Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

exPreSSiNG oBliGatioNS aNd ProhiBitioNS 50.2 甭 béng 甭 béng is the contraction of 不用 bù yòng. It is used in informal speech. 我们都是 ...

expressing prohibitions: must not, should not 50.2 别开玩笑。 別開玩笑。 Bié kāi wánxiào. Don’t joke. (Be serious.) 考试以前不要紧张。 考試以前不要緊張。 Kǎ ...

exPreSSiNG oBliGatioNS aNd ProhiBitioNS 50.2 自行车汽车摩托车禁止入内 车辆行人严禁穿行 自行車汽車摩托車禁止入內 車輛行人嚴禁穿行 Zìxíng chē qìchē mótuōchē jìnzhǐ rù nèi ...

51 expressing commands and permission 51.1 Commands 51.1.1 making a command There is no specific command form in Mandarin, but t ...

exPreSSiNG CommaNdS aNd PermiSSioN 51.1 51.1.2 Negative commands: prohibitions To command someone not to do something, use 不要 bù ...

Permission 51.2 51.2 Permission 51.2.1 Giving permission To give permission, use the modal verb 可以 kěyǐ ‘can /permitted.’ To den ...

exPreSSiNG CommaNdS aNd PermiSSioN 51.2 To indicate that someone is not allowed to do something, say 不叫 bù jiào, 不让/不讓 bù ràng, ...

52 expressing ability and possibility 52.1 Expressing ability 52.1.1 expressing a learned ability To express a learned or acquir ...

exPreSSiNG aBility aNd PoSSiBility 52.2 52.1.3 expressing physical ability To express physical ability or the unobstructed abili ...

expressing possibility 52.2 52.2.2 expressing feasibility The modal 可以 kěyǐ is also sometimes used to express the feasibility of ...

53 expressing desires, needs, preferences, and willingness 53.1 Expressing desires To express a desire for something to happen, ...

expressing preferences 53.3 To express a desire for something, say: 要 yào ‘to want’ 他要一辆新车。 他要一輛新車。 Tā yào yī liàng xīn chē. He ...

exPreSSiNG deSireS, NeedS, PreFereNCeS, aNd WilliNGNeSS 53.4 偏爱/偏愛 piān’ài ‘to favor, be partial to somebody or something’ 老师不应该 ...

54 expressing knowledge, advice, and opinions 54.1 Expressing knowledge To express knowledge, use the following verbs: 知道 zhīdao ...

exPreSSiNG kNoWledGe, adViCe, aNd oPiNioNS 54.2 Conversation 3 Q: 你认识中国字吗？ A: 我认识，可是我不知道怎么写。 你認識中國字嗎？ 我認識，可是我不知道怎麼寫。 Nǐ rènshi Z ...

advice and opinions 54.2 想 xiǎng ‘to think’ Q: 你想我们是坐飞机好，还是坐火车好？ 你想我們是坐飛機好，還是坐火車好？ Nǐ xiǎng wǒmen shì zuò fēijī hǎo, háishi zuò ...

exPreSSiNG kNoWledGe, adViCe, aNd oPiNioNS 54.2 大家都以为他是一个好人。(认为/認為 rènwéi can be used) 大家都以為他是一個好人。 Dàjiā dōu yǐwéi tā shì yī gè ...

advice and opinions 54.2 54.2.3 telling someone their best or only option These expressions can be used when giving strong, dire ...

exPreSSiNG kNoWledGe, adViCe, aNd oPiNioNS 54.2 Conversation 2 Q: 你想这个周末我们去哪儿好？ 你想這個週末我們去哪兒好？ Nǐ xiǎng zhège zhōumò wǒmen qù nǎr ...

55 expressing fear, worry, and anxiety 55.1 Expressing fear of something To express fear of something, say: subject 怕 pà somethi ...