Chinese Doesn’t Have Grammar?!

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

📝To better understand today's concept and practice with exercises, get the free handout of today's lesson here: patreon.com/GraceMandarinChinese

[@innovert99]

I have been learning Mandarin for years and yes Mandarin is one of the most context heavy languages out there. Knowing the context, you can cut out a lot of unnecessary words and get straight to the point.

[@ImmersiveChinesewithLuyang]

So true

[@anholeiri8461]

I assume that They don't have proper alphabet like ABC to form a single word

[@pred4507]

Chinese grammar has its unique challenges. However, because it lacks many things that make the grammar of Western languages difficult, people who start learning often call it "easy", neglecting it for months or even years. Word order is one of these topics that is incredibly hard to get right on the fly. (For me) Even after nearly three years of daily study.

[@deryugituberschlechthingh6911]

Hands down you're amazing, every day! how are you doing that give me some of your courage. Thanks in advance.

[@pred4507]

@@deryugituberschlechthingh6911 Sentence mining and the thrive to not lose my Anki streak. Things get a habit and soon you are learning 1-3 hours every day without a single day off.

[@declup]

Another way of framing Mandarin word order might be helpful for English speakers. Chinese doesn't use definite articles the way English does. To talk and continue talking about a specific table, Chinese speakers can't say "the table" because their language doesn't have a simple word for "the". Instead, to continue talking about a specific table, Chinese speakers do other things, like, for example, moving "zhuō zi" toward the beginning of the sentence. wo zhuō zi cā le Above, since "zhuō zi" is before the verb, it means "the table", as in "I wiped the table." If the noun is put in its regular spot after the verb, it becomes less definite. It could mean "the table" (or "the tables"), but it more likely means "a table" or "some random, unimportant tables". Examples: wo cā le zhuō zi I wiped a table. wo zhuō zi cā le I wiped the table. wo mai le shū I bought a book. shū wo mai le I bought that particular book.

[@anselherz837]

Have struggled with this and this comment is really helpful - you explained it well. Thanks

[@wheresmyeyebrow1608]

Thank you this is really great to have

[@Tommidgely170]

Thanks also. This really helps with something I’ve always wondered too.

[@genace]

Wow, excellent. This is so informative! I think it will take me some time to fully grasp all the concepts, but hopefully I’ll eventually get the hang of it😅

[@Harry-io8pd]

Outstanding video. Followup question is when to use 把 and 被 which modifies the SVO structure.

[@deryugituberschlechthingh6911]

Pinyin?

[@andaro45]

​@@deryugituberschlechthingh6911 ba 把 (to introduce the object of an action) bei 被 (to express the passive voice)

[@andaro45]

Thank you so much! That was super helpful!

[@joshuabelmontes2724]

This Is very clear and useful! Thank you!

[@sonisharri]

Thank you so much for making this video!

[@matthewheald8964]

You know you’ve listened to too much Grace Mandarin when you hear “我/I 桌子/table” as 「我愛桌子」and wonder what her problem is XD

[@tronix4732]

我刚刚看完了Grace的视频，很喜欢！ Grace的视频，看了，真的很棒！

[@deryugituberschlechthingh6911]

Hen?

[@Torsive]

Very helpful, thank you so much for this!

[@kevinhu7684]

My brain is exploded! 脑袋爆炸了！Incredibly good video. In all seriousness, as an ABC 爸爸, this has revolutionized how I think about rendering idiomatic interpretations for my 3 year-old whenever ta asks me how to say something in Chinese.

[@scanvil3766]

i like your videos a lot! my favourite teacher :D thank you for your efforts

[@PaulfrmTXtoCO]

Saw some post about Korean being that way. Set up, and then what they want to say. Plus a statement not to judge what is being said till the final part.

[@HosungHang]

Hello 👋 ! Please make a detail video on the sound "y" and "h" in Chinese, please.

[@wheresmyeyebrow1608]

Hang on so what’s the difference between 我把桌子擦了 and 我桌子擦了？

[@unapersonaenyoutube1374]

So, what's the difference between S把OV and SOV?

[@pihu-mh1wj]

In the chinese novels there are sometimes sentences vertically written or sometimes horizontally written . How can we identify them that these sentences are vertically or horizontally written????????😅

[@ZadenZane]

@@pihu-mh1wj It's pretty easy to tell whether they're using vertical or horizontal orientation. For one thing a book printed in vertical opens at the back (so to speak) and you go through it back to front.

[@pihu-mh1wj]

Thanks my dear friend😊

[@gameplay1000k]

Great video! Es un tema interesante. Ahora entoendo algo que antes no podía resolver. 谢谢，我的老师！您很好！

[@iandavidson471]

Grammar is one of the fundamentals of every language. If there was no grammar, there would be no way of conveying (or understanding) meaning.

[@AC-he8ln]

桌子擦了我 😎

[@BooneDraw]

it is also the same for english. we can move it around as we wish. Also I never learned my chinese from school I have Native Speakers I learn my chinese from as well as duolingo but duolingo only taught me the basics now i am learning more in depth and reading chinese books as well. even if i cannot understand the chinese yet i can still learn chinsese I am self taught. 有志者事竟成 I am still learning chinese but i do learn from native speakers as well.

[@ZadenZane]

7:42 "Strawberries I like" you can say this in Southern British English in a phrase like, "strawberries I like; blueberries I don't" (not sure about American English)

[@slythwolf]

This is a construction you see a lot in American Ashkenazi Jewish communities, because Yiddish is this way.

[@supremesoybean]

This is possible in American English as well. But you'd be considered very posh when saying it lol.

[@hnionrya]

HanaFi Love Grace teacher so much more!❤❤❤❤😊😊😊😊😊

[@josephmak0865]

但是SOV好像只限過去式. “擦了桌子”可以說“桌子擦了”. 但"我喜歡音樂”不能說成“我音樂喜歡”吧

[@Greenhand1516]

我桌子擦了: 私はテーブルを拭いた 桌子我擦了: テーブルは私が拭いた

[@deryugituberschlechthingh6911]

Yes of course very flexible but only in very short sentences like 2 to 3 words sent but that other languages can do as well but that's what Chinese don't know. The sentence become more and more flexible Chinese sentences and grandma also becomes. Like any other language as well.

[@denisek7]

So it would also be correct to say 我 沒 買 書。? Referring to the example from around minute 4, 謝謝你 老師 :)

[@ImmersiveChinesewithLuyang]

Very interesting concept. Yeah, Chinese grammar is so flexible😂 and sometimes confusing.

[@deontesampson1993]

❤Thank you for taking the time out to explain everything Grace your lessons are always useful! & is it the lighting in your place or does your hair actually have red coloring in it the whole time you we're talking I couldn't help but notice it I was like wtf I dont think I got enough sleep😂 #Grace4President #NoDebate

[@jurgenrudiger]

我想提个建议，英语里是 the book， 可是中文没有定冠词。之所以写 （the) book 或光写 “book” 也许更好一些。这样学生就会慢慢习惯语法的区别。

[@maythwehtoo2176]

不好意思老师您可以教在公司里用的人力资源部的术语吗？❤️现在我遇到了困难在公司、我听不懂老板说的.

[@DimasFajar-ns4vb]

wow and peace be upon you from me

[@ssangari]

for me the word order when using adverbs is the hardest :((

[@unapersonaenyoutube1374]

I think that's why most of the adverbs are used before the verb

[@ssangari]

@@unapersonaenyoutube1374 I thought so too but they are often not used before the verb..

[@GroovesHK]

Do you love K-Pop or Chiikawa?

[@SuAmazing]

Oh, yes this is kinda of a missconception

[@PychPmp]

I asked my chinese friend about the table wiping grammar, he said only the first is right. Also noticed no university mentioned in bio???

[@GraceMandarinChinese]

Oh, I don't know how I missed that. I've just added it. From a native speaker's perspective, they might be thinking of a specific context and believe that there's only one correct way to say it. It would be better to understand these sentences in the context I provided here at 09:45

[@unapersonaenyoutube1374]

If you have enough immersion in the language, you'll see a lot of sentences that don't follow SVO pattern