Verbal Phrases and Their Sentence Roles in Chinese
动词性短语
A verbal phrase has a verb-centered function and usually serves as the predicate of a clause. It may contain an object, complement, adverbial, or another verb, so its internal structure varies. The phrase must keep the word order required by those parts; calling it verbal does not make every sequence of verbs acceptable.
Published August 4, 2026
Reviewed August 4, 2026
01 / PATTERN
See the Structure
MODEL
Subject + Verbal Phrase
Read the structure
A verbal phrase has a verb-centered function and usually serves as the predicate of a clause. It may contain an object, complement, adverbial, or another verb, so its internal structure varies. The phrase must keep the word order required by those parts; calling it verbal does not make every sequence of verbs acceptable. Keep the model Subject + Verbal Phrase visible while you compare each sentence.
他正在写作业。
He is doing homework.
Choose the right context
Build a predicate around an action or event. Keep a verb together with its object or complement. Analyze a multiword predicate as one verbal constituent.
我们听懂了。
We understood what we heard.
Respect the boundary
Do not move an object before an ordinary transitive verb without a licensed construction. Do not place a modal after the verb it governs. Do not assume adjacent verbs automatically form one phrase.
我水果买。
(I fruit buy.)
Repair the pattern
The ordinary verb and object are reversed: In an ordinary verb-object phrase, 买 precedes its object 水果. The modal follows the verb it governs: The modal 可以 must precede the verbal phrase 去 that it governs.
我买水果。
Use the repaired structure without changing the intended meaning.
02 / MAP
Read the Sentence
Read from left to right and notice the job performed by each part. The labels describe this example; they are not a rule that every Chinese sentence must copy.
他正在写作业。
He is doing homework.
他
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
正在
Verbal Phrase
This part occupies the Verbal Phrase position in the model pattern.
写作
Subject
This part occupies the Subject position in the model pattern.
业
Verbal Phrase
This part occupies the Verbal Phrase position in the model pattern.
03 / EXAMPLES
Examples You Can Reuse
Keep the structure stable while changing the people, objects, times, or conditions. Pinyin is shown as reading support; use the Chinese sentence and translation to confirm the grammar relationship.
他正在写作业。
He is doing homework.
我们听懂了。
We understood what we heard.
姐姐去超市买菜。
My older sister goes to the supermarket to buy groceries.
04 / LIMITS
When to Use It — and When Not To
Use it when
- Build a predicate around an action or event.
- Keep a verb together with its object or complement.
- Analyze a multiword predicate as one verbal constituent.
Do not use it when
- Do not move an object before an ordinary transitive verb without a licensed construction.
- Do not place a modal after the verb it governs.
- Do not assume adjacent verbs automatically form one phrase.
05 / REPAIR
Compare Right and Wrong
Compare the smallest meaningful change. Each explanation identifies a placement, scope, form, or clause relationship instead of treating the whole sentence as one undifferentiated mistake.
我水果买。
我买水果。
The ordinary verb and object are reversed
In an ordinary verb-object phrase, 买 precedes its object 水果.
他去可以。
他可以去。
The modal follows the verb it governs
The modal 可以 must precede the verbal phrase 去 that it governs.
我水果买。
In an ordinary verb-object phrase, 买 precedes its object 水果.
他去可以。
The modal 可以 must precede the verbal phrase 去 that it governs.
06 / PRACTICE
Practice the Grammar Point
Complete three short tasks in order: judge the pattern, repair a common error, and build the sentence. Feedback is fixed and reviewed, so these activities do not use a checker allowance.
1. Judge the sentence
2. Choose the correction
3. Build the sentence
Build a complete sentence with 动词性短语.
07 / APPLY
Apply It in Your Sentence
Write one original sentence with 动词性短语. Your draft moves to the checker through this browser session, selects this grammar point as the first review focus, and waits for you to submit.
08 / QUESTIONS
Verbal Phrases and Their Sentence Roles Questions
Must a verbal phrase contain only verbs?
No. It may include objects, complements, adverbials, or several predicates around a verbal center.
Is every verbal phrase a complete sentence?
No. It usually needs a subject or surrounding context to form an independent clause.
09 / SOURCES
Sources and Review Notes
These references support different parts of the lesson. GF0025-2021 supports level placement only; professional grammar works support the explanation, limits, examples, and cross-checks. Their inclusion does not imply endorsement.
Chinese Proficiency Grading Standards for International Chinese Language Education (GF0025-2021)
Ministry of Education and State Language Commission · Ministry of Education of the PRC · 2021
Locator: Appendix A, Level 2 item 【二40】, PDF p. 190 (printed p. 184)
Places verbal phrases and representative predicate examples at Level 2.
Official source现代汉语语法课程讲义
包头师范学院 · 包头师范学院 · 2024
Locator: 第四节短语, slide 30, functional phrase classes
States that predicate phrases, including verbal phrases, primarily function as predicates.
Official source10 / CONTINUE
Continue with a Connected Rule
Easy to confuse
基本结构类型短语Five Basic Structural Phrase Types
Verbal function and internal verb-object or verb-complement structure answer different questions.
Continue learning
动词/形容词作谓语Basic Verb and Adjective Predicates
Use verbal phrases as the most common action-centered form of a predicate.
Continue learning
连动句：方式与目的Serial Verbs for Manner and Purpose
Continue from general verbal phrases to two predicates linked by purpose.
Compare
完/到/见Result Complements (完/到/见)
A result complement is one internal ending within a broader verbal phrase.
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Verbal function and internal verb-object or verb-complement structure answer different questions.