Grammaire of Lesson 1

Chinese grammar is quite simple: there are no genders (masculine/feminine), no numbers (singular/plural), and no conjugation—the words remain unchanged. This is why word order is very important and, as we will see later, follows a logical order (though it is often the reverse of ours). Context plays a key role in determining, for example, whether one is talking about one or more things.

The simple sentence in Mandarin Chinese

In Mandarin Chinese, a simple sentence follows this structure:

The adjectival verb

But here’s the first surprise: 好 ("hǎo," meaning "to be well") is what is called an adjectival verb. In other words, the adjective "well" already includes the verb "to be" or "to go." Therefore, no auxiliary verb needs to be added to adjectives in Chinese.
The peculiarity of these adjectival verbs (to be well, to be tired, to be happy, etc.) is that, in the affirmative, they imply a comparison. For example: 我好， Wǒ hǎo, is not a complete sentence and would translate to "I am well, while..." ("you aren’t well," for example, to complete the sentence).

To remove the implied comparison and form a complete sentence, you must add the adverb 很 hěn.

Thus, the phrase "I am well" is written as: 我很好 Wǒ hěn hǎo.

But does this sentence translate as "I am well." or "I am very well"? In writing, the difference is impossible to make—it is ambiguous. However, in speech, if 很 hěn is not stressed, it means "I am well."
Listen:   

If 很 hěn is stressed, it means "I am very well."
Listen:   

No conjugation

In Chinese, there is no conjugation:
我很好。 Wǒ hěn hǎo. I am well.
你很好。 Nǐ hěn hǎo. You are well.
他很好。 Tā hěn hǎo. He is well.

The interrogative sentence

In Mandarin Chinese, a complete question (or yes/no question) is formed very simply:

Example: 你好吗？ Nǐ hǎo ma? Are you well?

Note:

1. Since this is not an affirmative sentence, the adjectival verb (好 hǎo, meaning "to be well") does not imply a comparison. Therefore, there is no need to add 很 hěn. If you do add it, it means: "Are you very well?" 你很好吗？ Nǐ hěn hǎo ma?
2. In Chinese questions, there is no subject-verb inversion. The sentence structure remains the same: "subject + verb + complement."

The adverb 也

也 yě is an adverb meaning "also" or "as well." Like all adverbs in Chinese, it is placed before the verb or before one or more other adverbs that come before a verb. This is a general rule of Chinese grammar.

Example: 我也很好。 I am (very) well too.

As you can see in the example, "me too" in French does not require a verb, but in Chinese, the verb must be included. 我也。 is impossible. Why? Because in Chinese, an adverb always functions with a verb.

Finally, if multiple adverbs follow one another, 也 always comes first:
你很不客气，他也很不客气。 You are not at all (very not) polite, neither is he.

One last note: 也不 translates as "neither" or "not either" in French.