HSK 1 Grammar Patterns

Adding 吗 to the end of a statement turns it into a yes/no question.

不 goes right before a verb or adjective to negate it.

的 sits between two nouns to show possession or attribution -- "A的B".

有 shows existence or possession; negate it with 没, not 不.

很 links a subject to an adjective -- no 是 needed.

在 marks where someone or something is, or that an action is happening right now.

想 before a verb is a soft "would like to"; 要 is a stronger "want" and can take a noun directly, as in 要一个苹果.

会 marks a learned skill or a future likelihood; 能 marks physical ability or permission.

个 sits between a number or demonstrative and a noun, as in 一个, 这个, 那个; before 个, "two" is 两, not 二 -- 两个, not 二个.

了 after a verb marks a completed action; at the end of a sentence it marks a new state.

也 ("also, too") goes right before the verb; 都 ("all, both") goes right after a plural subject.

什么, 谁, and 哪 ask about things, people, and places, staying in the spot the answer would fill.

怎么 asks how or why something is done; 怎么样 asks how something is or turned out.

几 asks about small, expected numbers; 多少 asks about any amount, especially money.

A time word comes after the subject and before the verb, not at the end of the sentence.

年, 月, 日, and 星期 build dates and weekdays, ordered from the biggest unit to the smallest.

喜欢 takes a noun or another verb as its object to say what someone likes.

和 connects two nouns, or two time words, to mean "and".

Ten sentences, each reviewing a different grammar pattern from this course.