| Word Type |
Comparison |
Example |
| Articles |
There are no articles like the English "the" or "a". |
|
| Nouns |
Nouns do not change to indicate number or gender. |
"book" and "books" are both "shu". |
| Pronouns |
Unlike nouns, the Chinese plural pronouns are slightly different
from their singular versions. |
|
| Pronouns |
Pronouns are the same whether they are used as the subject or the object. |
"I" and "me" are both "wo". |
| Verbs |
Verbs do not change to indicate tense, person, or number. |
"go", "goes", "went", "will go" are all "qu". |
| Adjectives as Verbs |
Chinese adjectives can function as verbs with an implied sense of "to be". For this reason, Chinese adjectives are also called "stative verbs" |
"I am fine“ is "wo hen hao" which literally translates as "I very good". |
| Adjectives as Adverbs |
Chinese adjectives can function as adverbs if the word 地 is appended |
|
| Verbs as Adverbs |
Chinese verbs can function as adverbs if the word 得 is appended |
|
| Time and Location |
While in English time and location expressions go after the verb, in Chinese
they must be placed either between the subject and the verb or before the subject. |
|
| Interrogative |
Word order does not change when a sentence is changed from a statement to a question. |
|
| Measure Words |
Unlike English, measure words are always required when specific quantities are involved. |
|
