# HSK Guide/HSK 1 Grammar
## Parts of Speech

These following grammar points fit pretty neatly into one part of speech category.

### Adverbs

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Expressing actions in progress with "zai" | (正) 在 + Verb | 我们 正在 吃饭。 We are eating rice now. |
| Negation of "you" with "mei" | 没 + 有 | 我 没有 钱 。 I don't have money. |
| Standard negation with "bu" | 不 + Verb / Adj. | 他们 不 是 坏 孩子。 They are not bad children. |
| The "all" adverb "dou" | 都 + Verb / Adj. | 我们 都 住 在 上海。 We all live in Shanghai. |
| The "also" adverb "ye" | 也 + Verb / Adj. | 昨天 很 冷，今天 也 很 冷。 Yesterday was cold, and today is also cold. |

### Adverbs with Adjectives

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Asking about degree with "duo" | Subj. + 多 + Adj. ? | 他 多 高？ How tall is he? |
| Expressing "not very" with "bu tai" | 不太 + Adj. | 他 不太 高兴 。我 不太 喜欢。 He isn't very happy. I don't quite like it. |

### Conjunctions

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Expressing "and" with "he" | Noun 1 + 和 + Noun 2 | 我 和 他 都 不 去。 I and him didn't go. |

### Nouns

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| After a specific time with "yihou" | Time / Verb + 以后 | 10点 以后 ，我 不 在 家。 I won't be at home after 10 o' clock. |
| Before a specific time with "yiqian" | Time / Verb + 以前 | 十 点 以前，我 在 家。 I will be at home before 10 o' clock. |
| Time words and word order | Subj. + Time⋯⋯ / Time + Subj.⋯⋯ | 我 明天 有 空。/ 明天 我 有 空。 I will be free tomorrow. |

### Numbers

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Age with "sui" | Subj. + Number + 岁 | 我 20 岁 。 I'm 20 years old. |
| Measure word "ge" | Number + 个 + Noun | 一 个 人 。 A person. |
| Structure of dates | Number + 年 + Number + 月 + Number + 日 | 今天 是 2011年 11月 11日/号 。 Today is 11th November 2011. |
| Structure of days of the week | 星期 + Number | 今天 星期三 。 Today is Wednesday. |
| Structure of numbers | Number + Unit | 三 百 五 十 九。 359. |
| Structure of times (advanced) | Number 1 + 点(钟) + Number 2 + 分 | 现在 十一点十八分 。 It's 11:18 now. |
| Structure of times (basic) | Number + 点(钟) | 现在 十一点 。 It's 11 o' clock now. |

### Particles

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Expressing close possession without "de" | Pronoun + Noun | 我 女朋友 my girlfriend |
| Expressing completion with "le" | Subj. + Verb + 了 + Obj. | 我 吃 了 两 个 苹果。 I ate 2 apples. |
| Expressing "not anymore" with "le" | 不 / 没(有) + Verb Phrase + 了 | 我 不 想 吃 了 。 I don't want to eat anymore. |
| Expressing "now" with "le" | New Situation + 了 | 吃饭 了！ Time to eat! |
| Expressing possession with "de" | Noun 1 + 的 + Noun 2 | 我 的 老师 my teacher |
| Questions with "ne" | ⋯⋯呢 ? | 我 很 好。你 呢 ? I'm fine. And you? |
| Sentence-final interjection "a" | ⋯⋯啊 | 是 啊！谁 啊？ Yep! Who? |
| Softening speech with "ba" | ⋯⋯吧 | 这样 不 太 好 吧。 This ain't that good. |
| Suggestions with "ba" | Command + 吧 | 我们 走 吧 。 Let's go. |

### Verbs

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Directional verbs "lai" and "qu" | 来 / 去 + Place | 我 来 上海 一 年 了。 It's been 1 year I came to Shanghai. |
| Expressing existence in a place with "zai" | 在 + Place | 老师 在 上海 。 The teacher is at Shanghai. |
| Expressing existence with "you" | Place + 有 + Obj. | 我们 学校 有 很 多 学生。 Our school has lots of students. |
| Expressing possession with "you" | Subj. + 有 + Obj. | 我 有 钱。 I have money. |
| Polite requests with "qing" | 请 + Verb | 请 坐 。 Please sit. |
| Using the verb "jiao" | 叫 + Name | 你 叫 什么 名字 ？ What's your name? |
| Using the verb "qu" | 去 + Place | 我 去 学校。 I go to school. |

#### Auxiliary verbs

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Expressing ability or possibility with "neng" | 能 + Verb | 中文 这么 难，你 能 学 好 吗？ Chinese is tough, can you master it? |
| Expressing a learned skill with "hui" | 会 + Verb | 他 会 说 中文 。 He can speak Chinese. |
| Expressing "will" with "hui" | 会 + Verb | 明天 你 会 来 吗？ Are you going to come tomorrow? |
| Expressing "would like to" with "xiang" | 想 + Verb | 我 想 去。 I want to go. |

#### Verb phrases

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| How to do something with "zenme" | 怎么 + Verb ? | 怎么 走? How do I reach there? |
| Indicating location with "zai" before verbs | Subj. + 在 + Place + Verb | 我 在 上海 工作。 I work at Shanghai. |
| Negation of past actions with "meiyou" | 没有 + Verb | 我 没有 去 酒吧。 I didn't go to the pub. |

## Grammatical Structures

These are grammatical structures that do not correspond to one particular part of speech.

### Basics

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Basic sentence order | Subj. + Verb (+ Obj.) | 我 爱 你 。 I love you. |
| Connecting nouns with "shi" | A + 是 + B | 我 是 学生 。 I'm a student. |
| Expressing "excessively" with "tai" | 太 + Adj. + 了 | 太 好 了 ! That's great! |
| Simple "noun + adjective" sentences | Noun + 很 + Adj. | 我 很 好。 I'm fine. |

### Noun Phrases

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Expressing "some" with "yixie" | 一些 + Noun | 这里 有 一些 咖啡。 There are some coffee here. |

### Numbers and Measure Words

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Counting money | Number + 块 / 元 (+ Number + 毛 / 角) (+ 钱) | 给 你 五 块 三 毛。 Here's 5 dollars and 3 pennies. |
| Measure words in quantity questions | 几 + Measure Word (+ Noun) ? | 几 个 人？ How many people? |

### Question Forms

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Asking how something is with "zenmeyang" | ⋯⋯怎么样？ | 你 最近 怎么样 ？ How are you recently? |
| Placement of question words | 什么 / 什么时候 / 谁 / 哪儿 / 为什么 / 怎么 | 你 是 谁 ？你 在 哪儿 ？ Who are you? Where are you? |
| Questions with "le ma" | Verb + 了 + 吗？ | 你 吃饭 了 吗 ？ Have you ate yet? |
| Yes-no questions with "ma" | ⋯⋯吗？ | 他 是 老板 吗 ? Is he a boss? |

### Sentence Patterns

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| The "shi... de" construction for emphasizing details | 是⋯⋯ 的 | 你 是 怎么 来 的？ How did you came here? |

## Comparisons of Similar Grammar Points

What's the difference between this grammar point and that grammar point? Check here.

### Adverbs

| Grammar Point (English) | Pattern | Examples |
| Comparing "bu" and "mei" | 不 vs 没 | 我 今天 晚上 不 吃饭。昨天 晚上 我 没 吃饭。 I won't eat dinner today. I didn't eat dinner yesterday. |