Verb patterns
Verbs that carry their object, like 唱歌 and 跳舞; going somewhere to do something, as in 去商店买东西; asking with 请; and 喜欢 or 爱 with a verb. At Higher, doubled verbs like 看看, 给 for giving and for doing something for someone, 听说 for passing on what you heard, and 自己.
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Verb patterns, explained point by point
Everything the GCSE specification expects you to be able to do, and how to actually do it - the same lesson a signed-in student studies from.
Use a verb with its object, and know the verbs that carry their own
Most actions are a verb and an object: 我看书, 她喝茶, 他们打篮球. Some everyday verbs have their object built in: 唱歌 (sing, literally sing songs), 跳舞 (dance), 睡觉 (sleep), 上网 (go online). They need nothing after them, 我喜欢唱歌; to name what you sing, swap in your own object: 我喜欢唱中文歌。
Say not with the verb and its object
Put 不 or 没 before the verb and keep the object after it: 我不喝咖啡。 我没看电视。 The verb itself stays the same whoever does the action.
Say where you are going and why: 去, the place, then the verb
To go somewhere to do something, put the place after 去 and the purpose after the place: 我去商店买东西。 (I'm going to the shop to buy things.) 来 works the same way: 来我家玩吧！ How you travel goes before 去: 我坐公共汽车去学校。
Ask politely with 请
请 before a verb means please: 请坐。 请进。 请等一下。 请问 (may I ask) opens a polite question to a stranger: 请问，图书馆在哪儿？ 请 can also mean invite or treat: 我请你喝咖啡。 (The coffee's on me.)
Say what you like doing with 喜欢 and 爱
喜欢 (like) and 爱 (love) can go straight before another verb: 我喜欢看电影。 我爱吃饺子。 Add 最 for a favourite, 我最喜欢踢足球。, and 不 for a dislike: 我不喜欢跑步。
Double a verb to make it gentle or briefHigher only
Saying a verb twice makes it a little, a quick go: 看看 (have a look), 试试 (have a try), 休息休息 (rest a bit). A one-syllable verb can take 一 in the middle: 看一看. It softens a request: 我可以试试吗？
Use 给 for giving, and for doing something for someoneHigher only
给 on its own is give: 妈妈给我一本书。 Before a person and a verb it means to or for: 我给奶奶打电话。 (I phone my grandma.) 我给你写信。 (I'll write to you.)
Pass on what you heard with 听说 and 说Higher only
听说 means I hear that, or people say: 听说明天会下雨。 To pass on someone's words, name them and add 说: 妈妈说我应该早点儿睡觉。 (Mum says I should go to bed earlier.)
Say yourself and your own with 自己Higher only
自己 means oneself, or by oneself: 我自己做饭。 (I cook for myself.) 你自己去吧。 (Go on your own.) 自己的 is your own: 我有自己的卧室。 (I have my own bedroom.)
Verb patterns key terms
The words the specification and the mark schemes use, each defined the way an examiner wants it.
- Verb and object
- The action and the thing it is done to, in that order: 看书, 喝茶.
- Verb-object word
- A verb with its object built in, such as 唱歌, 跳舞 or 睡觉.
- 去, place, verb
- Going somewhere to do something: 去商店买东西.
- 请
- Please, before a verb: 请坐. It also means to invite or to treat someone.
- 请问
- Excuse me, may I ask: the polite way to start a question to a stranger.
- 喜欢 and 爱
- Like and love, which can go straight before another verb: 喜欢游泳.
- Doubled verbHigher only
- A verb said twice to make it gentle or brief: 看看, 试试.
- 给Higher only
- Give, or to and for before a person and a verb: 给妈妈打电话.
- 听说Higher only
- I hear that, or people say: 听说他去中国了.
- 自己Higher only
- Oneself, by oneself: 我自己做. 自己的 means your own.
Common mistakes in Verb patterns
The slips that cost marks year after year, and what to do instead.
Adding a second object to a verb-object word, as in 我唱歌中文歌.
Swap the built-in object for yours: 我唱中文歌. On its own, 唱歌 needs nothing after it.
Putting the purpose before the place, as in 我去买东西商店.
The place comes first, then what you do there: 我去商店买东西.
Putting how you travel at the end, as in 我去学校坐公共汽车.
How you travel comes before 去 and the place: 我坐公共汽车去学校.
Putting 请 at the end, as English puts please, as in 坐请.
请 always comes first, before the verb it softens: 请坐, 请等一下.
Doubling a two-syllable verb one syllable at a time, as in 休休息息.Higher only
Double the whole verb: 休息休息. Only a one-syllable verb takes 一 in the middle: 看一看.
Practice
Try a Verb patterns question
A GCSE-style original question from this topic. Have a go before you open the working - deciding on an answer first is what makes the working stick.
Read: 我叫明明。我最喜欢跳舞，也喜欢唱歌，可是我不喜欢游泳。每个星期六我去朋友家跳舞。 What does Mingming do every Saturday?
- She goes swimming with her friend.
- She goes to her friend's house to dance.
- She sings at home.
- She goes to her friend's house to sing.
Show the answer and the working
Answer: She goes to her friend's house to dance.
每个星期六我去朋友家跳舞: every Saturday I go to my friend's house to dance.
- 最喜欢跳舞: likes dancing most.
- 去朋友家跳舞: goes to a friend's to dance.
- So she dances there every Saturday.