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

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.

shì to be
中国人 ◦ shì Zhōngguó rén. She is Chinese.
在北京 ◦ shì zài Běijīng. It's in Beijing.
在北京 ◦ shì zài Běijīng. It's not in Bejing.
现在 ◦ shì xiàn zài (it is) not now
八点钟 ◦ shìbā diăn zhōng (it is) at eight o'clock
给你的 ◦ qián shì gěi nĭ de. The money is for you.
三加三多少 ? sān jiā sān shì duōshăo? How much is three plus three?
哪条学院路 ? 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.

yŏu to have
百美金 ◦ yŏu băi měi jīn. He has 100 dollars.
没有时间 ◦ méi yŏu shíjiān. She doesn’t have time.
他家里六个人 ◦ 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

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

Syntax edit

我不说国语 ◦ 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.
可不可以买一点儿啤酒 ? 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.


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


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


知道 zhī dào to know
他不知道 tā bù zhī dào. He doesn't know.
知道长安街在哪儿吗 ? zhī dào Cháng Ān jiē zài nǎr ma? Do you know where Long Peace Street is located?