HSK2 Grammar

自己 means “oneself / by oneself.” Put it after the subject to stress doing something personally (我自己做), or after a verb when the action points back to the subject (照顾自己).

大家 means “everyone / all of us” and usually includes the speaker in the group. 别人 means “other people / someone else” and excludes the speaker, often contrasting “me/us” with others.

Chinese has several ways to express approximate numbers: consecutive numbers (三四个), adding 多 after a round number (十多个), and using 左右 or 大概 (about 30, around 5 o'clock). These sound natural and avoid being overly precise.

第 turns a number into an ordinal: 第一, 第二, 第三. Use it for rank, order, floor/level, and “the N-th time,” but not for dates or ages.

Use 倍 (bèi) to express multiples. The formula A是B的N倍 means "A is N times B." To say "N times more," use A比B多N倍 (which actually means the total is N+1 times). Pay close attention to the difference.

Duration phrases tell us HOW LONG an action lasts. In Chinese, the duration comes AFTER the verb (not before like in English). Formula: Subject + Verb + Duration. For verbs with objects, repeat the verb or restructure: Subject + Verb + Object + Verb + Duration.

Action-measure phrases tell us HOW MANY TIMES an action is performed. Common measure words: 次 (cì - times, general), 遍 (biàn - times, from start to finish), 趟 (tàng - trips), 下 (xià - times, casual). Place the measure phrase AFTER the verb.

Verb reduplication (repeating a verb) softens the tone and implies a brief, casual, or tentative action. It makes requests sound more polite. Single-syllable verbs: AA (看看, 想想). Two-syllable verbs: ABAB (休息休息, 讨论讨论). You can also insert 一: 看一看, 试一试.

Separable verbs (离合词) look like single verbs but are actually verb+object compounds that can be split. Common examples: 见面 (meet), 睡觉 (sleep), 游泳 (swim), 帮忙 (help), 唱歌 (sing). You cannot add a direct object to them — use 跟/和 instead. They CAN be split to insert duration, frequency, or other elements.

可以 means “may/can” for permission and “can” for possibility. Use 可以 + verb + 吗 to ask politely; use 不可以 + verb for prohibition.

应该 means “should / ought to.” Put it before the verb to give advice, express what is reasonable, or say what someone is expected to do.

可能 means “maybe / might / possible.” Use it when you are guessing and are not fully sure; it can come before the subject or before the verb phrase.

愿意 means “be willing to.” It focuses on a voluntary choice, not ability, permission, or obligation; put it before the main verb.

快要……了 means “be about to / will soon.” Use it for something that is very close to happening; 快要 comes before the verb or adjective, and 了 closes the sentence.

就 shows that something happens early, quickly, or as the direct result of a condition. Put 就 before the verb, especially in time sentences and 如果……就…… patterns.

才 shows “not until,” “only if,” or “only this little.” It often carries a feeling that something is late, difficult, or less than expected.

已经 means “already.” It comes before the verb and usually works with 了 to show that an action or change has happened; the negative is 还没(有), “not yet.”

还 means “still” when a state continues, and “also / additionally” when adding more information. It comes before the verb or adjective it modifies.

又 means “again” for something that has already happened one more time. It can also form 又……又……, meaning “both…and…”.

一直 means “continuously / all along” for time, or “straight ahead / keep going” for direction. It emphasizes no stop, no break, or no turn.

正好 means 'just right' or 'happen to.' Put it before a verb/adjective or before 有 to show that the time, amount, or situation fits perfectly.

一定 means 'definitely' or 'must.' Put it before a verb or modal verb to show strong certainty, a firm promise, or a confident guess.

只 means 'only.' Put it before the verb or adjective to limit what is true, what someone does, or how much is included.

一共 means 'in total.' Use it when counting all people, things, money, or time together.

更 means 'even more' or '-er.' Put it before an adjective or psychological verb to show a higher degree than before or than another thing.

比较 means 'fairly' or 'rather.' Put it before an adjective to make the description moderate and natural.

有点儿 + adjective means 'a little too...' and often expresses a small negative feeling or mild dissatisfaction.

Adjective + 一点儿 means 'a little more/less...' and is commonly used to ask someone to adjust the degree of an action or quality.

但是/但 means 'but' and connects two ideas with contrast. The second part changes or limits the first part.

因为...所以... means 'because... so...' Use 因为 before the reason and 所以 before the result.

如果...就... means 'if... then...' Use 如果 before the condition and 就 before the result or decision.

虽然...但是... means 'although... but...' Use it when the second idea contrasts with what the first idea would normally suggest.

或者 means 'or' for choices in statements. Use it to list possible options, not usually in direct yes/no choice questions.

然后 means 'then / after that.' Use it to connect actions in time order.

先...再... means 'first... then...' Use it to arrange two actions in order.

一...就... means 'as soon as...' It shows that the second action happens immediately after the first.

又...又... means 'both... and...' Use it to describe two qualities or actions that exist together.

有的...有的... means 'some... some...' Use it to describe different members of a group doing or being different things.

除了...以外 means 'except for...' or 'besides...' The rest of the sentence tells what happens to everyone or everything outside that item.

对...来说 means 'for... / from... point of view.' Use it before a comment that is true from someone's perspective.

离 marks distance from a place, time, or point. Use A 离 B + distance/near/far to say how far A is from B.

给 can mean 'to/for' before a person. Use 给 + person + verb to show who receives the action.

对 marks the target of an attitude, feeling, or opinion. Use 对 + person/thing + adjective or feeling verb.

向 marks direction toward a person, place, or side. It often sounds a little more formal than 往.

往 marks the direction of physical movement. Use 往 + direction/place + movement verb, especially when giving directions.

为 means 'for' in the sense of purpose, reason, or someone’s benefit. Use 为 + noun/person + action.

The 把 sentence puts the affected object before the verb. Use it when an action changes, moves, or handles a known object.

The 被 sentence shows that the subject is affected by someone or something. It often describes an unwanted or noticeable result.

着 after a verb shows a continuing state after an action. It often describes how something is placed, worn, open, or ongoing in the background.

过 after a verb shows past experience: someone has done something before. It does not focus on when it happened.

得 links a verb with a description of how the action is done. Use Verb + 得 + adjective/phrase.

啊 is a sentence-final modal particle that adds feeling, surprise, warmth, or emphasis.

A degree complement uses 得 after a verb to describe the degree or quality of the action.

Result complement 到 after a verb means the action successfully reaches a goal: get, find, hear, see, buy successfully.

完 after a verb means the action is finished completely.

好 after a verb means something is done properly and ready to use.

错 after a verb means the action was done incorrectly: wrote wrong, heard wrong, bought the wrong thing.

来/去 after a directional verb shows movement toward or away from the speaker's location.

Directional complements such as 上, 下, 进, 出, 回, 过, 起 show the direction or movement result of an action.

Potential complements use 得 or 不 between a verb and complement to show whether something can be done successfully.

次 counts how many times an action happens; 遍 counts complete passes from beginning to end.

A 比 B 更 + adjective means A is even more adjective than B.

A 比 B + adjective + amount shows the exact difference, such as older by two years or earlier by ten minutes.

A 没有 B 那么/这么 + adjective means A is not as adjective as B.

A 跟 B 一样 + adjective means A and B are the same in that quality.

越来越 + adjective/mental verb means something is becoming more and more so over time.

越 A 越 B means the more A happens, the more B changes.

是...的 emphasizes a detail of a completed, known event, such as time, place, method, or person.

An existential sentence puts the place first, then 有/Verb+着, then the thing or person that exists there.

A serial verb sentence uses one subject with two or more verbs in sequence, often showing route, method, or purpose.

A pivotal sentence has one person who is both the object of the first verb and the subject of the second verb.

A double-object sentence has a verb followed by a person object and a thing object.

In a subject-predicate predicate sentence, the main subject is followed by a smaller subject-predicate phrase.

不是...吗 is a rhetorical or confirming question: the speaker expects the answer to be yes or reminds the listener of something.

好吗, 行吗, and 可以吗 turn a suggestion or request into a polite question.

多 + adjective asks about degree, size, age, length, height, or distance.

怎么了 asks what happened or what is wrong when you notice a change, problem, or unusual situation.

不是 A 就是 B means there are only two likely choices: if it is not A, then it is B.

一点也不/都不 strongly negates an adjective or feeling: not at all.

差一点儿 means 'almost' or 'nearly'; something was very close to happening.

难道...吗 forms a rhetorical question that shows surprise, doubt, or a strong expectation.