Kilo Lingo
Mandarin grammar Part of Chapter 19

CEFR A2-B1

4 min read

Test yourself (19 questions)

There Is in Mandarin: 有, 来了一个人, 出现 and 发生

By Michael McGettrick and Wee Khang LinUpdated 12 October 2026

New things go after the verb in Mandarin; known things go before it. (zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū), there's a book on the table: the book is new, so it comes last. (nà běn shū zài zhuōzi shang), the book is on the table: we know which book, so it comes first.

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Pick the right one

0/3

有 or 在? The English says which.

  1. 桌子上一本书。 (There's a book on the table.)

    zhuō zi shàng ___ yì běn shū 。 (There's a book on the table.)

  2. 那本书桌子上。 (The book is on the table.)

    nà běn shū ___ zhuō zi shàng 。 (The book is on the table.)

  3. 房间里两个人。 (There are two people in the room.)

    fáng jiān lǐ ___ liǎng gè rén 。 (There are two people in the room.)

The whole system on one screen

The colours stay the same all page long:

something new (after the verb)something known (before the verb)What do the colours mean?
HanziPinyinEnglish
。Zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū.There's a book on the table
。Ménkǒu zhàn zhe liǎng ge rén.Two people are standing at the door
。Lái le yí ge rén.Someone's come
。Chūxiàn le yí ge wèntí.A problem has come up
。Wǒ de péngyou lái le.My friend's here
Place or time
Verb
Something new
empty

The new thing usually carries a number and a measure word, (yì běn) or (liǎng ge): that is what marks it as new.

There is: place + 有 (yǒu) + something new

something new (after the verb)something known (before the verb)What do the colours mean?

Start with the place, then (yǒu), then the new thing:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū.There's a book on the table
。Fángjiān li yǒu liǎng ge rén.There are two people in the room
。Zhèr yǒu yí ge wèntí.There's a problem here
。Nà běn shū zài zhuōzi shang.The book is on the table
Six small panels with a grey cat and a yellow box: the cat sits on the box; the cat sits under the box, which stands on legs like a little table; the cat pokes its head out of the open box; the cat sits beside the box; the cat peeks over the top from behind the box with its tail sticking out; the cat sits in front of the box.

箱子上有一只猫 (xiāngzi shang yǒu yì zhī māo): there's a cat on the box. 箱子下面有一只猫 (xiāngzi xiàmian yǒu yì zhī māo): there's a cat under the box. 箱子里有一只猫 (xiāngzi li yǒu yì zhī māo): there's a cat in the box.

The last row is the other side of the coin: a book we both know takes (zài) and goes first. More on the two on location and existence.

Setting a scene: place + verb + 着 (zhe) + something new

something new (after the verb)something known (before the verb)What do the colours mean?

Swap (yǒu) for a verb with (zhe) and you also say how the thing is there: standing, hanging, lying.

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Ménkǒu zhàn zhe liǎng ge rén.Two people are standing at the door
。Qiáng shang guà zhe yì fú huà.There's a painting on the wall
。Chuáng shang tǎng zhe yì zhī māo.There's a cat lying on the bed
。Zhuōzi shang fàng zhe hěn duō shū.There are lots of books on the table

This is how stories set a scene. The verb and its (zhe) are on the particle 着.

Someone arrives: 来了一个人 (lái le yí ge rén)

something new (after the verb)something known (before the verb)What do the colours mean?

With (lái), (zǒu) and other comings and goings, someone new goes after the verb, usually with (le). Someone known goes first:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Lái le yí ge rén.Someone's come
。Jiā li lái le kèrén.We've got visitors
。Qiánmian kāi guòlái yí liàng chē.A car's coming towards us up ahead
。Kèrén lái le.The guests are here
。Wǒ de péngyou lái le.My friend's here

(jiā li lái le kèrén) is news: visitors have turned up. (kèrén lái le) is the guests you were expecting.

To put the newcomer at the start, open with (yǒu): (yǒu yí ge rén lái le), someone came. A bare (yí ge rén) at the very start tends to be heard as "one person" or "alone": (tā yí ge rén lái le) is he came on his own.

Appear and happen: 出现 (chūxiàn) and 发生 (fāshēng)

something new (after the verb)something known (before the verb)What do the colours mean?

(chūxiàn) is a person, a thing or a problem coming into view. (fāshēng) is an event taking place. Whatever is new goes after them:

HanziPinyinEnglish
。Chūxiàn le yí ge wèntí.A problem has come up
？Fāshēng le shénme shì?What happened?
。Zuótiān fāshēng le yí jiàn dà shì.Something big happened yesterday
。Zhè jiàn shì fāshēng zài qùnián.This happened last year
。Tā tūrán chūxiàn le.He suddenly appeared

The last two rows start with something known, this business and him, so it goes first.

For "what happened?", (yǒu) will not do: ？ (yǒu shénme shì?) asks what someone wants, "what is it?". The everyday short ways to ask what happened are ？ (zěnme le?) and ？ (chū shénme shì le?).

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
。。in a scene, the new thing goes last
。。for "the book is on the table": a known thing takes (zài)
。。for "my friend's here": someone known goes first
？？for "what happened?": (yǒu shénme shì) asks what someone wants

What to do next

  1. Do the drill below.
  2. Describe a room you know: … (fángjiān li yǒu…), … (qiáng shang guà zhe…).
  3. Then compare (zài) and (yǒu) on location and existence.

Practise: test yourself

Sort into groups

0/6

Is the person or thing new to the listener, or already known?

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Pick the right one

0/4

有 or 在? The English says which.

  1. 桌子上一本书。 (There's a book on the table.)

    zhuō zi shàng ___ yì běn shū 。 (There's a book on the table.)

  2. 那本书桌子上。 (The book is on the table.)

    nà běn shū ___ zhuō zi shàng 。 (The book is on the table.)

  3. 房间里两个人。 (There are two people in the room.)

    fáng jiān lǐ ___ liǎng gè rén 。 (There are two people in the room.)

  4. 我的手机哪儿？ (Where's my phone?)

    wǒ de shǒu jī ___ nǎ ér ？ (Where's my phone?)

Complete the story

0/5

Choose the word for each gap.

Back in my room

我走进房间。桌子上一本书，床上着一只猫。我的手机哪儿？桌子下面。这时候，门口来一个人。

Gap 1 of 5

Spot the mistake

0/2

Each sentence has one mistake. Tap it.

  1. chuáng shàng yì zhī māo tǎng zhe 。

  2. mén kǒu zhàn liǎng gè rén zhe 。

Put the words in order

0/2

Put the words in order.

  1. Two people are standing at the door.

    Your sentence is empty.

  2. Something happened yesterday.

    Your sentence is empty.

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Frequently asked questions

How do you say 'there is' or 'there are' in Mandarin?
Place + (yǒu) + thing: (zhuōzi shang yǒu yì běn shū), there's a book on the table; (fángjiān li yǒu liǎng ge rén), there are two people in the room. The place comes first and the new thing last.
Why does Mandarin say (lái le yí ge rén)?
Because someone new goes after the verb: , someone's come. Someone you already know goes first: (wǒ de péngyou lái le), my friend's here. To start the sentence with the newcomer, put (yǒu) first: (yǒu yí ge rén lái le).
What is the difference between (chūxiàn) and (fāshēng)?
(chūxiàn) is appear or come up, for a person, a thing or a problem: (chūxiàn le yí ge wèntí), a problem has come up. (fāshēng) is happen, for an event: ？ (fāshēng le shénme shì?), what happened?
Is the same as ?
No. ？ (yǒu shénme shì?) asks what someone wants: what is it, can I help? ？ (fāshēng le shénme shì?) asks what happened. ？ (zěnme le?), what's up?, is the everyday short form of the second.
What is the difference between (yǒu) and (zài) for location?
(yǒu) brings in something new at a place: , there's a book on the table. (zài) says where a known thing is: (nà běn shū zài zhuōzi shang), the book is on the table. New thing last, known thing first.