Wikibooks

Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students/Non-adjectival stative verbs

< Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students
This page may need to be reviewed for quality.

Non-adjectival stative verbs

edit

Linking verbs

edit

The most common use of 是 is the copula, which connects nouns, noun phrases, and/or pronouns. 是 functions as a verb, and like all other Chinese verbs, is not conjugated for person, number, or tense.

是 shì to be
她是中国人 ◦ tā shì Zhōngguó rén. She is Chinese.
是在北京 ◦ shì zài Běijīng. It's in Beijing.
不是在北京 ◦ bù shì zài Běijīng. It's not in Bejing.
不是现在 ◦ bù shì xiàn zài (it is) not now
是八点钟 ◦ shìbā diăn zhōng (it is) at eight o'clock
钱是给你的 ◦ qián shì gěi nĭ de. The money is for you.
三加三是多少 ? sān jiā sān shì duōshăo? How much is three plus three?
哪条是学院路 ? nă tiáo shì Xuéyuàn lù? Which one (which road) is College road?

Another very important verb is 有, which means "to have." To negate any verb, including adjectival stative verbs, the negation particle 不 is placed before the verb. 有 is the only exception; it is negated with 没 instead of 不.

有 yŏu to have
他有百美金 ◦ tā yŏu băi měi jīn. He has 100 dollars.
她没有时间 ◦ tā méi yŏu shíjiān. She doesn’t have time.
他家里有六个人 ◦ tā jiālĭ yŏu liù gè rén. There are six people in his family.

At this point it essential to note that 有 (yŏu) and 是 (shì) are not interchangeable, even in negative form.

Positive Negative
是 (shì: is) 不是 (Bùshì: is not)
有 (yŏu: have) 没有 (Méiyǒu: not have)

没有 is interchangeable with 没 except in the question word 有没有 ("have-not-have"), which means "do(es) X have," where X is any noun or pronoun.

Verbs of ability, possibility, and permission

edit

Overview

edit
会 huì can (know how to)
可以 kěyĭ can (have the permission/opportunity to)

Syntax

edit
我不会说国语 ◦ wŏ bù huì shuō guó yŭ. I can not speak Mandarin.
他们可以去美国 ◦ tāmen kěyĭ qù měiguó. They can go to America.
你可不可以买一点儿啤酒 ? nĭ kě bù kěyĭ măi yìdiăn'r píjĭu? Can you buy some beer?

Others

edit
明白 míng bai to understand
我不明白你说什么 ◦ wŏ bù míng bai nĭ shuō shénme. I don't understand what you are saying.


想 xiăng to want
我想吃一点儿东西 ◦ wŏ xiăng chī yìdiăn'r dōngxi. I would like to eat something.


要 yào to want, will (see also: Future tense)
你要不要 ? nĭ yào bù yào? Do you want?


知道 zhī dào to know
他不知道 ◦ tā bù zhī dào. He doesn't know.
你知道长安街在哪儿吗 ? nĭ zhī dào Cháng Ān jiē zài nǎr ma? Do you know where Long Peace Street is located?
Retrieved from "https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Mandarin_Chinese_Grammar_for_Pimsleur_Students/Non-adjectival_stative_verbs"