Common grammar differences between English and Mandarin
The Reality of Learning Chinese: Is It Hard?: Common grammar differences between English and Mandarin
Common grammar differences between English and Mandarin include the following key points:
- Tense: English expresses tense by changing the verb form (with suffixes or auxiliary verbs) to indicate past, present, or future actions. Mandarin does not alter verb forms for tense; instead, it uses time words (e.g., yesterday, tomorrow) and context to convey when actions occur.
- Subject-Verb Agreement: English verbs change according to the subject in person and number (e.g., he runs vs. they run), whereas Mandarin verbs remain in a basic unchanged form regardless of the subject.
- Articles: English uses articles (“a,” “an,” “the”) before nouns, which do not exist in Mandarin grammar.
- Sentence Structure: Both languages typically follow a Subject-Verb-Object order, but Mandarin may include particles and differs in expressing passive voice or complex sentences.
- Passive Voice: English commonly uses passive constructions, especially in formal writing, whereas Mandarin prefers active voice and uses passive voice less frequently.
- Pronouns and Gender: Mandarin pronouns for he, she, and it are homophones, causing confusion for Mandarin speakers learning English gendered pronouns.
- Prepositions and Redundancies: English prepositions and article use can be tricky for Mandarin speakers, and there is a tendency in Mandarin-influenced English to overuse certain phrases or redundancies.
- Phonology and Syllables: Mandarin has fewer syllables and no consonant clusters typically found in English words, impacting pronunciation and stress patterns on syllables and words.
These grammatical contrasts reflect the differences in language structure and usage between English and Mandarin and contribute to typical challenges Mandarin speakers face when learning English.