HSK 1
也 Word Order (Also/Too) in Chinese
也 adds another person, thing, action, or quality to something already mentioned. In its basic additive use, place it after the subject and before the predicate: 我也是学生. It normally precedes negators and many other adverbs, as in 我也不喝茶. Context determines what 也 links to.
STRUCTURE
Subject + 也 + (不/没/Adverb) + Predicate
When to use 也 — and when not
Use it when
- To say that another person or thing shares a description: 我也是学生。
- To add another action or quality: 她也喜欢中文 / 这个房间也很大。
- To add a negative statement, with 也 before 不 or 没: 我也不喝茶 / 他也没上课。
Don't use it when
- Before an explicit subject in the basic additive pattern; say 我也是学生, not 也我是学生.
- Between a transitive verb and its object; say 她也喜欢中文, not 她喜欢也中文.
- Do not use this beginner rule to reject every sentence-initial 也 or every 不也 sequence; advanced expressions such as 也难怪 and rhetorical 不也...吗 are valid.
Right vs. wrong
也我是学生。
我也是学生。
也 placed before the explicit subject
In the basic additive pattern, the explicit subject comes first and 也 sits before the predicate. The sequence 也我 cannot express 'I am also' here.
她喜欢也中文。
她也喜欢中文。
也 inserted between a transitive verb and its object
也 modifies the predicate 喜欢中文, so it belongs before the verb. It cannot split the verb 喜欢 from its object 中文.
Examples
我也是学生。
Wǒ yě shì xuésheng.
I am also a student.
她也喜欢中文。
Tā yě xǐhuan Zhōngwén.
She likes Chinese too.
我也不喝茶。
Wǒ yě bù hē chá.
I do not drink tea either.
他今天也没上课。
Tā jīntiān yě méi shàng kè.
He did not attend class today either.
妈妈去北京，爸爸也去北京。
Māma qù Běijīng, bàba yě qù Běijīng.
Mom is going to Beijing, and Dad is too.
这个房间也很大。
Zhège fángjiān yě hěn dà.
This room is also big.
Common mistakes
也我是学生。
Yě wǒ shì xuésheng.
Put the explicit subject before 也: 我也是学生。
她喜欢也中文。
Tā xǐhuan yě Zhōngwén.
Put 也 before the predicate, not between the verb and object: 她也喜欢中文。
Think you've got it?
Write your own 也 sentence and check that grammar point first.
也 Word Order (Also/Too) FAQ
Where does 也 go in a basic Chinese sentence?
Put it after the subject and before the predicate: 我也是学生, 她也喜欢中文. It does not follow the English positions of 'also' or 'too'.
Does 也 come before or after 不 and 没?
For the basic additive meaning 'also not' or 'not either', use 也不 or 也没: 我也不喝茶, 他也没上课. 不也...吗 is a separate rhetorical-question pattern and is not an error.
Does 也 always refer to the subject?
No. Context and emphasis determine which earlier person, action, or quality is being matched. The reliable beginner rule is its clause position: usually after the subject and before the predicate.