Basic Chinese Phrases in Chinese Grammar
Chinese phrases in Chinese language are the combination of 2 or more Chinese words. Learning Chinese phrases is important because almost every sentence in Chinese is made of Chinese phrases. A good mastery of basic mandarin phrases will help you in both spoken and written Chinese. Stay with our "Learn Chinese by Trending News" to learn basic and commonly used Chinese words and phrases, but you are highly recommended to learn the basic Chinese phrase types in Chinese grammar first.
Basic Chinese Phrase Types in Chinese Grammar
| Chinese Phrases | Definition | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Coordinate Phrase | Coordinate phrases consist of at least two words and are often connected by conjunction words such as “和(and)”、“或(or)”、“并且(and also, as well)”etc. | 猫和狗(māo hé ɡǒu) cats and dogs 男人或女人(nánrén huò nǚrén) men or women 讨论并且通过了(tǎolùn bìnɡqiě tōnɡɡuò le) discussed and passed |
| Modifying Phrase | Modifying Phrases consist of a “center” word and a “modifying” word. Modifying phrases are often connected by “的(de)”、“地(dì)”, and sometimes by none. | 美丽的姑娘(měilì de ɡūniɑnɡ) beautiful girls 认真地学习(rènzhēn de xuéxí) study hard 好孩子(hǎo háizi) good kids |
| Verb-object Phrase | As we can tell by the name, verb-object phrases consist of a verb and an object. | 看书(kàn shū) to read books 洗衣服(xǐ yīfu) to wash clothes 打篮球(dǎ lánqiú) to play basketball |
| Verb-complement Phrase | Verb-complement phrases consist of a verb followed by a complement, which tells how the action is done. Verb-Complements are often connected by “得(dé)” and sometimes by none. | 长得好看(zhǎnɡ dé hǎokàn) (people) look beautiful 打得好(dǎ dé hǎo) play well 看完(kàn wán) done reading |
| Preposition-object Phrase | Preposition-object phrases consist of a preposition followed by an object, which has the function of showing “where”, “when”, etc. | 在教室里(zài jiàoshì lǐ) in the classroom 从去年(cónɡ qùnián) since last year 在九月(zài jiǔyuè) in September |
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