Chinese HSK2 Grammar Points
I wanted to introduce some more grammar constructs in Mandarin. I have been finding that the more grammar I learn the better I can get my point across, and that vocab is really easy to pick up on the fly. Enjoy the lesson!
hé for “and”
Noun 1 + 和 + Noun 2
Hé is the closest translation of “and” in Mandarin. There are other ways to communicate the idea of multiple things (还有) but hé is one of the most common.
Examples-
- 你 和 我
nǐ hé wǒ
you and I
2. 手机 和 电脑 都 很 贵 。
Shǒujī hé diànnǎo dōu hěn guì.
Cell phones and computers are both expensive.
Offering choices with “Háishì”
Option A + 还是 + Option B ?
Háishì roughly translated means “or”. You use it when you need to compare two nouns. You should not, however, use háishì to compare qualities of things, for example which soup is the spiciest.
Examples —
- 一 个 还是 两 个 ？
Yīgè háishì liǎng gè?
One or two?
2. 辣 的 还是 不 辣 的？
Là de háishì bù là de?
Spicy or non-spicy?
3. 你 要 喝 茶 还是 咖啡 ？
Nǐ yào hē chá háishì kāfēi?
Do you want to drink tea or coffee?
Questions with “ne”
Topic + 呢 ？
This particle means “how about”. It is used whenever you want to reflect a question back onto another subject. The common example of this is Nǐ ne 你呢？Which means “what about you?”.
Examples —
- 我 很 好。你 呢 ？
Wǒ hěn hǎo. Nǐ ne?
2. 这 个 很 好 ， 那 个 呢 ？
Zhè ge hěn hǎo, nà ge ne?
This one is good. What about that one?
3. 北京 下雨 了 。 上海 呢 ？
Běijīng xiàyǔ le. Shànghǎi ne?
It’s raining in Beijing. How about in Shanghai?
Asking “Where” with 呢
[Missing Person/Thing] + 呢 ？
This is a single case use for ne that does not have a direct translation. It means “where ”.
Examples —
- 你 妈妈 呢 ？
Nǐ māma ne?
Where’s your mom?
2. 我 的 手机 呢 ？
Wǒ de shǒujī ne?
Where’s my cell phone?
Suggestions with “ba”
Command + 吧
This is a suggestion particle. It reduces the directness of an instruction and indicates that the user would like the verb to happen. It can also be used as a question participle indicating that the user would like others to agree (see example four).
- 我们 走 吧。
Wǒmen zǒu ba.
Let’s go.
2. 喝 啤酒 吧。
Hē píjiǔ ba.
Have some beer.
3. 我们 结婚 吧。
Wǒmen jiéhūn ba.
Let’s get married.
4. 不错吧？
Bùcuò ba?
Pretty good, right?
Thanks for reading. 谢谢阅读。
Here are my sources -
https://www.chineseboost.com/grammar/ma-ne/
https://www.chineseboost.com/grammar/ba-ma-sentence-particles/
