Chinese (中文) — The concept of sentence components and parts of speech (문장 성분과 품사의 개념)
Chinese is an isolating language in which verbs and adjectives do not change at all according to tense or person, and it has a 12-part-of-speech system. Between a number and a noun, a classifier (量詞) is required, and a characteristic feature is that adjectives directly fill the predicate position without 是.
The concept of the 12 parts of speech and example sentences
Nouns and verbs do not undergo form changes, and instead of tense, completion, experience, and continuation of an action are marked with the particles 了/過/著. Adjectives (漂亮的, 很漂亮) become predicates by themselves together with the degree adverb 很. Between a numeral and a noun, a classifier (a distinct part of speech) is always required, and it is a characteristic of Chinese that onomatopoeia (擬聲詞) is recognized as a separate part of speech.
| Part of speech | Explanation | Chinese examples |
|---|---|---|
| 名詞 (noun) | Names of people, things, and places | 車, 貓 |
| 動詞 (verb) | Action or act; no form changes | 踢了, 覺得 |
| 形容詞 (adjective) | Modifies a noun, or directly becomes a predicate together with the degree adverb 很 | 漂亮的, 很漂亮 |
| 數詞 (numeral) | A word that indicates quantity or order | 一, 第一 |
| 量詞 (classifier, unique to Chinese) | An obligatory unit word between a numeral and a noun | 本, 杯 |
| 代詞 (pronoun) | Stands in for nouns, numerals, classifiers, etc. | 他, 大家 |
| 副詞 (adverb) | Modifies verbs, adjectives, and adverbs | 非常, 從不 |
| 介詞 (preposition / coverb) | Time, place, or direction before a noun (prepositional phrases often come before the verb) | 在, 為 |
| 連詞 (conjunction) | Connects words, phrases, and clauses | 和, 雖然 |
| 助詞 (particle) | A grammatical marker that indicates tense, structure, etc. | 了, 的 |
| 嘆詞 (interjection) | Surprise, feeling, calling, or answering | 哎呀, 噓 |
| 擬聲詞 (onomatopoeia, unique to Chinese) | A word that imitates sound | 嘩啦, 汪汪 |
Noun
1. 湯姆正在開車。
2. 貓在花園裡。
3. 我們去首爾吧。
Pronoun
4. 湯姆喝了他買的大部分果汁。
5. 他的計劃聽起來和我的一樣令人興奮。
6. 任何人來參加聚會都會受到歡迎。
Verb
7. 我們踢了足球。
8. 湯姆很累。
9. 我覺得不舒服。
Adjective
10. 看那個漂亮的女孩。
11. 南很漂亮。
Adverb
12. 湯姆跑得非常快。
13. 我从不喝咖啡。
14. 我們明天會去那裡。
Preposition
15. 我的書在桌子上。
16. 屋頂上的貓很可愛。
17. 我為我的媽媽感到驕傲。
Conjunction
18. 我喜歡貓和狗。
19. 當你需要我的幫助時，你可以給我打電話。
Interjection
20. 哎呀，這裡很冷。
21. 噓！看電影時請不要說話。
Sentence components — 9-slot, 6-color diagram
①subject → ②background → ③verb → ④target (SVO type). Unlike English, the basic pattern is that the background (time, place, etc.) comes before the verb. Adjectives directly fill the predicate position without 是.
| Component | Color | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 主語 (subject) | red | Fixed by word order (at the very front of the sentence), with no case inflection |
| 謂語 (predicate) | blue | An adjective itself serves as the predicate without 是 (accompanied by the degree adverb 很) |
| 賓語/補語-1 (general target) | yellow | Fixed after the verb; a nominal complement linked by 是 |
| 補語-2 (state target) | flesh color | In most cases, the adjective directly fills the predicate (blue) position |
| 狀語1-背景 (background) | green | Coverbs (在, 跟), often come before the verb |
| 狀語2-抽象目的 (abstract purpose) | brown | '為了' |
Subject
22. 鹽對生命至關重要。
23. 湯姆和南在教室裡。
24. 怎麼做比做什麼更重要。
Verb
25. 他盡了最大的努力。
26. 我爸爸去過日本。
27. 我能做你想要的任何事。
Object / complement-1 (General Target)
28. 我早上吃了一根香蕉。
29. 媽媽早上給了我一根香蕉。
Complement-2 (State Target)
30. 他是英語老師。
31. 他又高又帥。
32. 你可以叫我老師。
33. 她讓我很開心。