Grammar foundations: questions, negation and sentence patterns
Ask useful questions, negate the right part of a sentence and recognise the syllabus's common focus and result patterns.
Section GRAMMAR-3 · Grammar · sentences, negation and Part 2 structures
Exam scope and assessment notes
This is an original StudyForA starter sequence, not the approximately 130 guided learning hours Cambridge uses as a planning guide. A qualified Mandarin teacher still needs to check every Chinese sentence, character form, vocabulary choice, register and pronunciation cue. The complete 2025–2027 and 2028–2030 vocabulary lists have not yet been reconciled word by word. Browser speech synthesis is variable practice audio, not Cambridge recordings. Speaking rehearsal and written self-checks do not award Cambridge marks; the centre conducts, marks and records Paper 3 and Cambridge moderates it. No full-length timed mock papers are included. All Chinese examples and practice prompts are original StudyForA material, not copied Cambridge assessment content.
Before you begin
Work on paper. Try each question before revealing help, and explain why your method works.
Quick readiness check
Which sentence says that the room was cleaned by the students?
What you will learn
- Part 1 sentence forms A–G: declaratives; negative statements; interrogatives; particle 了; topic-comment; 是……的; position and location
- Part 2 verbs and adverbs: 着; compound directional and potential complements; manner with 地
- Part 2 sentence patterns: 把, 被 and 让/使
- Maintain clear meaning, word order and question-response links
Ask the question the text can answer
Mandarin yes/no questions may use «吗», «是不是» or a verb-not-verb pattern such as «你去不去？». Information questions use words such as «谁», «哪里», «什么时候», «为什么» and «怎么样»; keep the question word in its natural position.
Negation depends on meaning: «不» often negates a general or future action; «没(有)» often says an event did not happen or something is absent. «不是» negates identity. Do not mechanically swap them.
Notice what the sentence foregrounds
A topic-comment sentence begins with what the speaker is discussing: «这本书，我已经看过了». «是……的» can highlight circumstances of a past event. «把» puts an affected object before the verb; «被» marks a passive event.
«着» can describe a continuing state; «得» may introduce ability or degree depending on construction. «让/使» expresses causing or allowing. These patterns need a full clause, not a word-for-word English translation.
Sources for this lesson
- Cambridge IGCSE Mandarin Chinese Foreign Language 0547 subject page
- 0547 syllabus for exams in 2025–2027
- 0547 syllabus, version 2, for exams in 2028–2030
- 0547 2028–2030 syllabus update
- 0547 vocabulary list for 2028
- 0547 specimen Paper 1 mark scheme for exams from 2028
- Cambridge guidance on simplified and traditional responses
Pause and explain
What does «他是昨天到的» emphasise?
Worked example
Choose the best response to «你为什么没有参加比赛？» and explain: A «因为我昨天生病了。» B «我会参加比赛。»
Show the worked solution
- Identify the question word «为什么».
- Look for a reason, not a future intention.
- Check whether the chosen answer matches the past negative «没有参加».
Answer A is the best response: it gives a reason for not taking part. B says 'I will take part' and does not answer why the speaker did not participate.
From guided practice to a new situation
Write your answer and reasoning first. Use a hint only if you are stuck. The model solution is for self-checking; your written work is not automatically marked.
Turn «你去学校» into (1) a yes/no question with 吗, (2) a verb-not-verb question and (3) a question asking when.
Give me a hint
Keep the main verb and put the time question in the sentence naturally.
Compare my reasoning
- Add «吗» at the end.
- Use «去不去» for the alternative form.
- Replace the unknown time with «什么时候».
«你去学校吗？»; «你去不去学校？»; «你什么时候去学校？» The first two ask whether; the third asks for a time.
Look for these in your work
- Forms all three questions
- Preserves the action
- Matches each question form to its purpose
Explain the difference between «我明天不去» and «我昨天没去».
Give me a hint
Use the time marker and negation together.
Compare my reasoning
- Read «明天» and «昨天».
- Match 不 with the future plan and 没 with the non-occurring past action.
- Translate without saying the verbs change form.
«我明天不去» means I will not go tomorrow. «我昨天没去» means I did not go yesterday. The time phrase and negator together establish the contrast.
Look for these in your work
- Identifies the time contrast
- Interprets the negation
- Does not infer a reason
A school wants to say 'Please put the books on the table; the room is being prepared for the event.' Write one sentence using 把 and one using 着 or a natural state description.
Give me a hint
Use 把 before the affected object and keep the action result clear.
Compare my reasoning
- Name the object after 把.
- Put the action after the object.
- Describe the resulting state without claiming a finished event if it is ongoing.
Example: «请把书放在桌子上。房间里摆着椅子，正在准备活动。» The first sentence directs an action on the books; the second describes chairs in a continuing arranged state and preparation in progress.
Look for these in your work
- Uses 把 with a specific object
- Uses a natural continuing-state phrase
- Distinguishes an instruction from a completed result
Common mistakes
- Answering «为什么» with an unrelated time
- Using «不» where the sentence means a past action did not occur
- Treating «把» and «被» as interchangeable word order
What can you explain now?
Which question asks for a reason?
Compare with the explanation
你为什么不坐公共汽车？
«为什么» means why and calls for a reason.
After trying it yourself, choose your next review. This is your self-assessment.
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Make it stick
Before leaving grammar foundations: questions, negation and sentence patterns, explain one idea from memory, answer the checkpoint and name one syllabus detail you still need to practise.
If you needed the solution, close it and solve the problem again from a blank page. A correct answer is stronger when you can explain the reason for each step.