Chinese Basic Sentences

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Word order with time and place, the 把-free beginner patterns, 了 for completion, and saying no with 不 and 没.

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Time and place come first

English: "I go to school at 8." Chinese: 我八点去学校 (I 8-o'clock go school) — TIME slots right after the subject, before the verb. Place words behave the same: 我在家吃饭 (I at-home eat). The frame is subject + time + place + verb + object — drill this order until it feels inevitable, because every sentence uses it.

了 (le) — completion, not past tense

Chinese verbs never conjugate — 吃 is eat/eats/ate depending on context. Completion is marked with 了: 我吃了 (I have eaten / I ate). New situations also take 了: 下雨了 (it's raining now — wasn't before). Don't equate 了 with English past tense — 我昨天去商店 (yesterday I go shop) needs no 了; the time word does the work.

Saying no: 不 vs 没

Two negators split by time: 不 (bù) for present/future and habits — 我不吃肉 (I don't eat meat), 我明天不去 (I'm not going tomorrow). 没 (méi) for completed past — 我昨天没去 (I didn't go yesterday). The exception: 有 always negates with 没 (没有), even in the present. This single distinction fixes most beginner errors.

Questions without rearranging

Yes/no: add 吗 — 你是中国人吗? (are you Chinese?). Choice: 是不是 / 有没有 — 你是不是老师?, 你有没有钱? Wh-words stay IN PLACE: 你在哪儿工作? (you where work? — where do you work?), never "where do you work" order. 什么 (what), 谁 (who), 哪儿 (where), 为什么 (why), 怎么 (how).

Pattern	Example
word order	我八点去学校 — I go at 8
了 (completion)	我吃了 — I have eaten
不 (present no)	我不吃肉 — I don't eat meat
没 (past no)	我昨天没去 — I didn't go
吗 (yes/no ?)	你是老师吗? — are you a teacher?
wh in place	你在哪儿工作? — where do you work?

Chinese course Practice Quiz Review