Chinese Verbs: A Guide to the Grammar of Common Chinese Verbs

Great news if you are going to learn Chinese verbs! Compared to English grammar, Chinese verbs are rather "minimalist"—no conjugation, no tense changes, and no irregular forms to memorize. However, in order to convey messages without the verb change, you need to learn some specific words that hold the key to expressing time, mood, and subtle nuances. Don't be nervous. It's definitely easier than memorizing a whole chart of English verb forms!

No conjugation: Chinese verbs do not change forms

For learners weary of memorizing endless verb tables, there is no verb in Chinese requiring the change of forms. A single verb form is used universally, regardless of who is performing the action or when it occurs. There are no suffixes to change for "I," "you," or "he," and no complex rules for past, present, or future tense. The verb (chī)吃 (to eat), for instance, remains perfectly unchanged whether you say "I eat," "she eats," or "they ate."

This foundational rule means that from your very first lesson, you can correctly use any verb you learn with any subject. The sentence structure "Subject + Verb" is instantly powerful and universally applicable. You can confidently state (I study), (you study), and (he studies) without a second thought. On the other hand, to let these phrases make sense, you still need to add other words to make your meaning unambiguous.

How to express past, present, and future: 在 (zài), 会 (huì), and other indicators

In Chinese grammar, the verb itself never changes to show tense. Instead, time is indicated through a powerful combination of context, specific time words, and grammatical particles. You simply tell people when something happened, and the verb remains constant.

The past

To talk about the past, the most important tool is the particle . Placed directly after the verb, it indicates that an action is completed. For instance, (I watched a movie yesterday). Notice how the time word (yesterday) clarifies the specific past time, while emphasizes the completion of the action "watch."

There are more past time indicators such as:

The present

For the present, often no marker is needed if the time is clear or habitual, unless it is the present progressive tense.

For normal present tense, the sentences use time words like (every day) to express a routine present action. For example:

I drink tea every day.

For the present progressive tense, you need to add before the verb to indicate that the action is still ongoing. For example:

I'm thinking when to go home.

The future

Expressing the future is typically achieved by using the modal verb , which means "will" or "am going to." It is placed before the main verb. Yet, the sentence can still convey the future tense without , as long as there is a word indicating a future timeline. For example:

Tomorrow I will go to the bookstore.

Other indicating words of future time are:

How to learn Chinese modal verbs: 能 (néng), 可以 (kě yǐ), 要 (yào), 应该 (yīng gāi), 必须 (bì xū)

Mandarin Chinese language uses a powerful set of helper words called modal verbs to express a wide range of meanings like ability, permission, obligation, and desire. These modals are the key to moving beyond simple statements of fact ("I eat") to expressing your capabilities, needs, and intentions ("I can eat," "I should eat," "I want to eat"). The modal verb is always placed directly before the main action verb in a simple "Subject + Modal + Main Verb" structure.

The specific meaning changes entirely based on which modal verb you choose. Here are the most essential ones you need to know:

Learn the most common Chinese verbs in sentences with Migaku

It is not easy to gather and memorize the essential Chinese verbs, and it is even more difficult to remember to review each and every one of them according to the forgetting curve! That's when Migaku app can step in to assist if you want to learn common verbs in Chinese and expand your Chinese vocabulary! When using Migaku app, you can:

FAQs

Time to collect the essential Chinese verbs!

As a crucial part of the vocabulary system in Chinese, it takes day-to-day effort to build up your verb phrase reservoir. And one day, you will understand that when the hero says: "", the verb cannot be taken as "think", but "miss".

10 words a day keeps laziness away!