Useful Sentences - Grammar

Useful Sentences

1) A sentence is a group of words.
Juzi* Shi you Yi chuN weNZi.
or
YI Ju Hua Shi yoU YI XIE cI suo ZaochenG de*. ["A sentence is composed of a number of words."]
(Both REA (Resident expert approved))

2) Juzi* you baohaN zhucI GEN DongcI
or
mei Ju Hua YINGGAI you zhucI hE DongcI ["Each sentence should have a subject and a verb"]
(Both REA)

3) It expresses a complete idea.
Juzi* biaodA waNquaN de* shangfa
or
YI Ju Hua biaoShi YI ge* waNzheng de Niantou* [A sentence expresses a complete idea]
(REA)

4) In short answers and commands the subject and/or verb may be assumed based on the context.
Zhu3ci2 gen dong4ci2 chang2chang2, GENJu shangXiaweN Bei (TebiE Zai MingLing gen1 duan de* huIdA) jia3she4.

zhucI Huo DongcI kenenG Shi yinXing de*, Bu biaodA CHUlaI. [Subject or verb can be implied, not expressed.]

(NEITHER EXACTLY REA APPROVED - SORRY)

5) YI Ju Hua HouMian Yao Fang JuHao, JING haIShi WenHao. [At the end you must put a period, exclamation mark, or question mark.]

6) A phrase is a group of words.
Pianyu Shi you Yi chuN weNZi.

7) It doesn't have a subject. It doesn't have a verb.
Pianyu meiyoU baohaN zhucI GEN DongcI

8) A phrase functions as one part of speech.
Pianyu GONGnenG Shi Bei Yong laI DANG chenG gEzhongcILei de* qIZHONG zhiYI

9) The short answer to a "who" or "what' question is often a noun phrase.
Shei2 gen1 shen2me5 wen4ti2 de5 duan3 de5 hui2da2 chang2chang2 shi4 yi1 ge5 ming2ci2 pian4yu4.
or
Yao jianduan di* huIdA Wen "sheI" Huo "sheNme*" de YI Ju Hua, pinGchanG Yao Yong minGzi* Pianyu huIdA.

10) 2) The short answer to a "where" or "when" question is often a prepositional phrase.
Zai4 na3li3 gen1 shen2me5 shi2hou5 wen4ti2 de5 duan3 de5 hui2da2 chang2chang2 shi4 yi1 ge5 jie4xi4ci2 de pian4yu3.
or
Yao jianDuan di* huIdA Wen "na li" Huo "sheNme* shIHou" de* YI Ju Hua, pinGchanG Yong JiacI Pianyu （介词片语）．

11) The short answer to a why (for what purpose) question is often an infinitive phrase.
Wei4shen2me5 (shen2me5 mu4di4) wen4ti2 de5 duan3 de5 hui2da2 chang2chang2 shi4 yi1ge5 bu4ding4ci2 de5 pian4yu3.
or
Yao jianDuan di* huIdA Wen "WeisheNme*" (weIhE) de* YI Ju Hua, pinGchanG Yao Yong BuDingcI Pianyu. (动名词片语）．


12)The answer to a "how" (by what means) question is often a by + gerund phrase.
Zen3me5 (yong4 shen2me5 fang1fa2) wen4ti2 de5 duan3 de hui2 da2 chang2chang2 shi4 "by" + dong4ming2ci2.
or
Yao huIdA Wen "rU hE" de* YI Ju Hua, pinGchanG Yong "by" JIA DongminGcI

13) To make yes/no questions you take the first word of the verb phrase and put it at the beginning of the sentence.
Ba3 yi1 ge5 cun2xu4shou1ming2 gai3wei2 yes/no (ma5/shi4 bu2 shi4/ dui4 bu2 dui4/ yao4 bu2 yao4 etc.) de5 yi2wen4ju4 ba3 (cong dong4ci2
pian4yu3) di4-yi1 ge5 zhu3 dong4ci2 fang4 zai4 ju4zi5 qian2mian4.
or
Yao Wen Shifou WentI, zhi Yao ba DongcI Pianyu de* DiYI ge* cI FangZai Na Ju Hua Zui qiaNMian.

14)Infinitive phrases function as noun or adverb phrases.
Bu4ding4ci2 de5 pian4yu3 gong1neng2 shi4 ming2ci2 pian4yu3 hai2shi2 fu4ci2 pian4yu3.
or
bUDing (cI) Pianyu keyi DANG minGcI Pianyu Huo FuminGcI Pianyu.