Present tense

Mandarin verbs never conjugate — not for person, not for number, not for tense. 去 qù is "go", "goes", "went", "will go". This chapter is really about the two or three small words you add when "right now" matters.

One form, every person

There are no irregular verbs, because there is nothing to be irregular at. The hundreds of hours European languages spend on conjugation tables simply come off your bill.

是 shì — "to be", but only between nouns

是 links a noun to a noun:

我是学生 wǒ shì xuésheng — "I am a student" 他是我哥哥 tā shì wǒ gēge — "he is my older brother"

The classic beginner error: 是 is NOT used before adjectives. Adjectives are verbs in their own right (see the Adjectives chapter):

That 很 hěn is a near-meaningless filler here, not "very".

有 yǒu — "to have" (and "there is")

我有时间 wǒ yǒu shíjiān — "I have time" 楼下有咖啡店 lóuxià yǒu kāfēidiàn — "downstairs there's a café"

有 is the one verb with a fixed negative: always 没有 méiyǒu, never 不有.

Right now: 在 zài + verb

For actions in progress, put 在 before the verb (optionally 正在 zhèngzài, and/or 呢 ne at the end):

Without 在, a bare verb reads as habitual or general:

我喝咖啡 wǒ hē kāfēi — "I drink coffee (in general)" vs 我在喝咖啡 wǒ zài hē kāfēi — "I'm drinking coffee (now)".

Habits and timeless truths: bare verb + time word

The takeaway

Learn a verb once and you own it in every person and, with the right time word, every time frame. The only trap in the present is 是: nouns take 是, adjectives take 很.

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