Kilo Lingo

Mandarin · Chapter 3

The copula 是 (shì): to be, and when not to use it

10 grammar primers, 1 story milestone.

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  1. Grammar primer

    The copula 是 (shì): to be, and when not to use it

    How 是 works as 'is/am/are' between two nouns, why you must NOT use it before an adjective, and the negative form with 不是.

  2. Grammar primer

    Possession with 有 (yǒu): to have

    Positive and negative ('I have', 'I do not have'). The hard rule: 有 is negated with 没, never with 不.

  3. Grammar primer

    How Chinese characters work: radicals

    Most characters are a meaning part plus a sound part. Spot 亻, 女, 口, 氵 and 讠, and the characters you already know stop being pictures and start being sums.

  4. Grammar primer

    Sound parts: the half that hints at the sound

    吗 is a mouth plus 马 (mǎ) for the sound; 吧 and 把 share 巴 (bā). The sound part gives you the syllable, roughly, and often not the tone.

  5. Grammar primer

    在 or 有: where it is, and what is there

    Thing 在 place says where something is: 书在桌子上. Place 有 thing says what is there: 桌子上有一本书. The negatives are 不在 and 没有.

  6. Grammar primer

    Where exactly: 上, 下, 里 and the position words

    A table is a thing, not a place: 桌子上 (on the table), 桌子下 (under it), 冰箱里 (in the fridge). The position word goes after the noun, and 桌子上的书 is the book on the table.

  7. Grammar primer

    Modal verbs: 想 and 要, would like and want

    A modal sits straight before the verb and never changes: 我想去. 想 (xiǎng) is would like, 要 (yào) is want or I'll have, and I don't want to is 不想, because 不要 means don't!

  8. Grammar primer

    Three kinds of can: 会, 能 and 可以

    Did you learn it, is anything stopping you, are you allowed? 会 (huì), 能 (néng) and 可以 (kěyǐ) are three different questions that English asks with one can.

  9. Grammar primer

    Should, must and needn't: 应该, 得, 必须 and 不用

    应该 (yīnggāi) is should, 得 (děi) and 必须 (bìxū) are must, and the opposite of must is 不用 (búyòng), needn't. 不必须 is not Mandarin.

  10. Grammar primer

    Um, and then, actually: Chinese filler words

    The small words of spoken Mandarin: 那个 and 嗯 buy time, 然后 keeps a story going, 其实 puts it right, and 好啊 is a keener yes than 好吧.

  11. Common mistake

    在 or 有?

    Both turn up when you say where something is, and they are not interchangeable.

  12. Conversation

    Lao Chen's fridge

    Ten lines with Lao Chen downstairs, whose fridge has everything.

  13. Read a story

    Story: 孙老师说可以

    Two teachers' notes on one sheet: where things are, what there is, and who said what could happen. Three new words are listed at the top.

  14. Arcade review

    Arcade review

    Replay this chapter's words as games - a different kind of repetition, and it counts.

Play this chapter's words

Word Bubbles Plus featurePop this set by matching each word to its meaning.Tone Shooter Plus featureShoot these words into their tones by colour.Word Search Plus featureFind these words hidden in a grid of characters, clued in English.Crossword Plus featureCross this chapter's vocabulary, clued in English.
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This chapter ends in a story you can read

New words a few at a time, a grammar article and drill where you need it, games on the same words, and a graded story to finish. Chapters 1 and 2 are free.

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