Grammar · Confident beginner · 25 pages
Fix Common English-to-Mandarin Mistakes
Diagnose and fix literal English transfer involving predicates, 是/有, time and place, classifiers, negation, questions, 了, clause linking, and verb-object chunks.
Download free PDFNo signup. No email form. Version 1.0, updated 2026-08-26.
What’s inside
- Eight high-frequency transfer patterns
- Wrong-versus-natural contrasts
- Diagnosis labels
- Repair and explanation tasks
- A personal error log
What you’ll practice
- Spot an English frame before translating it
- Repair a sentence by moving or replacing one block
- Name the Mandarin pattern you will retrieve next time
Sample lines
- 我很累。 · Wǒ hěn lèi. · I am tired. (No 是 before adjective)
- 我家有四口人。 · Wǒ jiā yǒu sì kǒu rén. · There are four people in my family. (Use 有)
- 你想喝什么？ · Nǐ xiǎng hē shénme? · What would you like to drink? (Question word stays in place)
Frequently asked questions
Are the crossed-out sentences always impossible?
The tasks target unnatural or incorrect beginner readings in the stated context. Mandarin is context-sensitive, so the notes explain the intended meaning instead of claiming every string is impossible in every context.
Why not translate word for word?
Languages organize meaning differently. A reliable Mandarin block or frame is more reusable than an English sentence with Chinese words substituted into it.
Should every completed action use 了?
No. 了 marks a perfective viewpoint or a new situation in specific structures; it is not a general past-tense ending. Time words and context often locate an event without 了.
Keep practicing
Check a sentence in the Mandarin Sentence Lab · Browse all free downloads
Each repair is bound to a stated beginner meaning. Notes avoid absolute claims where Mandarin context can license a different interpretation.