǒ bǐ nǐ gāo | I’m taller than you |
| 今天比昨天热 | jīntiān bǐ zuótiān rè | Today is hotter than yesterday |
9. Ongoing action: 在…(呢) (zài…ne)
Put 在 before the verb to say something is happening right now.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我在看书 | wǒ zài kàn shū | I’m reading |
| 他在工作呢 | tā zài gōngzuò ne | He’s working (right now) |
10. The 把 (bǎ) sentence
Used to say what you do to an object — moving it, changing it, dealing with it. Pattern: Subject + 把 + object + verb + result.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我把门关了 | wǒ bǎ mén guān le | I closed the door |
| 请把书给我 | qǐng bǎ shū gěi wǒ | Please give me the book |
11. Ability & possibility: 会 / 能 / 可以
Three “can” words with distinct jobs: 会 (huì, learned skill), 能 (néng, capability/possibility), 可以 (kěyǐ, permission).
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我会说中文 | wǒ huì shuō Zhōngwén | I can speak Chinese (learned) |
| 我今天不能来 | wǒ jīntiān bù néng lái | I can’t come today |
| 我可以坐这儿吗？ | wǒ kěyǐ zuò zhèr ma? | May I sit here? |
12. Imminent future: 要…了 (yào…le)
Says something is about to happen.
| Chinese | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
| 我要走了 | wǒ yào zǒu le | I’m about to leave |
| 火车要到了 | huǒchē yào dào le | The train is about to arrive |
The one rule that fixes most mistakes: word order
Where things go in a Chinese sentence
- Time before verb: 我明天去 (wǒ míngtiān qù, “I’ll go tomorrow”) — not after.
- Place before verb (with 在): 我在家吃饭 (wǒ zài jiā chī fàn, “I eat at home”).
- Time + Place + Verb is the usual order — the opposite of English in many cases.
- Adjective + 的 + noun: the description comes before the noun.
Learn grammar the way it’s actually used
Hanzijo teaches the complete grammar syllabus from HSK 1 to HSK 9 through real example sentences, not dry rules — each pattern reinforced with native audio, an exclusive mnemonic where it helps, and one SRS schedule so patterns become automatic. See them again in graded reading, check yourself with HSK mock tests, and turn real-world Chinese into study material with the built-in OCR scanner.
Master Chinese Grammar — FreeHow to practise these patterns
- Substitute, don’t memorise. Take one model sentence and swap the nouns/verbs to make ten new ones.
- Learn patterns as chunks — 把…关了, 比…高 — so they come out whole.
- Meet them in reading so you see how natives actually deploy them.
- Space your review so a pattern you drilled today is still there next month.
Frequently asked questions
What is the hardest Chinese grammar point?
For most learners it’s the 把 (bǎ) sentence and the precise use of 了 (le), because they don’t map neatly onto English. Learning them through many real examples — rather than rules — is the fastest route.
Does Chinese have tenses?
No. Chinese has no grammatical tense. Time is shown with words like 昨天 (yesterday) or 明天 (tomorrow), and aspect particles like 了 mark completion.
Is word order the same as English?
The core is the same (Subject-Verb-Object), but time and place expressions come before the verb in Chinese, which is the most common beginner mistake.
How many grammar patterns do I need?
The 12 here cover most everyday sentences. From there, HSK 3–4 adds complements and a few more structures, but you’ll already be forming real, natural Chinese.