📚 Year 9 CCEA Chinese: Formula & Theorem Quick Reference Handbook | Year 9 CCEA 中文：公式定理速查手册
This handbook treats key Chinese grammar rules as "formulas" and "theorems" so that you can memorise and apply them with precision. In Mandarin, a "formula" is a fixed pattern - a set order of sounds, words or markers - that reliably builds a correct sentence, much like an equation in maths. Whether you are revising for CCEA Year 9 assessments or simply consolidating your knowledge before Year 10, keep this guide beside you as a quick reference to boost your confidence in speaking, reading and writing.
本手册将关键的汉语语法规则视为 "公式" 和 "定理"，帮助你准确记忆并运用。在普通话中，所谓 "公式" 就是一套固定的模式——声音、词语或标记的固定顺序——它能稳定地构建出正确的句子，就像数学中的方程一样。无论你正在为 CCEA Year 9 测试复习，还是想在升入 Year 10 前巩固知识，都可将本指南作为随身速查手册，提升你听说读写的信心。
Each section below states the rule, shows the pattern in a boxed formula, gives worked examples, and then lists the mistakes examiners see most often. Learn the pattern first, then test yourself by writing two new sentences of your own for every formula - that is how a "formula" becomes automatic.
以下每一节都先陈述规则，用居中加粗的公式框展示句型，再给出范例，最后列出考官最常看到的错误。先记模式，然后为每条公式自己写两个新句子来自测——这样 "公式" 才会变成自动化反应。
1. Pinyin Syllable Formula | 拼音音节公式
Every single Mandarin syllable is built from the same three parts, exactly like a three-term equation. Take an initial (or a zero initial), a final (a vowel cluster), and a tone, and the result is one syllable. This is the most fundamental formula in the whole language, because pronunciation, listening and even spelling in pinyin all depend on it.
每一个普通话音节都由相同的三个部分构成，就像一个三项方程。取一个声母（或零声母）、一个韵母（元音组合）和一个声调，结果就是一个音节。这是整个语言中最基本的公式，因为语音、听力乃至拼音拼写都依赖它。
Initial (声母) + Final (韵母) + Tone (声调) = Syllable (音节)
Worked example: m + a + tone 1 = mā (妈, mother). Change only the tone and you build a new word: mā 妈 (mother), má 麻 (hemp), mǎ 马 (horse), mà 骂 ration - it is part of the syllable itself, just as the value of x matters in an equation.
示例：m + a + 第一声 = mā（妈）。只改变声调就能构成新词：mā 妈、má 麻、mǎ 马、mà 骂。这说明在普通话里声调不是装饰，而是音节本身的一部分，就像方程中 x 的取值一样要紧。
Tone mark placement rule: place the tone mark on the main vowel, following the order a, o, e, i, u, ü. If the final contains 'iou' or 'uei', they are written as 'iu' and 'ui', and the tone mark goes on the last vowel. Examples: liù (six), guì (expensive), hǎo (good), xiè (thanks).
标调规则：声调符号标在主要元音上，按 a、o、e、i、u、ü 的顺序。如果韵母是 "iou" 或 "uei"，则写成 "iu" 和 "ui"，声调标在最后一个元音上。例如：liù（六）、guì（贵）、hǎo（好）、xiè（谢）。
Zero initial formula: hen a syllable begins with a vowel, it is a zero initial. Some finals change written form: 'i' becomes 'y' (yi, yan), 'u' becomes 'w' (wu, wang), and 'ü' becomes 'yu' (yu, yue). For example, ian → yan (smoke), uo → wo (I).
零声母公式：以元音开头的音节就是零声母。部分韵母要改变书写形式："i" 写作 "y"（yi、yan），"u" 写作 "w"（wu、wang），"ü" 写作 "yu"（yu、yue）。例如：ian → yan（烟），uo → wo（我）。
- j + ü → ju (not jü); q + ü → qu (not qü); x + ü → xu (not xü) - the two dots disappear after j, q, x.
- After n and l the dots stay: nǚ (girl), lǜ (green).
- The letter 'v' may appear on a keyboard, but in pinyin it is always written 'ü'.
- j、q、x 后面的 ü 省略两点：ju、qu、xu；但 n、l 后面保留两点：nǚ（女）、lǜ（绿）。
- 键盘上可能用 "v" 代替，但正式拼音中一律写作 "ü"。
2. The Four Tones Theorem | 四声定理
Mandarin has four full tones plus one neutral tone. Each tone is defined by a pitch contour, which you can remember as a number code: 55 (high and level), 35 (rising), 214 (falling then rising), 51 (falling sharply). The neutral tone is short and light, and carries no tone mark.
普通话有四个完整声调加一个轻声。每个声调由一个音高走势决定，可记成数字：55（高平）、35（上升）、214（先降后升）、51（高降）。轻声又短又轻，不标调号。
| Tone | Pitch | Example | Meaning |
| First 第一声 | 55 flat | mā | 妈 mother |
| Second 第二声 | 35 rising | má | 麻 hemp |
| Third 第三声 | 214 fall-rise | mǎ | 马 horse |
| Fourth 第四声 | 51 falling | mà | 骂 to scold |
| Neutral 轻声 | short, light | ma | 吗 question particle |
Neutral tone appears in the second syllable of 妈妈 (māma), in particles such as 的, 了, 吗, 呢, and in the suffix 子 as in 桌子 (zhuōzi, table). Getting the neutral tone right makes your speech sound natural rather than robotic.
轻声出现在 "妈妈"（māma）的第二个音节，也出现在 "的、了、吗、呢" 等虚词以及后缀 "子"（如 "桌子" zhuōzi）中。掌握轻声能让你的口语显得自然，而不是像机器人在念字。
3. Tone Sandhi Rules | 变调规则
Tone sandhi is the "hidden adjustment" of Mandarin: the written tone mark stays the same, but the spoken pitch changes depending on the next syllable. Examiners test this in speaking and listening tasks, so treat these as sub-formulas of the four tones theorem.
变调是普通话的 "隐藏调整"：书写的调号不变，但实际读音会根据后一个音节而变化。考官会在口语和听力任务中测试这一点，所以请把以下内容当作四声定理的子公式。
3rd + 3rd → 2nd + 3rd (nǐ hǎo → ní hǎo)
Rule one: when two third tones meet, the first becomes a second tone in speech. Examples: 你好 nǐ hǎo → ní hǎo; 很好 hěn hǎo → hén hǎo; 我很好 wǒ hěn hǎo → wó hén hǎo. The written pinyin is unchanged, so you must know the rule to read aloud correctly.
规则一：两个第三声相连时，前一个在口语中读成第二声。例如：你好 nǐ hǎo → ní hǎo；很好 hěn hǎo → hén hǎo；我很好 wǒ hěn hǎo → wó hén hǎo。书写拼音不变，因此必须掌握规则才能正确朗读。
Rule two: 不 (bù) becomes bú before a fourth tone. Examples: 不是 bú shì, 不去 bú qù, 不要 bú yào. Elsewhere it stays bù, as in 不好 bù hǎo and 不知道 bù zhīdào.
规则二：不（bù）在第四声前读成 bú。例如：不是 bú shì、不去 bú qù、不要 bú yào。在其他声调前仍读 bù，如：不好 bù hǎo、不知道 bù zhīdào。
Rule three: 一 (yī) becomes yì before first, second and third tones, and yí before a fourth tone. Examples: 一天 yì tiān, 一年 yì nián, 一起 yì qǐ, 一个 yí gè, 一次 yí cì. In dates and ordinals it stays yī: 一月 yī yuè, 第一 dì yī.
规则三：一（yī）在第一、二、三声前读 yì，在第四声前读 yí。例如：一天 yì tiān、一年 yì nián、一起 yì qǐ、一个 yí gè、一次 yí cì。在日期和序数中仍读 yī：一月 yī yuè、第一 dì yī。
- Half third tone: a third tone followed by another tone is only half pronounced (好吃 hǎo chī).
- Third tone + neutral tone: the third tone is usually half or full, e.g., 姐姐 jiějie.
- 半三声：第三声后面接别的声调时只读一半（好吃 hǎo chī）。
- 第三声 + 轻声：第三声通常读半三声或全三声，如 "姐姐" jiějie。
4. Word Order Formula | 语序公式
Chinese does not change verb endings, so word order carries almost all grammatical information. If you learn one theorem by heart in Year 9, learn this one. The core order is Subject, then Time, then Place, then Manner or instrument, then Verb, then Object.
汉语不改变动词词尾，因此语序几乎承担了全部语法信息。如果 Year 9 只能背一条定理，就背这一条。核心顺序是：主语，然后时间，然后地点，然后方式或工具，然后动词，然后宾语。
Subject + Time + Place + Manner + Verb + Object
Example: 我 明天 在图书馆 认真地 复习 汉语。 Wǒ míngtiān zài túshūguǎn rènzhēn de fùxí Hànyǔ. (I will revise Chinese carefully in the library tomorrow.) Time words always come before the verb; putting them at the end, as in English, is one of the most common errors.
例：我 明天 在图书馆 认真地 复习 汉语。时间词一定要放在动词前面；像英语那样把时间放在句末，是最常见的错误之一。
Inside a time expression, the order goes from large to small: 2025年9月1日上午八点 (8 a.m. on 1 September 2025). Similarly, disclaimers of scope go from broad to narrow: 中国北京 my school. Adverbs such as 都, 也, 常常, 已经, 就, 才 stand before the verb but after the subject: 我常常去图书馆。
时间表达内部按从大到小的顺序：2025年9月1日上午八点。范围的排列同样由大到小：中国北京我的学校。副词如 "都、也、常常、已经、就、才" 放在动词前、主语后：我常常去图书馆。
- Negation formula: 不 + verb for present, habitual or future; 没(有) + verb for past or completed actions.
- 没有 + noun for "not to have": 我没有时间 (I have no time).
- 否定公式：不 + 动词表示现在、习惯或将来；没(有) + 动词表示过去或已完成的动作。
- 没有 + 名词表示 "没有某物"：我没有时间。
5. Question Formation Formulas | 疑问句公式
Chinese questions are wonderfully regular: you do not invert the subject and verb, and you rarely move the question word. Instead, you either add a particle at the end or replace the answer with a question word in the same position.
汉语疑问句非常规律：不需要主语和动词倒装，也几乎不移动疑问词。你只需在句末加一个虚词，或者把答案本身换成疑问词，位置保持不变。
- Yes/no question: statement + 吗 → 你是学生吗？ (Are you a student?)
- "And you?" question: statement + 呢 → 我是学生，你呢？
- Choice question: A 还是 B → 你喝茶还是喝咖啡？
- Suggestion or assumption: statement + 吧 → 我们走吧。/ 你是英国人吧？
- 正反问 (A-not-A): 你去不去？ / 你喜不喜欢汉语？
- 一般疑问句：陈述句 + 吗 → 你是学生吗？
- 反问 "你呢"：陈述句 + 呢 → 我是学生，你呢？
- 选择疑问句：A 还是 B → 你喝茶还是喝咖啡？
- 建议或推测：陈述句 + 吧 → 我们走吧。/ 你是英国人吧？
- 正反问：你去不去？/ 你喜不喜欢汉语？
Question words stay exactly where the answer would be: 你叫什么名字？ (answer: 我叫小明); 你什么时候来？ (answer: 我明天来); 你去哪儿？ (answer: 我去学校). Use 几 with numbers below ten and 多少 with larger or uncountable quantities: 你家有几口人？ / 这本书多少钱？
疑问词就放在答案本该出现的位置：你叫什么名字？（答：我叫小明）；你什么时候来？（答：我明天来）；你去哪儿？（答：我去学校）。"几" 用于十以下的数目，"多少" 用于较大或不可数的量：你家有几口人？/ 这本书多少钱？
6. Measure Word Formula | 量词公式
In Chinese you cannot simply put a number in front of a noun. A measure word (classifier) must sit between them, and this combination always precedes the noun. The formula is fixed and never varies.
汉语中不能把数词直接放在名词前，中间必须有量词，而且这个组合永远放在名词之前。这个公式是固定的，不能随意变动。
Number + Measure Word + Noun
Example: 三本书 (three books), 两个学生 (two students), 五张纸 (five sheets of paper). For "two", use 两 rather than 二 when counting objects: 两个人 (two people), but 第二课 (lesson two) and 二月 (February) keep 二.
例：三本书、两个学生、五张纸。表示 "两个" 的事物量时用 "两" 而不用 "二"：两个人；但序数和日期用 "二"：第二课、二月。
| Measure word | Used with | Example |
| 个 gè | general default | 一个人 one person |
| 只 zhī | animals, some objects | 三只猫 three cats |
| 本 běn | books, notebooks | 两本书 two books |
| 张 zhāng | flat things | 一张票 one ticket |
