Writing (书写)
Writing (书写) is the third HSK 4 domain. It contains controlled production tasks: 完成句子, where you arrange given words or phrases into a grammatical sentence, and 看图用词造句, where you write one sentence using a supplied word and the content of a picture. Accuracy of word order, particles and measure words matters far more than length or literary style.
Core rules
- Find the main verb first, then place the subject before it. A time phrase goes after the subject and before the verb; a place or manner phrase also goes before the verb.
- Keep modifiers before the noun they modify, with 的 where needed: 我昨天买的那本书.
- Use 了 for a completed action, 过 for experience and 着 for a continuing state. Do not scatter them randomly.
- In 把 and 被 sentences, the object moves before the verb, and the verb needs a complement or 了: 他把作业写完了.
- Match measure words: 两本书, 三个人, 一条裤子, 一辆车. A missing or wrong measure word is a direct deduction.
Worked example
Words: 我 / 昨天 / 在图书馆 / 借 / 两本 / 书 Answer: 我昨天在图书馆借了两本书。 Reasoning: 我 is the subject; 昨天 is the time phrase and follows the subject; 在图书馆 is the place phrase and precedes the verb; 借了 marks the completed action; 两本书 is quantity + measure word + noun. Placing the place phrase after the object, as in 我昨天借两本书在图书馆, is ungrammatical in Chinese.
Traps
The biggest loss comes from adding words that were not given in 完成句子. Use only the supplied items, and do not change their order arbitrarily. In picture sentences, students often write a correct sentence but forget the required word, or use it with the wrong part of speech. Check punctuation: the answer needs a full stop or question mark, not pinyin, and not a string of clauses joined by commas.