| Noun 1<\/td> | Verb 1<\/td> | Noun 2<\/td> | Verb 2<\/td> | Other elements<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n In simple terms, the Pivotal sentence follows this structure:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Noun 1 + Verb 1 + [Noun 2] + Verb 2 + Other elements<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nNoun 1 performs Verb 1. Then Noun 2 becomes the Object of Verb 1 and the logical subject of Verb 2, which is followed by other elements. There are various types of Pivotal sentences based on the verbs used, but to keep things simple and straightforward we will focus on two basic structures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Structure 1:\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\nNoun 1 + \u8ba9\/\u53eb\/\u6d3e\/\u8bf7\u2026 + Noun 2 + Verb 2 +\uff08other elements\uff09<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nE.g.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u8ba9\u6211\u770b\u770b\u3002\uff08R\u00e0n\u0261 w\u01d2 k\u00e0nk\u0251n.)
Let me have a look.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u8001\u5e08\u53eb\/\u8ba9\u4f60\u4ea4\u4f5c\u4e1a\u3002\uff08L\u01ceosh\u012b ji\u00e0o\/ r\u00e0n\u0261 n\u01d0 ji\u0101o zu\u00f2y\u00e8.\uff09
The teacher asked you to hand in homework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u516c\u53f8\u6d3e\u6211\u51fa\u56fd\u3002\uff08G\u014dn\u0261s\u012b p\u00e0i w\u01d2 ch\u016b\u0261u\u00f3.\uff09
The firm assigned me to go abroad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u6211\u7684\u597d\u670b\u53cb\u8bf7\u6211\u53bb\u5317\u4eac\u3002\uff08W\u01d2de h\u01ceop\u00e9n\u0261you q\u01d0n\u0261 w\u01d2 q\u00f9 B\u011bij\u012bn\u0261.\uff09
My best friend invited me to Beijing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meaning<\/u>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n1.<\/span><\/strong> To say “Noun 1 asks or requests Noun 2 to do something,\u201d use “\u8bf7” (q\u01d0ng), “\u6d3e” (p\u00e0i), “\u8981\u6c42” (y\u0101oqi\u00fa), etc., as the Verb 1 in the Pivotal sentence structure.<\/p>\n\n\n\nE.g. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u6211\u8981\u6c42\u4ed6\u53bb\u7761\u89c9\u3002\uff08W\u01d2 y\u0101oqi\u00fa t\u0101 q\u00f9 shu\u00ecji\u00e0o.\uff09
I asked him to go to sleep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2.<\/span> <\/strong>To say that “Noun 1 permits Noun 2 to do something,” the appropriate Verb 1 would be “\u540c\u610f,” (t\u00f3ngy\u00ec) meaning “to agree.”<\/p>\n\n\n\nE.g. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u5b66\u6821\u540c\u610f\u6211\u4eec\u53bb\u516c\u56ed\u3002\uff08Xu\u00e9xi\u00e0o t\u00f3n\u0261y\u00ec w\u01d2men q\u00f9 \u0261\u014dn\u0261yu\u00e1n.\uff09
The school allowed us to go to park.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The negative form<\/u>:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nNoun 1 + \u4e0d\/\u6ca1\uff08\u6ca1\u6709\uff09+ \u8ba9\/\u53eb\/\u6d3e\/\u8bf7\u2026 + Noun 2 + Verb 2 + (other elements)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nE.g. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n\u8001\u5e08\u6ca1\u53eb\/\u8ba9\u6211\u4ea4\u4f5c\u4e1a\u3002\uff08L\u01ceosh\u012b m\u00e9i ji\u00e0o\/r\u00e0n\u0261 w\u01d2 ji\u0101o zu\u00f2y\u00e8.\uff09
The teacher didn\u2019t ask me to hand in homework.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u5988\u5988\u4e0d\u540c\u610f\u6211\u53bb\u6210\u90fd\u3002\uff08M\u0101m\u0251 b\u00f9 t\u00f3n\u0261y\u00ec w\u01d2 q\u00f9 Ch\u00e9n\u0261d\u016b.\uff09
Mom didn\u2019t allow me to go to Chengdu.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u6211\u6ca1\u8bf7\u4ed6\u6765\u529e\u516c\u5ba4\u3002\uff08W\u01d2 m\u00e9i q\u01d0n\u0261 t\u0101 l\u00e1i b\u00e0n\u0261\u014dn\u0261sh\u00ec.\uff09
I didn\u2019t invite him to the office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Structure 2:\u00a0<\/h2>\n\n\n\nNoun 1 + \u8ba9\/\u53eb\/\u4f7f\u2026 + Noun 2 + Action 2 (Verb\/Adjective)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\nE.g.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u8fd9\u4ef6\u4e8b\u8ba9\/\u53eb\/\u4f7f\u6211\u4e0d\u9ad8\u5174\u3002\uff08Zh\u00e8ji\u00e0nsh\u00ec r\u00e0n\u0261\/ji\u00e0o\/sh\u01d0 w\u01d2 b\u00f9 \u0261\u0101ox\u00ecn\u0261.\uff09
This thing makes me unhappy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u8fd9\u7bc7\u6587\u7ae0\u8ba9\/\u53eb\/\u4f7f\u6211\u4f24\u5fc3\u3002\uff08Zh\u00e8pi\u0101n w\u00e9nzh\u0101n\u0261 r\u00e0n\u0261\/ji\u00e0o\/sh\u01d0 w\u01d2 sh\u0101n\u0261x\u012bn.\uff09
This article makes me sad.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u4ed6\u7684\u8bdd\u8ba9\/\u4f7f\u59b9\u59b9\u51b3\u5b9a\u53bb\u5de5\u4f5c\u3002\uff08T\u0101dehu\u00e0 r\u00e0n\u0261\/sh\u01d0 m\u00e8imei ju\u00e9d\u00ecn\u0261 q\u00f9 \u0261\u014dn\u0261zu\u00f2.\uff09
His words made his young sister decide to work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Meaning:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- Structure 2 differs from Structure 1 because Noun 1 is the reason for Noun 2 doing something or changing, not asking or ordering Noun 2 to do something.<\/li>
- When Action 2 is an Adjective, there are usually no other elements following it, but if it\u2019s a Verb, there could be other elements.<\/li>
- The negative form of this Pivotal sentence structure is complex and depends on the sentence’s meaning.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
Some other points to keep in mind are:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n- The Pivotal sentence usually uses a verb that expresses asking or ordering in the first verb position.<\/li>
- Structure 2 differs from Structure 1, as Noun 1 in Structure 2 is the cause of Noun 2’s action or change.<\/li>
- “\u4f7f” (sh\u01d0) can be used in Structure 2 but not in Structure 1.<\/li>
- When an adjective is used as Action 2, there are usually no other elements following it.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
It may seem difficult to grasp these structures at first, but they are crucial for speaking Chinese. With practice, you can start using them confidently in conversations with Chinese speakers. Best of luck in your practice with these foundational sentence structures!<\/p>\n\n\n\n (For a more detailed explanation, check out our grammar tutorial course’s video<\/a> on “the Pivotal Sentence of \u4f7f”.)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Are you struggling with understanding the Pivotal Sentence structure in Chinese? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. This unique structure can be tricky to master, but once you do, it can greatly improve your Chinese language skills. The Pivotal sentence comes up even at the beginner level of learning Chinese. Native speakers use it frequently in…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":111,"featured_media":8137,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,176],"tags":[77,7,93,92,78,80],"post_series":[],"yoast_head":"\n An Introduction to the Pivotal Sentence in Chinese Grammar<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.digmandarin.com\/chinese-pivotal-sentence.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"An Introduction to the Pivotal Sentence in Chinese Grammar\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Are you struggling with understanding the Pivotal Sentence structure in Chinese? Don’t worry, you’re not alone. 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