Kilo Lingo

Mandarin · Chapter 3

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

4 grammar primers.

Start this chapter
Take the chapter quiz

  1. Lesson 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. Lesson 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. Lesson 3 · Grammar primer

    Verb-object verbs: 吃饭, 说话, 唱歌, 看书

    Many Mandarin verbs come paired with a generic object (吃饭 'eat-food', 说话 'speak-speech'). How the object splits off when a specific one shows up.

  4. Lesson 4 · Grammar primer

    Modal verbs: 会, 想, 要, 应该, 可以

    The five core modals: learned-ability vs likelihood, want, need, should, may. Where they sit in the sentence and how to negate each.

  5. Lesson 6 · Vocabulary

    在 or 有?

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

  6. Lesson 5 · 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 Pop this set by matching each word to its meaning.Tone Shooter Shoot these words into their tones by colour.Crossword Cross this chapter's vocabulary, clued in English.