Grammar and Vocabulary
Grammar and Vocabulary tests control of Mandarin sentence structure, aspect, particles, complements, measure words, and vocabulary choice. Questions often turn on one small function word; the rest of the sentence supplies the constraint.
Aspect and particles
- 了 marks a completed action or a change of state: 我吃了饭; 下雨了.
- 过 marks experience: 我去过北京.
- 着 marks a continuing state: 门开着.
- 正在 or 在 marks progressive aspect: 他正在打电话.
- 的 precedes nouns or possessors; 得 follows a verb before a degree complement; 地 precedes a verb as an adverbial marker.
Complements and structures
- Result complements: 看懂, 做完, 找到. Potential forms: 看得懂 / 看不懂.
- Directional complements: 起来, 下去, 出来. 把 sentence: 我把书放在桌子上. 被 passive: 书被他拿走了.
- Measure words: 个 general; 只 animals or one of a pair; 条 long things; 张 flat things; 本 books; 辆 vehicles; 台 machines; 双 pairs; 对 couples.
不 vs 没
- 不 negates habit, volition, future, and adjectives: 我不喝酒.
- 没 negates completed action and 有: 我昨天没喝酒; 我没有钱.
Worked example
“他昨天____三本书，现在还要再买一本。” Options: 买了 / 买过 / 买着. Answer: 买了. Reasoning: 昨天, the specific quantity 三本, and the present result 还要再买一本 point to a completed purchase, not experience. 买过 would describe having bought books at some time; 买着 is not the normal result here.
Traps
- Overusing 了 in negatives: 没买, not 没买了.
- Mixing 的/得/地 in writing.
- 把 needs a definite object and a result or direction complement.
- Measure-word errors and 二/两 confusion.