Mandarin Chinese reference
买菜
mǎi cài
to do the grocery shopping
Verb pattern · 10 form tables
Mandarin verbs do not change for tense. These tables show aspect, negation, questions and sentence patterns. Short phrases omit the subject; full examples retain theirs.
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Aspect
Plain statement
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | mǎi càido the grocery shopping |
Completed action
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | mǎi le càidid the grocery shopping |
Experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | mǎi guo càihave done the grocery shopping before |
In progress
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | zài mǎi càibe doing the grocery shopping |
Future
About to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | yào mǎi cài lebe about to do the grocery shopping |
Will / can
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | huì mǎi càiwill do the grocery shopping |
Negative
Not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | bù mǎi càido not do the grocery shopping |
Did not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | méi mǎi càidid not do the grocery shopping |
Questions
Yes no question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | mǎi cài ma?do you do the grocery shopping? |
A not A question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | mǎi bu mǎi cài?do you do the grocery shopping? |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Mandarin Chinese entries.