Mandarin Intermediate Grammar (B1-B2 / HSK 4-5)

This page picks up where the Mandarin grammar cheatsheet leaves off. The CEFR and the Chinese HSK system map roughly: HSK 4 corresponds to upper B1, HSK 5 corresponds to B2. At this level the grammar shifts away from sentence-level construction (which is the easy part of Mandarin) toward complements, particles, and the constructions that mark fluent speech.

What "B1-B2 / HSK 4-5" means in practice (see the CEFR explainer for the full breakdown): you hold conversations on most everyday topics, navigate adult situations in Chinese, read short articles, watch dubbed material with subtitles. Your remaining errors are about complement use, the right particle in the right place, and the constructions that make your speech sound assembled rather than fluent.

The complement system

The single largest grammar topic between HSK 4 and HSK 6. English mostly handles complement information through adverbs and prepositional phrases; Mandarin handles it through verb + complement constructions that attach directly to the verb. Three main types.

Resultative complement

Verb + result. Indicates the outcome or completion of the action.

The complement is a verb or adjective that describes the result of the main verb's action. The construction is grammatically required for many actions; "我看了书" (I read a book) is grammatical but neutral, while "我看完了书" (I finished reading the book) signals completion.

Directional complement

Verb + direction. Indicates the direction the action moves.

The basic directional complements: 来 (lai2, toward speaker) and 去 (qu4, away from speaker).

• 上来 (shang4 lai2) - come up (toward speaker).
• 下去 (xia4 qu4) - go down (away from speaker).
• 进来 (jin4 lai2) - come in.
• 出去 (chu1 qu4) - go out.
• 回来 (hui2 lai2) - come back.

Compound directionals layer onto verbs:

• 拿出来 (na2 chu1 lai2) - take out (toward speaker).
• 走过去 (zou3 guo4 qu4) - walk past / over (away from speaker).
• 跑上去 (pao3 shang4 qu4) - run up (away from speaker).
• 飞回来 (fei1 hui2 lai2) - fly back.

The trap: English does this with prepositions ("walk over to" / "take out of"); Mandarin does it by stacking complements onto the verb. The construction is mandatory when direction is part of the meaning.

Potential complement

The construction verb + 得 (de) / 不 (bu) + result/direction expresses whether the action can or cannot achieve its result.

This is not the same as 能 (neng2, "can / be able to"). 能 expresses general possibility; the potential complement expresses whether this specific action can achieve this specific result.

• 我能看 = I can look / I am allowed to look (general capability).
• 我看得见 = I can see (the action of looking is achieving the result of perception).
• 我看不见 = I cannot see (the action of looking is failing to achieve perception, e.g. because it's dark).

The potential complement is unique to Mandarin (and a handful of related languages) and is one of the constructions HSK 5 candidates regularly miss.

The full 了 (le) system

了 is the single most-discussed particle in Mandarin grammar. At intermediate level the goal is to internalise the three distinct uses and stop treating them as one thing.

了 after a verb: completed action

• 我吃了饭。 (Wo3 chi1 le fan4.) - I ate.
• 他买了三本书。 (Ta1 mai3 le san1 ben3 shu1.) - He bought three books.

This 了 marks the verb's completion. Required when the action is bounded and quantified.

了 at the end of a sentence: change of state or new situation

• 太晚了。 (Tai4 wan3 le.) - It is too late (now, different from before).
• 我饿了。 (Wo3 e4 le.) - I am hungry (a state I was not in before).
• 他来了。 (Ta1 lai2 le.) - He has come / he is here now.

This 了 marks a change relative to what came before. It is about the speaker's frame, not the verb's completion.

了 doing both: completed action that signals a new state

• 我看完了。 (Wo3 kan4 wan2 le.) - I have finished watching (the action completed AND I am now in a different state).
• 他走了。 (Ta1 zou3 le.) - He left (the action of leaving completed AND he is now gone).

In these cases the two uses overlap; native speakers do not analyse which is which.

不要 + verb + 了

"Stop doing X" / "do not X anymore."

• 不要哭了。 (Bu2 yao4 ku1 le.) - Stop crying.
• 不要说了。 (Bu2 yao4 shuo1 le.) - Stop talking / do not say anymore.

The 了 here signals "anymore" - the action was happening but should stop.

已经 + verb + 了 / 还没 + verb

"Already done X" / "have not yet done X."

• 我已经吃了。 (Wo3 yi3 jing1 chi1 le.) - I have already eaten.
• 我还没吃。 (Wo3 hai2 mei2 chi1.) - I have not eaten yet.

Note: 已经 pairs with 了; 还没 pairs with 没 (mei2), not with 不 (bu4). This pairing is one of the most common HSK 5 errors.

Conjunction structures

By B2 you should deploy the major two-part conjunctions naturally. Each has a fixed structure where both halves are required.

因为... 所以... (yin1wei4 ... suo3yi3 ...): because / so

• 因为下雨，所以我不出去。 (Because it is raining, so I am not going out.)

Both halves are usually present. In casual speech the 所以 can be dropped. The English speaker's reflex to drop "so" produces unidiomatic Mandarin.

虽然... 但是... (sui1ran2 ... dan4shi4 ...): although / but

• 虽然他很累，但是他还在工作。 (Although he is very tired, but he is still working.)

Both halves are required. The English "although" stands alone; Mandarin needs both 虽然 and 但是.

不但... 而且... (bu2dan4 ... er2qie3 ...): not only / but also

• 他不但聪明，而且很努力。 (He is not only intelligent, but also very hard-working.)

The high-register option for "not only / but also" sentences.

一... 就... (yi1 ... jiu4 ...): as soon as / whenever

• 我一到家就给你打电话。 (Wo3 yi1 dao4 jia1 jiu4 gei3 ni3 da3 dian4hua4.) - As soon as I get home I will call you.
• 他一喝酒就脸红。 (Ta1 yi1 he1 jiu3 jiu4 lian3 hong2.) - Whenever he drinks alcohol his face goes red.

The 一... 就... pattern is one of the most distinctive Mandarin constructions. Drilling it as a unit (not as two separate words) is the key.

如果... 就... (ru2guo3 ... jiu4 ...): if / then

• 如果你饿了，就吃饭吧。 (Ru2guo3 ni3 e4 le, jiu4 chi1fan4 ba.) - If you are hungry, then eat.

The 如果 can be replaced by 要是 (yao4shi4) in casual speech for the same meaning.

越... 越... (yue4 ... yue4 ...): the more / the more

• 越多越好。 (Yue4 duo1 yue4 hao3.) - The more the better.
• 我越想越生气。 (Wo3 yue4 xiang3 yue4 sheng1qi4.) - The more I think about it, the angrier I get.

The 把 (ba3) construction, in depth

Already introduced in the cheatsheet. At B2 level the construction needs to become reflexive: you reach for it when a specific object undergoes a specific change.

The structure: Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + (complement / location / result).

Required when you need to specify what happens to the object:

• 我把书放在桌子上。 (I put the book on the table.) - location result, 把 required.
• 他把门关上了。 (He closed the door.) - state result, 把 required.
• 我把作业做完了。 (I finished doing the homework.) - completion result, 把 required.

Not required when the action is generic or the object is not specific:

• 我吃饭。 (I eat / I am eating.) - generic action.
• 我喝水。 (I drink water.) - generic action, no 把.

The trap: HSK 4-5 candidates either underuse the 把 construction (in contexts where the result requires it) or overuse it (in contexts where it is unnecessary). The internalised rule: use 把 when the object is specific and the verb has a clear effect on it.

The 是...的 (shi4 ... de) focus construction

Used to emphasise specific information about a completed past action: time, place, manner, agent.

• 我是去年来的。 (Wo3 shi4 qu4nian2 lai2 de.) - It was last year that I came (emphasising when).
• 我是坐飞机来的。 (Wo3 shi4 zuo4 fei1ji1 lai2 de.) - It was by plane that I came (emphasising how).
• 他是从北京来的。 (Ta1 shi4 cong2 Bei3jing1 lai2 de.) - He came from Beijing (emphasising where from).

This is a B2-level construction. A B1 speaker says "我去年来" (I came last year); a B2 speaker says "我是去年来的" when the time is the emphasised information. Both are grammatical; the second sounds noticeably more native.

The action must be past and the speaker assumes the listener knows the basic event happened. 是...的 focuses on the specific circumstance.

The 被 (bei4) passive, in depth

The 被 passive in Mandarin is used less than in English and traditionally carries a slight negative connotation (something unwanted happened to the subject).

• 他被打了。 (He was hit.)
• 这本书被偷了。 (This book was stolen.)
• 我被老板批评了。 (I was criticised by the boss.)

Modern usage has softened this; positive uses are increasingly accepted:

• 他被选为主席。 (He was elected chairman.) - neutral / positive in modern usage.

But the classical negative connotation remains. C2 writers in Mandarin still avoid 被 for positive passives where an active construction would work.

Two other passive markers in formal writing:

• 由 (you2): "by" in formal agency. 这项工作由我负责。 (This work is my responsibility / is handled by me.)
• 给 (gei3): casual passive in spoken Mandarin. 我给他骗了。 (I was tricked by him.)

What to drill at B1-B2 / HSK 4-5

1. The full 了 system until you stop trying to map it onto English past tense.
2. Resultative and directional complements as a default construction. "看完", "听懂", "走过去" rather than verb-only forms.
3. The potential complement (verb + 得/不 + result) as a distinct construction from 能.
4. The two-part conjunctions (因为...所以, 虽然...但是, 一...就, 越...越) until they come out as units.
5. The 是...的 focus construction for emphasising time, place, or manner of a past action.

Once these five are solid, you are at the threshold of C1 / HSK 6. The next page, advanced Mandarin grammar, picks up there.