In Mandarin Chinese, there are simple and complex verbal predicates; simple verb predicates consist of one verb and complex ones consist of more than one verb. You may ask, what is a predicate? Well, a sentence usually consists of two major parts: subject and predicate. For example, in “He runs” or “He is ready,” “he” is the subject (topic) and “runs” or “ready” is the predicate (or comment).
Verbal predicates are predicates made of verbs, like the first example above. Here it is in Mandarin: 他跑步 transcribed Tā pǎobùmeaning He runs, 跑步 transcribed pǎobù is a verbal predicate, describing what the subject, 他 transcribed tā, does.
Complex verbal predicates in Mandarin Chinese fall into two categories: serial verbal chains and pivotal structures.
Verbal predicates in Mandarin are similar to English in terms of word order (subject + verbal predicate). For example: 妈妈来了 transcribed Māma lái lemeaning Mom came. However, the Mandarin verbs don't change in form to express different times of action, like they do in English (e.g., “He goes,” “He went,” “He has gone”).
Verbal predicates are an essential part of Mandarin, so it is important for you to get to know how to use them like a pro. Let’s dive in and start to crack this!
How to use simple verbal predicates in Mandarin Chinese?
The pattern for a simple verbal predicate is as follows,
Some verbs can be used without an object (the person or thing that receives the action of the verb), while others have an object. For example:
In the first sentence, 跑步 transcribed pǎobù is a verb that tends to come without an object. In the second sentence, 属于 transcribed shǔyú is a verb that must go with an object (e.g., “our group” in the above sentence). There are also verbs which can go with or without an object — they are flexible. For example, 学习 transcribed xuéxí is used without an object in the third sentence above, but with an object in the fourth sentence.
In the table below, you can see which verbs go with or without an object:
| Object structure | Example verbs |
|---|---|
Verbs that must have no object |
|
Verbs that must have an object | 成为 transcribed chéngwéimeaning become, 懒得 transcribed lǎndémeaning too lazy to do something, 属于 transcribed shǔyúmeaning belong Note: this type of verb is limited in number. |
What are the tense and aspect of a verbal predicate in Mandarin Chinese?
The tense of a verbal predicate indicates the location of an action in time and the aspect indicates how that particular action is manifested with time. Tenses and aspects in Mandarin Chinese are represented through adding other words to the sentence. For example, to describe a completed action, we can add the aspectual particle 了 transcribed le at the end of a verb (e.g., 他走了 transcribed Tā zǒulemeaning He went away). For time, we can use time words, such as 现在 transcribed xiànzàimeaning now, 过去 transcribed guòqùmeaning past, 将来 transcribed jiāngláimeaning future, 今天 transcribed jīntiānmeaning today, 昨天 transcribed zuótiānmeaning yesterday,
明天 transcribed míngtiānmeaning tomorrow, or helping verbs, like 会 transcribed huìmeaning will.
| Tense | Example |
|---|---|
Past tense | 他昨天在餐馆吃饭。 Transcription: Tā zuótiān zài cānguǎn chīfàn. Translation: He ate at a restaurant yesterday. |
Present tense | 他现在在餐馆吃饭。 Transcription: Tā xiànzài zài cānguǎn chīfàn. Translation: He is eating at a restaurant now. |
Future tense | 他明天会在餐馆吃饭。 Transcription: Tā míngtiān huì zài cānguǎn chīfàn. Translation: He will eat at a restaurant tomorrow. |
To describe aspect, we can use particles like 在 transcribed zài / 正在 transcribed zhèngzài / 着 transcribed zhe, 了 transcribed le/ 过 transcribed guo etc. and time words, like 常常 transcribed chángchángmeaning often, etc.
| Aspect | Example |
|---|---|
Perfective | 他去图书馆了。 Transcription: Tā qù túshūguǎn le. Translation: He went to the library. |
Continuous | 他正在图书馆。 Transcription: Tā zhèngzài túshūguǎn. Translation: He is in the library. |
Imperfective (habitual) | 他常常去图书馆。 Transcription: Tā chángcháng qù túshūguǎn. Translation: He often goes to the library. |
What are series of verbs (verbal chains) in Mandarin Chinese?
Complex verb predicates fall into two categories, one of which is called a “serial verb construction” (连动式 transcribed liándòngshì). It is made up of two or more verbs associated with the same subject without any commas (in writing) or pauses (when talking) or coordinators (e.g., “and”, “but”) in between. While in English we use “and” often, in Mandarin it is not necessary (e.g. the first sentence in the following examples). The actions can happen one after another or occur at the same time. One action can be the purpose, the manner, or the instrument of the other action. The pattern is:
→ The two actions occur at the same time, but there is no “and” in between the two verbs.
→ The latter action is the purpose of the former one.
→ The former action is the manner or instrument of the latter one (i.e. “I read a book lying down”).
There is more about the serial verb constructions, so why don’t you check our post?
What are pivotal sentences in Mandarin Chinese?
Another type of complex verbal predicate in Mandarin is a pivotal sentence (兼语式 transcribed jiānyǔshì, which has the following pattern:
| Subject | Verb 1 | Object/subject | Verb 2 | Other element | Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
他 Transcription: Tā Translation: He | 喊 Transcription: hǎn Translation: yell | 儿子 Transcription: érzi Translation: son | 回家 Transcription: huíjiā Translation: go home | 吃饭 Transcription: chīfàn Translation: eat | He called his son home for dinner. |
The “pivotal” refers to 儿子 transcribed érzi, which is the object of 喊 transcribed hǎn and at the same time the subject of 回家 transcribed huíjiā. That is, there are “sub-sentences” embedded in the sentence. The object of the first sub-sentence 儿子 transcribed érzi is also the subject of the second sub-sentence. The verbs for pivotal sentences are those with the meaning of “make / ask someone to do something.” For example,
让 transcribed ràngmeaning let, 叫 transcribed jiàomeaning call, 派 transcribed pàimeaning send, 请 transcribed qǐngmeaning ask - polite form, 要求 transcribed yāoqiúmeaning request, 同意 transcribed tóngyìmeaning agree, among others.
The negative form of a pivotal sentence is:
The pivot construction can also contain more than one "pivot" word or continue to take extra verbal chain construction, and thus become even more complex.
There are three sub-sentences here in the above sentence:
Pivotal 1: 我
- 老师让我 transcribed lǎoshī ràng wǒmeaning the teacher asked me
Pivotal 2: 大家
- 我叫大家 transcribed wǒ jiào dàjiāmeaning I called everyone
Verb chain: 回 … 上课
- 大家回教室上课 transcribed dàjiā huí jiàoshì shàngkèmeaning everyone went back to the classroom
我 transcribed wǒmeaning I is a pivotal component: it is the object of 让 transcribed ràngmeaning asked and at the same time the subject of 叫 transcribed jiàomeaning call. Similarly, 大家 transcribed dàjiāmeaning everyone is also a pivotal: it is the object of 叫 transcribed jiàomeaning call and subject of 回 transcribed huímeaning go back.
To sum up
In Mandarin Chinese, verbal predicates consist of a simple form, as well as a complex form.
The simple form of verbal predicates follows the following pattern:
The complex forms of verbal predicates include the following two:
Series of verbs (verbal chain)
Pivotal sentence
Verbal predicates often express tense and aspect through adding other words to the sentence. This present post talks about the past, present and future tenses, as well as perfective, imperfective, and continuous aspects.
Okay, now it is time to put what we have talked about above into action. Our exercises are set for you to try out what you know and practice how to use verbal predicates in Mandarin. Go on, check it out!
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