Mandarin Chinese reference
打电话
dǎ diànhuà
to make a phone call
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) | dǎ diànhuàmake a phone call |
Completed action
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | dǎ le diànhuàmade a phone call |
Experience
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | dǎ guo diànhuàhave made a phone call before |
In progress
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | zài dǎ diànhuàbe making a phone call |
Future
About to
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | yào dǎ diànhuà lebe about to make a phone call |
Will / can
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | huì dǎ diànhuàwill make a phone call |
Negative
Not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | bù dǎ diànhuàdo not make a phone call |
Did not
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | méi dǎ diànhuàdid not make a phone call |
Questions
Yes no question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | dǎ diànhuà ma?do you make a phone call? |
A not A question
| Person, form or usage | Form and meaning |
|---|---|
| verb phrase (subject omitted) | dǎ bu dǎ diànhuà?do you make a phone call? |
Forms from the Loquus reference. Only supplied forms are shown. Browse all Mandarin Chinese entries.