Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/How-to-Use-Have

Mandarin Chinese Grammar - How to Use "Have"

Hi Mandarin Chinese learners! 😊
In this lesson, we will learn how to use the word "have" in Mandarin Chinese. This is important because "have" plays a crucial role in daily conversation. Knowing how to use the verb "have" will help you express what you own or possess and what you have experienced.

With the completion of this lesson, consider investigating these related pages: Adjectives and Adverbs & Use the verb 去 (qù).

Basic Usage

"Have" in Mandarin Chinese can be expressed in two ways: "有 (yǒu)" and "拥有 (yōng yǒu)". "有 (yǒu)" is used to express possession while "拥有 (yōng yǒu)" is used to express ownership.

Let's see some examples below:

Mandarin Chinese	Pronunciation	English
我有一只猫。	Wǒ yǒu yī zhī māo.	I have a cat.
他有很多钱。	Tā yǒu hěn duō qián.	He has a lot of money.
拥有这辆车的是我的爸爸。	Yōng yǒu zhè liàng chē de shì wǒ de bà ba.	My father owns this car.
这家公司拥有很大的市场份额。	Zhè jiā gōng sī yōng yǒu hěn dà de shì chǎng fèn é.	This company has a large market share.

As you can see from the examples, we use "有 (yǒu)" to indicate what we possess, such as a cat or money. We use "拥有 (yōng yǒu)" to indicate what we own, such as a car or a company.

Advanced Usage

"Have" can also be used in different grammatical structures. Let's go over some examples below:

Possessive Structure

In Mandarin Chinese, the possessive structure is formed by placing the possessor before the possessed object. Just like in English, the structure is "possessor + 的 (de) + possessed object". Here are some examples:

• Person 1: 这是我的书。(Zhè shì wǒ de shū.) (This is my book.)
• Person 2: 那是他的电脑。(Nà shì tā de diàn nǎo.) (That is his computer.)

Notice that in Chinese, we use "的 (de)" to show possession, while in English, we use "'s".

Experiential Structure

We can also use "have" to describe experiences we have had. In Mandarin Chinese, the structure is "subject + 有 (yǒu) + experience". Here are some examples:

• Person 1: 我有去过上海。 (Wǒ yǒu qù guò Shànghǎi.) (I have been to Shanghai.)
• Person 2: 你有吃过北京烤鸭吗？(Nǐ yǒu chī guò Běijīng kǎo yā ma?) (Have you ever eaten Peking duck?)

In these examples, we can see that "有 (yǒu)" is used to indicate an experience that has been had by the subject.

Auxiliary Verb

"Have" can also be used as an auxiliary verb. In Mandarin Chinese, the structure is "subject + 了 (le) + verb + 过 (guò)". Here are some examples:

• Person 1: 我吃过烤鸭了。 (Wǒ chī guò kǎo yā le.) (I have had Peking duck.)
• Person 2: 他去过北京了。 (Tā qù guò Běijīng le.) (He has been to Beijing.)

In these examples, we can see that we use "了 (le)" after the verb to indicate completion of an action, and "过 (guò)" after "了 (le)" to indicate that the action has been carried out before.

Additional Tips

To improve your understanding of Mandarin Chinese grammar, you can also check out the Grammar section on Polyglot Club. You can also find native speakers and ask them any questions! 😄

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➡ If you have any questions, please ask them in the comments section below.
➡ Feel free to edit this wiki page if you think it can be improved. 😎

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• Basic structure of a sentence
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• Plurals
• Conditional Mood