In Mandarin, sentences usually follow a simple pattern called Subject-Verb-Object (SVO).

Let’s look at an easy example:

• 我吃苹果 (Wǒ chī píngguǒ), which means "I eat an apple."

Important Grammar Points:

1. Basic Sentence Structure (SVO):

   • Subject: 我 (Wǒ) means "I".
   • Verb: 吃 (chī) means "eat".
   • Object: 苹果 (píngguǒ) means "apple".

2. Using Measure Words (量词):

   • To say "one apple," you would say 一个苹果 (yí gè píngguǒ).
   • The word 个 is a common measure word in Mandarin.

3. Asking Questions:

   • To ask "Do you eat?" you say 你吃吗？ (Nǐ chī ma?).
   • If you want to ask "What do you eat?" you can say 你吃什么？ (Nǐ chī shénme?). Here, 什么 (shénme) means "what."

4. Saying No:

   • If you want to say "I do not eat," you can say 我不吃 (Wǒ bù chī).
   • To say "I did not eat," you would say 我没吃 (Wǒ méi chī).

5. Talking About Actions:

   • If you’ve eaten, you can say 我吃了 (Wǒ chīle), which means "I have eaten." The word 了 shows that you finished eating.
   • If you are eating right now, you would say 我在吃 (Wǒ zài chī), which means "I am eating." The word 在 shows that you are doing it at this moment.

This is a simple way to understand how sentences work in Mandarin!