Understanding how to make sentences in Mandarin Chinese can really help you talk better.

The basic order of words in Mandarin is Subject-Verb-Object (SVO), just like in English.

For example:

“我吃苹果” (Wǒ chī píngguǒ) means “I eat an apple.”

Here, "我" (Wǒ) is the subject (the one doing the action), "吃" (chī) is the verb (the action), and "苹果" (píngguǒ) is the object (what is being eaten).

In Mandarin, we also use measure words (量词, liàngcí) when we count things.

For example:

“一个苹果” (yí ge píngguǒ) means “one apple.”

In this case, “个” (ge) is the measure word.

Using the right measure word is very important. Different nouns go with specific measure words.

To ask questions in Mandarin, you often just add the word “吗” (ma) at the end of a statement.

For example:

“你好吗？” (Nǐ hǎo ma?) means “How are you?”

You can also use question words like “什么” (shénme) for “what” and “哪” (nǎ) for “which.”

To say something is not happening, we use “不” (bù) for verbs and “没” (méi) for actions that haven’t happened yet.

For example:

“我不吃” (Wǒ bù chī) means “I don’t eat.”

And “我没吃” (Wǒ méi chī) means “I haven’t eaten.”

Mandarin also uses some simple changes to verbs to show if actions are done or still happening.

For instance:

“我吃了” (Wǒ chī le) means “I have eaten.”

And “我吃着” (Wǒ chī zhe) means “I am eating.”

By learning these basic parts of Mandarin, you’ll be able to make clear and correct sentences!