Mandarin Word Order Builder

Workbook preview

• 我今天学中文。 · Wǒ jīntiān xué Zhōngwén. · I am studying Chinese today. (Add when)
• 我在家工作。 · Wǒ zài jiā gōngzuò. · I work at home. (Add where)
• 你在哪里学中文？ · Nǐ zài nǎlǐ xué Zhōngwén? · Where do you study Chinese? (Question slot)

Frequently asked questions

What is the basic word order in Mandarin Chinese?

A useful beginner default is subject, then time, then 在 + place, then the action and its object. It is a starter map, not a universal rule for every natural Chinese sentence.

Where do Chinese question words go?

In the patterns practiced here, 谁, 什么, 什么时候, and 哪里 stay where the missing answer would appear. You do not move them to the front or add 吗 to an information question.

Does the workbook teach every use of 不 and 没?

No. It practices a narrow beginner contrast: 不 before an action for a present choice, habit, or intended action, and 没 before an action to say the targeted past event did not happen. Broader aspect and negation patterns are outside this pack.

Keep practicing

Check a sentence with the Grammar Coach · Browse all free downloads

The five-block map is labeled as a beginner default. Natural variants are accepted where meaning and context allow them, and the pack does not claim to cover every Mandarin word-order pattern.

Work through it online

Build each sentence on paper first, say it aloud, then reveal the model answer here and hear it read — the audio confirms your build instead of leading it.

Starter map: The build–check–say loop and six core frames

Know the six starter frames and hear each one as a complete spoken model.

Workbook pages 2–3

Lesson 1: Start with who, action, thing

Say who, the action, and the thing in one neutral sentence.

Workbook page 4

Lesson 2: Put the time before the action

Add today, tomorrow, or the weekend before the action without breaking the verb–object chunk.

Workbook page 5

Lesson 3: Put 在 + place before the action

Say where an activity happens with 在 + place before the action.

Workbook page 6

Lesson 4: Combine time and place

Set time and place before the action in one true sentence about your week.

Workbook page 7

Lesson 5: Keep the question word in the answer slot

Ask for missing information by putting the question word where the answer belongs.

Workbook page 8

Lesson 6: Put a simple negative before the action

Negate an action with 不 for today's choice and 没 for what did not happen yesterday.

Workbook page 9

Lesson 7: Build the noun before placing it

Build a noun phrase as one block and drop it into a complete sentence.

Workbook page 10

Build: Set A: Reorder eight short sentences

Rebuild eight scrambled sentences and confirm each against a spoken model.

Workbook page 11

Build: Set B: Reorder eight fuller sentences

Rebuild sentences that combine time, place, negatives, and question words.

Workbook page 12

Question lab: Write the question that produces each answer

Turn eight known answers into natural information questions without adding 吗.

Workbook page 13

Repair: Fix ten beginner word-order errors

Repair the ten most common beginner word-order errors and hear each corrected sentence.

Workbook page 14

Make it yours: Personal sentences and the speaking ladder

Say six true sentences about your own life and grow one sentence from two words to a full scene.

Workbook page 15

This audio-supported practice is free in your browser — no account, no install, and the printable PDF stays available either way.

Model audio on this page is synthetic Mandarin — a listening aid, not a pronunciation assessment.