Mandarin Chinese Grammar for Pimsleur Students/Non-adjectival stative verbs

Non-adjectival stative verbs Linking verbs The most common use of 是 is the copula, which connects nouns, noun phrases, and/or pronouns. 是 functions as a verb, and like all other Chinese verbs, is not conjugated for person, number, or tense. 是 shì to be 她是中国人 ◦ tā shì Zhōngguó rén. She is Chinese. 是在北京 ◦ shì zài Běijīng. It's in Beijing. 不是在北京 ◦ bù shì zài Běijīng. It's not in Bejing.不是现在 ◦ bù shì xiàn zài (it is) not now 是八点钟 ◦ shìbā diăn zhōng (it is) at eight o'clock 钱是给你的 ◦ qián shì gěi nĭ de. The money is for you. 三加三是多少 ? sān jiā sān shì duōshăo? How much is three plus three? 哪条是学院路 ? nă tiáo shì Xuéyuàn lù? Which one (which road) is College road? Another very important verb is 有, which means "to have." To negate any verb, including adjectival stative verbs, the negation particle 不 is placed before the verb. 有 is the only exception; it is negated with 没 instead of 不. 有 yŏu to have 他有百美金 ◦ tā yŏu băi měi jīn. He has 100 dollars.她没有时间 ◦ tā méi yŏu shíjiān. She doesn’t have time.他家里有六个人 ◦ tā jiālĭ yŏu liù gè rén. There are six people in his family. At this point it essential to note that 有 (yŏu) and 是 (shì) are not interchangeable, even in negative form. Positive Negative 是 (shì: is) 不是 (Bùshì: is not) 有 (yŏu: have) 没有 (Méiyǒu: not have) 没有 is interchangeable with 没 except in the question word 有没有 ("have-not-have"), which means "do(es) X have," where X is any noun or pronoun. Verbs of ability, possibility, and permission Overview 会 huì can (know how to) 可以 kěyĭ can (have the permission/opportunity to) Syntax 我不会说国语 ◦ wŏ bù huì shuō guó yŭ. I can not speak Mandarin.他们可以去美国 ◦ tāmen kěyĭ qù měiguó. They can go to America. 你可不可以买一点儿啤酒 ? nĭ kě bù kěyĭ măi yìdiăn'r píjĭu? Can you buy some beer? Others 明白 míng bai to understand 我不明白你说什么 ◦ wŏ bù míng bai nĭ shuō shénme. I don't understand what you are saying. 想 xiăng to want 我想吃一点儿东西 ◦ wŏ xiăng chī yìdiăn'r dōngxi. I would like to eat something. 要 yào to want, will (see also: Future tense) 你要不要 ? nĭ yào bù yào? Do you want? 知道 zhī dào to know 他不知道 ◦ tā bù zhī dào. He doesn't know. 你知道长安街在哪儿吗 ? nĭ zhī dào Cháng Ān jiē zài nǎr ma? Do you know where Long Peace Street is located?