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What is the sentence structure in Chinese and general help with Chinese language?

Like if i wanted to write "Can i order 2 lipsticks" how would it be written?

Eg:Does chinese sentence structure start with "can i" or does it start with "lipsticks order" etc-in which order are words put?

Also,why is ! used quite abit?

For example someone might write to me "Hello friend!"(the exclamation mark at the end)-is this common writing in Chinese or is it just the person thats writing to me?

Also,does Chinese have plural form?

For example if referring to many lipsticks would "lipstick" be "lipsticks" in Chinese or does it juts remain "lipstick" regardless of the quantity?

Does Chinese have words like "and"?

Any other basic stuff you can tell me regarding chinese would be appreciated too.

Thanks

3 Answers

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  • 1 decade ago
    Favourite answer

    Most of the time the sentence order is the same:

    我不要喝牛奶- I dont want to drink milk. 他去咖啡厅- He's going to the Cafe. (Here the sentence order is the same as English)

    For questions, the sentence order is not the same as English:

    他是谁?- He is who?/(Who is he?)

    你喜欢吃什么水果-you like to eat what fruit? (What fruit do you like to eat?)

    你去哪里-you are going where? (Where are you doing?)

    你怎么知道?- you how know? (How do you know?/How did you know? The sentence order for some questions are the same as English like: 你喜欢喝茶吗?- do you like to drink tea? 你平常去图书馆吗?-Do you usually go to the library?

    For your question about sentence order for buying, there are many ways to say "can" but for the situation you're asking about, "can I?" in a question is used for permission to do something and the "Can I?/May I?" part goes at the end: 我去电影院,可以吗?(wǒ qù diàn yǐng yuán, kě yǐ ma) Literally: -I go to the movies, can( I)? which is "Can I go to the movies?" and when buying things you wouldn't hear :"can I...?" you would say 我买(wǒ mǎi...)I'll buy...,我点"wǒ diǎn...".I'll order....: 请给我...(qǐng gěi wǒ...)Please give me...

    Does Chinese have plural form?

    No. Example: 香蕉(xiāng jiāo) can mean "banana" or "bananas". However, if the number is stated, it is obvious if it is singular or plural; 一个香蕉 (yí gè xiāng jiāo) - One banana.两个香蕉(liǎng gè xiāng jiāo) - Two bananas. Some words require 们 to be added to make it plural. Example: 你= you but 你们= is the plural form of you. If I wanted to greet two or more people I would say :你们好(nǐmen haǒ) instead of nǐ hǎo(only used to greet one person). 我= I... 我们=we. 他= he 他们=they (boys) 她=she 她们they (girls).

    Does Chinese have words like 'and'?

    Yes, there's actually more than one way to say 'and' in Mandarin and it depends on the sentence.

    和hé and 跟gěn are two of them. Example: 有蛋糕和冰淇淋。-There is cake and Ice cream. But in a sentence like: 我常常和我弟弟上图书馆。-I often go to the library with my younger brother. Here "and" means "with".

    Source(s): Studied Mandarin for 3 years and still going
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    In your first question, the answer is that yes, the sentence structure of that is exactly the same as english.

    ! is not used a lot...? You can use it if you want to, that is acceptable.

    Chinese do not have plural form, but what we say after the number and before the word we are pluralfying is different.

    For example, 2 pairs of umberellas is 两巴伞(liang ba san) but if you were to say 2 sheep it would be 两只羊(liang zhi yang) You're going to have to learn them if you want to perfect your chinese/

    Yes, we do have words like and. However, like the example above we use different ways of saying and at different times.

    Regarding chinese...I suggest practising talking aswell, our words are hard to pronounce.

    Learn pinyin, it helps

    Source(s): Come from China, and have been speaking it for as long as I have been alive.
  • Anonymous
    1 decade ago

    In fact Chinese is like English! It has plural form and all the form like English! Chinese has its five thousands years history. So it is a bit of complicated , if you want to learn it you must work hard!!!

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