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Level Everyday Chinese · HSK 2

咱们, 自己, 所有, 什么样 and 怎么办: Useful A2 Words with Grammar

Some words carry their own little grammar rules: 所有 needs 都, 进行 needs a two-syllable verb, 出现 puts the new thing after it. This guide collects the A2 words where a rule matters.

咱们, 自己, 大家

咱们 (zánmen) is "we" including the listener (you and me); 我们 can include or exclude them. 自己 (zìjǐ) is oneself: 我自己 (myself), 自己做 (do it yourself). 大家 (dàjiā) is everyone in the group.

  • 咱们走吧。

    Zánmen zǒu ba.

    Let's go (you and me).

  • 我自己做。

    Wǒ zìjǐ zuò.

    I'll do it myself.

  • 大家好！

    Dàjiā hǎo!

    Hello, everyone!

Quantities: 所有…都, 大部分, 不少

所有 (suǒyǒu, all) and 全部 come before the noun and need 都 before the verb. 大部分 (most), 一部分 (some), 少数 (a minority) and 不少 (quite a few) describe how much. 以上 and 以下 mean above and below a number.

  • 所有的学生都来了。

    Suǒyǒu de xuésheng dōu lái le.

    All the students came.

  • 大部分人都同意。

    Dàbùfen rén dōu tóngyì.

    Most people agree.

  • 他有不少朋友。

    Tā yǒu bù shǎo péngyou.

    He has quite a few friends.

什么样 and 怎么办

什么样的 + noun asks "what kind of". 怎么办 (zěnme bàn) is "what should I do?". 怎么 + verb with surprise means "how come?": 你怎么来了？ (What are you doing here?).

  • 你喜欢什么样的音乐？

    Nǐ xǐhuan shénmeyàng de yīnyuè?

    What kind of music do you like?

  • 我的护照丢了，怎么办？

    Wǒ de hùzhào diū le, zěnme bàn?

    I've lost my passport. What do I do?

  • 你怎么没来？

    Nǐ zěnme méi lái?

    How come you didn't come?

出现, 发现, 进行, 提高

出现 (appear) puts the new thing after the verb: 出现了问题 (a problem came up). 发现 (discover, notice) takes a whole clause. 进行 (carry out) is formal and is followed by a two-syllable verb: 进行讨论. 提高 (raise, improve) goes with 水平, 成绩 and similar nouns.

  • 出现了一个问题。

    Chūxiàn le yí ge wèntí.

    A problem has come up.

  • 我发现他不在家。

    Wǒ fāxiàn tā bú zài jiā.

    I found that he wasn't home.

  • 我想提高我的中文水平。

    Wǒ xiǎng tígāo wǒ de Zhōngwén shuǐpíng.

    I want to improve my Chinese.

Common mistakes

  • ✗所有的学生来了。

    ✓所有的学生都来了。

    Suǒyǒu de xuésheng dōu lái le.

    所有 and 全部 need 都 before the verb.

  • ✗咱们 (said to a stranger to mean "we, not you")

    ✓我们

    wǒmen

    咱们 always includes the listener. If they're not part of the group, say 我们.

  • ✗我们进行学。

    ✓我们进行学习。

    Wǒmen jìnxíng xuéxí.

    进行 is followed by a two-syllable verb. With a one-syllable verb, just use the verb.

Questions learners ask

Is 咱们 used everywhere?

It's most typical of northern speech. Southern speakers often use 我们 for both meanings, and that's always correct.

Is 自己 the same as "alone"?

Close: 我自己去 can mean "I'll go by myself". For "alone, on your own" you'll also hear 一个人: 我一个人住 (I live alone).

Practice this in lessons

The Everyday Chinese lessons teach this step by step, with exercises and review built in.

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