Sentence Patterns

• 10 Sentence Patterns

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  Original teaching practice. Read one pattern, cover its model and try the questions before checking the separate answer section. Examples adapted from Chinese Grammar Wiki (AllSet Learning, CC BY-NC-SA) retain the course-reference provenance.

  variant of 并并bìng + not不bù / not / haven't没méi (emphatic denial)

  That's not true at all

  • Everyone assumes the exam was hard because the class looks tired. In fact it was easy.
  • 这次zhè cìto take an exam考试kǎo shìvariant of 并并bìng不难bù nán。 — "This exam actually wasn't hard (contrary to what you think)."

  variant of 并并bìng + not不bù / not / haven't没méi = not at all, actually not

  • variant of 并并bìngnot不bù / variant of 并并bìngnot / haven't没méi(to have / there is有yǒu) strengthens a negative to correct a mistaken belief.
  • variant of 并并bìng goes right before not不bù / not / haven't没méi: he / him他tāvariant of 并并bìngnot have / haven't没有méi yǒuto get angry生气shēng qì — "He isn't actually angry."

  he他tāactually并bìngnot没有méi yǒuangry生气shēng qì。

  

  Correcting an assumption

  • everyone大家dà jiāall / both都dōuto think (i.e. to take it…以为yǐ wéihe / him他tāto be / is是shìteacher老师lǎo shī，actually其实qí shíhe / him他tāvariant of 并并bìngno不是bú shì。 — "Everyone thought he was a teacher, but actually he isn't."
  • I / me我wǒvariant of 并并bìngnot / haven't没méivariant of 说说shuō(experienced)过guo这句zhè jùold variant of 话话huà。 — "I never said that."

  I我wǒactually并bìngnot没méisay说shuō(ever)过guothis这句话zhè jù huà。

  A correction, not a plain negative

  • Use variant of 并并bìngnot不bù / variant of 并并bìngnot / haven't没méi when someone believes the opposite; for a plain "no", not不bù / not / haven't没méi is enough.
  • variant of 并并bìng never stands alone in this sense: variant of 并并bìng不难bù nán, not variant of 并并bìngdifficult / hard难nán.

  variant of 并并bìngnot不bù versus again又yòunot不bù

  • variant of 并并bìngnot不bù is calm and fits writing: this这个zhè gequestion问题wèn tívariant of 并并bìngnot不bùcomplicated复杂fù zá.
  • again又yòunot不bù is emotional speech: I / me我wǒagain又yòuno不是bú shìyou你nǐ(modifier / structural particle)的dewaiter服务员fú wù yuán！

  this这个zhè geproblem问题wèn tíactually并bìngnot不búcomplicated复杂fù zá。

  Recap

  • variant of 并并bìng + not不bù / not / haven't没méi = actually not, not at all, correcting a mistaken idea.
  • Calm and written; the emotional spoken version is again又yòunot不bù.

  Practise this pattern step by step.

  Practice without the models

  variant of 并并bìng + not不bù / not / haven't没méi (emphatic denial)

  1001.1 Correct an assumption: “Learning Chinese isn't actually that hard.” to learn学xuéChinese language中文zhōng wén…………not不bùlike that那么nà medifficult / hard难nán。

  1001.2 Everyone thinks he's angry, but he isn't. Which fits best?

  • A. he / him他tānot / haven't没méivariant of 并并bìngto have / there is有yǒuto get angry生气shēng qì。
  • B. he / him他tādegree / adjective linker很hěnto get angry生气shēng qì。
  • C. he / him他tāvariant of 并并bìngnot have / haven't没有méi yǒuto get angry生气shēng qì。
  • D. he / him他tāvariant of 并并bìngto get angry生气shēng qì。

  1001.3 Build: “I never said that.”

  Arrange all chunks: I / me我wǒ / variant of 说说shuō(experienced)过guo / variant of 并并bìngnot / haven't没méi / 这句zhè jùold variant of 话话huà。

  1001.4 variant of 并并bìngnot不bù sounds calmer than again又yòunot不bù.

  True or false? Explain or repair the statement.

  1001.5 Everyone assumes the exam was hard because the class looks tired. In fact it was easy. Close the examples. Say a Mandarin response, then write it in Chinese. Explain briefly in English what the lesson’s pattern adds. Compare with the model, then change one detail and try again.

  Write or say your own response before reading the key.

  Answers and explanations

  variant of 并并bìng + not不bù / not / haven't没méi (emphatic denial)

  1001.1 variant of 并并bìng

  variant of 并并bìng + not不bù corrects a mistaken belief.

  1001.2 C. he / him他tāvariant of 并并bìngnot have / haven't没有méi yǒuto get angry生气shēng qì。

  variant of 并并bìngnot have / haven't没有méi yǒu corrects the assumption.

  1001.3 I / me我wǒvariant of 并并bìngnot / haven't没méivariant of 说说shuō(experienced)过guo这句zhè jùold variant of 话话huà。

  variant of 并并bìng + not / haven't没méi + verb + (experienced)过guo.

  1001.4 True.

  variant of 并并bìngnot不bù is calm and written; again又yòunot不bù is emotional speech.

  1001.5 One possible response: 这次zhè cìto take an exam考试kǎo shìvariant of 并并bìng不难bù nán。

  Check meaning and form:

  • My response conveys a message that fits the opening situation.
  • I can explain the meaning of the pattern, rather than only naming it.
  • Use variant of 并并bìngnot不bù / variant of 并并bìngnot / haven't没méi when someone believes the opposite; for a plain "no", not不bù / not / haven't没méi is enough.
  • variant of 并并bìng never stands alone in this sense: variant of 并并bìng不难bù nán, not variant of 并并bìngdifficult / hard难nán.
  • I tried a second response with a name, time, place, or description changed.

  This is supported productive practice. Compare meaning and structure; your answer need not copy the model. A partner or teacher must hear the spoken response to comment on pronunciation.

All topics · HSK 4 Grammar