Chinese Verbs

In this article, we will discuss the features of Chinese verbs. Verbs in Chinese, like in English, can be divided into three major categories: the verb 是 shì meaning “to be,” the verb 有 yǒu meaning “to have,” and a broad set of verbs that can be loosely referred to as action verbs.

* Some teachers may argue for four categories, as they count Chinese adjectives as stative verbs.

The verb does not change by the tense

A feature common to all verbs in Chinese is that they do not conjugate for tense. The time of the action specified by the verb is usually indicated by placing a time expression before the verb or at the beginning of the sentence. Let’s take a look at some examples:

吃 chī verb to eat

我wǒ昨天zuótiān吃飯chīfàn我wǒ昨天zuótiān吃饭chīfàn
I ate rice yesterday.

我wǒ現在xiànzài吃飯chīfàn我wǒ现在xiànzài吃饭chīfàn
I am eating rice now.

我wǒ明天míngtiān要yào吃飯chīfàn我wǒ明天míngtiān要yào吃饭chīfàn
I will eat rice tomorrow.

However, Chinese verbs do have aspect markers to show whether the action has been completed, is ongoing, or is part of a past experience. These markers include 了 le, 過过 guò, or 著着 zhe as a suffix to the verb, or 在 zài directly before the verb. Action verbs without aspect markers usually express habitual action or intention.

The verb 是 shì (to be)

是 shì is for linking two equal nouns or noun phrases.

我wǒ是shìTiffany 我wǒ是shìTiffany
I am Tiffany

妹妹mèimei是shì一位yíwèi老師lǎoshī妹妹mèimei是shì一位yíwèi老师lǎoshī
My sister is a teacher.

這zhè是shì一家yìjiā咖啡kāfēi店diàn这zhè是shì一家yìjiā咖啡kāfēi店diàn
This is a coffee shop.

If you want to link it with a description, you usually need a 的 de to go with it. This 的 de can make the entire description into a noun.

地球dìqiú是shì圓yuán的de地球dìqiú是shì圆yuán的de
Earth is round.

我的wǒde褲子kùzi是shì髒zāng的de我的wǒde裤子kùzi是shì脏zāng的de
My pants are dirty.

Note: If you want to provide more details, such as how dirty something is, you must use stative verbs.

Negation – Always use 不

這zhè不是búshì一家yìjiā咖啡kāfēi店diàn这zhè不是búshì一家yìjiā咖啡kāfēi店diàn
This is not a coffee shop.

我的wǒde褲子kùzi不是búshì髒zāng的de我的wǒde裤子kùzi不是búshì脏zāng的de
My pants are dirty.

Verbs similar to 是 shì – 叫, 姓, 像

我的wǒde狗gǒu像xiàng貓māo我的wǒde狗gǒu像xiàng猫māo
My dog is like a cat.

老師lǎoshī姓xìng張zhāng老师lǎoshī姓xìng张zhāng
Lǎoshī xìng Zhāng.
The teacher’s family name is Zhang.

他tā叫jiàoAndrew 他tā叫jiàoAndrew
He is called Andrew.

The verb 有 yǒu (to have)

Indicating possession

我wǒ有yǒu一隻yìzhī狗gǒu我wǒ有yǒu一只yìzhī狗gǒu
I have a dog.

我家wǒjiā有yǒu五間wǔjiān房間fángjiān我家wǒjiā有yǒu五间wǔjiān房间fángjiān
My house has five rooms.

To negate it, always use 沒没 méi. If the number is zero, there’s no need to say “one” in Chinese.

我wǒ沒有méiyǒu一隻yìzhī狗gǒu我wǒ没有méiyǒu一只yìzhī狗gǒu ❌
I don’t have a dog.

我wǒ沒有méiyǒu狗gǒu我wǒ没有méiyǒu狗gǒu
I don’t have a dog.

我家wǒjiā沒有méiyǒu五間wǔjiān房間fángjiān我家wǒjiā没有méiyǒu五间wǔjiān房间fángjiān
My house does not have five rooms.

Indicating change or development

你的nǐde中文zhōngwén有yǒu很hěn大dà的de進步jìnbù你的nǐde中文zhōngwén有yǒu很hěn大dà的de进步jìnbù
You have made great progress in Chinese.

最近zuìjìn大家dàjiā的de生活shēnghuó都dū有yǒu不一樣bùyíyàng的de變化biànhuà最近zuìjìn大家dàjiā的de生活shēnghuó都dū有yǒu不一样bùyíyáng的de变化biànhuà
Recently, everyone’s life has changed in a different way.

Forming idiomatic expressions

有名 yǒumíng (famous), 有意思 yǒuyìsi (interesting), 有錢有钱 yǒuqián (rich), 有空 yǒukòng (free time), 有禮貌有礼貌 yǒulǐmào (polite), etc.

有名yǒumíng有錢yǒuqián的de人rén常常chángcháng沒有méiyǒu空kōng有名yǒumíng有钱yǒuqián的de人rén常常chángcháng没有méiyǒu空kōng
Famous and rich people often do not have time.

他tā真是zhēnshì一個yíge有yǒu禮貌lǐmào的de孩子háizi他tā真是zhēnshì一个yíge有yǒu礼貌lǐmào的de孩子háizi
He is such a polite boy.

Introducing adjectival predicates

這zhè座zuò山shān有yǒu三千sānqiān米mǐ高gāo这zhèi座zuò山shān有yǒu三千sānqiān米mǐ高gāo
This mountain is 3,000 meters high.

他家tājiā有yǒu一個yíge公園gōngyuán那麼nàme大dà他家tājiā有yǒu一个yíge公园gōngyuán那么nàme大dà
His house is as big as a park.

When followed by 多 duō (how) and an adjective, it is used to express questions about age, distance, size, etc.

這zhè座zuò山shān有yǒu多duō高gāo？ 这zhèi座zuò山shān有yǒu多duō高gāo？
How high is this mountain?

你家nǐjiā有yǒu多duō大dà？ 你家nǐjiā有yǒu多duō大dà？
How big is your house?