I am often confused (about grammar)

NOTE: This is my personal archive of grammar rules. It is not comprehensive. It may contain false info, as I'm not fluent in Mandarin. Please report to my guestbook if I have listed something incorrectly :D

• TOPIC: DESCRIPTIONS

• When describing something's color or quality, use the sentence structure [Adjective/Phrase] + 的 + [Noun]

  Reasoning: Common grammar in Mandarin. Note: Often the "phrase" comes as [Noun + Verb]. (Source for Adj), (Source for Phrase)

• When EMPHASIZING something's color or quality, use the sentence structure [Subject] + 是 + [color/ quality] + 的

  Reasoning: This sentence structure is meant specifically for emphasizing SOMETHING, whether that be color, purpose, shape, or any trait. (Source)
• Putting 的 at the end of a sentence indicates certainity in what is being said. (Source)
• However, it can also be an indicator that a noun was dropped, ie: [Adjective/Phrase] + 的 + [Noun]. (Source)

• TOPIC: TIME EXPRESSIONS

• There are two ways to describe the time that something occured:

  [Time] + [Subject] + [Verb] + [Object]
  [Subject] + [Time] + [Verb] + [Object]
  You'll note time is never at the end of a sentence in Mandarin. This is different than English, as saying smth like "I swam yesterday" is common. (Source)

• The difference between 时候 & 时间

  Both are used to talk about time in a certain instant, but the usage is slightly different.
  时候 is for the time of something in general (ie: when something happens, when describing a time in history, etc)
  时间 is for talking about how long something would take (eg: 时间不够了 - "there's not enough time")
  As a rule of thumb: use 时候 as it's way more common. (Source)

• TOPIC: LINKING IN SIMPLE SENTENCES

• When a sentence is only 2 nouns, link them with 是 like this: [Noun] + 是 + [Noun]

  eg: 我是学生. NOTE: do not use 是 when linking a noun and an adjective. (Source)

• When a sentence is simply a noun & and an adjective, link them with 很 like this: [Noun] + 很 + [Adjective]

  Note: This sentence structure removes the meaning of 很, it just becomes a structural particle. (Source)

• TOPIC: DUPLICATION
• In Mandarin it's common to see characters twice. To me, it's kinda strange but it's grammatically correct. Verbs, measure words, and adjectives are usually the items duplicated (with adjectives having FOUR different scenarios where duplication is used)

• One Character Adjectives (AA Pattern)

  Common for adjectives that describe physical traits (eg: colors, sizes, shapes, etc). It is not common outside of this usage for single character adjs.
  Use sentence structure [Adjective] + [Adjective] + 的 + [Optional Noun]. (Source)

• Two Character Adjectives (AABB Pattern)

  For some adjectives that are two characters (eg: 高兴), you'd repeat each individual character (eg: 高高兴兴)(Source)

• AABB Pattern when Adjectives are used as Adverbs

  Use sentence structure [AABB Adjective as Adverb] + 地 + [Verb]. (Source)

• Sometimes, adjectives are the main part of a sentence (known as a predicate) and will therefore act as verbs. Use ABAB duplication format (instead of AABB) for these specific instances

  ABAB is the duplication format that two character verbs use. Use sentence structure [Subject] + [ABAB Adjective] + [Optional 一下] eg: 喝点酒，高兴高兴 - "Drink some wine, enjoy yourself."
  (note: do not use 的 as the noun is not what's modified)(also note: here 一下 means "a little" and is used to soften intent). (Source)

• Brief Action: AA Pattern with Verbs

  If an action is quick, use sentence structure [Subject] + [AA Verb] (eg: 你看看 - "have a look"). (Source)

• Colloquial Verb Duplication: use sentence structure [Verb] + 一 + [Verb]

  Basically just helps soften intent & add sentence varity (Note: only works with some verbs, but there isn't a definable list, it's just by ear since it's colloquial??). (Source)

• ABAB Pattern for Two Chracter Verbs

  eg: 考虑 → 考虑考虑. (Source)

• AA Pattern Measure Word: adding the word "Every"

  Not very common, but expect it with 个个 ("every one")and 天天 ("every day") every once in a while. Often with sentence structure [Subject] + [AA Measure Word] + [Predicate]. (Source)