Chinese grammar for beginners: 8 basics

October 3, 2026 · 7 min read

Chinese grammar is less scary than it looks. There are no verb conjugations, no tenses built with endings, no plural -s, no "a" or "the", no gendered nouns. Almost everything rests on word order and a few small helper words. Below is what you need for your first sentences, with examples you can listen to.

1. Word order: who, does what, to what

The basic order is the same as in English: subject, verb, object. And as in English, you can't shuffle words around, because the order carries the meaning. The difference is that a Chinese word never changes its form: "I" and "me" are the same 我, and "he" and "him" are the same 他.

• 我去超市买东西wǒqùchāoshìmǎidōngxiI’m going to the supermarket to do some shopping.

2. 是: "to be", when you put an equals sign

"I am a student" in Chinese is the same as in English: between two nouns you need the verb 是 shì — to be. But with adjectives, 是 is not used, and this is where English speakers slip: not 我是好, but 很 hěn — very instead. In this position "very" is barely heard: 我很好 just means "I'm fine".

• 我们是学生wǒmenshìxuéshengWe are students.
• 你的汉语很好nǐdeHànyǔhěnhǎoYour Chinese is really good!

3. Negation: 不 and 没

不 bù — not goes before a verb or an adjective: "not eat", "not a teacher". No "do not", no "doesn't": just 不. The verb 有 "to have" takes a different negative, 没: 没有 means "not have, there isn't".

• 他不是老师tābúshìlǎoshīHe is not a teacher.
• 我不吃晚饭wǒbùchīwǎnfànI don’t eat dinner.
• 他没有车tāméiyǒuchēHe doesn’t have a car.

4. Yes/no questions: the particle 吗

To ask a question, just put 吗 ma — yes/no question particle at the end. No "do you…?", no swapping "you are" into "are you": the word order stays the same, and you hardly need a rising voice either.

• 你是学生吗？nǐshìxuéshengmaAre you a student?
• 你会说汉语吗？nǐhuìshuōHànyǔmaDo you speak Chinese?

5. Question words go where the answer will be

In English, "what", "where" and "who" jump to the front of the question. In Chinese, the question word stays where the answer goes: "you want to eat what?" → "I want to eat noodles". It's like an English echo question ("You did what?"), except that it's the normal way to ask. No 吗 in this kind of question.

• 你想吃什么？nǐxiǎngchīshénmeWhat do you want to eat?
• 你是哪国人？nǐshìnǎguórénWhere are you from?

6. 的: whose

Possession is shown with 的 de — possessive particle, which works much like the English 's: 我的 "my", 老师的 "the teacher's". The owner comes before the thing, just as in "the teacher's book": "I 的 teacher" means "my teacher".

• 这是我的老师zhèshìwǒdelǎoshīThis is my teacher.

7. Time goes before the verb

When something happens is said before the action: "I at eight eat breakfast". The time word can also open the sentence, but it never goes after the verb, which is exactly where English puts it ("I eat breakfast at eight"). More in the guide to telling time in Chinese.

• 我八点吃早饭wǒbādiǎnchīzǎofànI have breakfast at eight.

8. 在: "doing it now", and 了: "already done"

The verb doesn't change, but small words go next to it. 在 zài — to be at; in before the verb works like the English -ing: the action is happening right now. 了 after the verb means the action has been completed, which often comes out as an English past tense.

• 我在看电视wǒzàikàndiànshìI’m watching TV.
• 我买了三个苹果wǒmǎilesāngepíngguǒI bought three apples.

How to learn grammar

Not with rules but with model sentences. Take a sentence from this article and change one word at a time: "I have breakfast at eight" → "I have dinner at seven" → "what time do you have dinner?". The words for these swaps are in the HSK 1 word list, and between a number and a noun don't forget the measure word.

Each topic has its own guide: word order, tenses, particles, pronouns and question words.