Chinese Grammar for Speaking — Questions, Ongoing Actions and Experience

Speaking grammar is most useful when it helps you ask, describe what is happening, or share an experience.

Pattern	Example	Meaning
吗 (ma)	你去过北京吗？ (Nǐ qùguo Běijīng ma?)	Have you been to Beijing?
在 (zài)	我在等地铁。 (Wǒ zài děng dìtiě.)	I am waiting for the metro.
过 (guo)	我去过北京。 (Wǒ qùguo Běijīng.)	I have been to Beijing.

Friend: 你去过北京吗？
(Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?)
Learner: 去过。我去年去了北京。
(Qù guo. Wǒ qùnián qù le Běijīng.)
Friend: 你觉得怎么样？
(Nǐ juéde zěnmeyàng?)

Conversation: describe what is happening now

A: 你在做什么？
(Nǐ zài zuò shénme?)
B: 我在等朋友，他马上就到。
(Wǒ zài děng péngyou, tā mǎshàng jiù dào.)
A: 好，那我先去买咖啡。
(Hǎo, nà wǒ xiān qù mǎi kāfēi.)

Takeaway

• Use 吗 (ma) to turn a statement into a yes/no question.
• 在 (zài) marks an action in progress.
• 过 (guo) talks about life experience, not a finished plan.

Make the pattern do real work

Take one familiar verb—吃 (chī), 去 (qù), 看 (kàn)—and make three useful turns: a question, something happening now, and one past experience. This trains the time choice you need in real conversation, instead of practicing grammar labels in isolation.

Related: core patterns is the same grammar as ready-made sentences, and a short practice method gets it into your mouth.

By the end of this chapter, you can say

我在等地铁。你去过北京吗？ (Wǒ zài děng dìtiě. Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?)

Practical note for this chapter

Open a conversation, form a useful sentence, ask for clarification, and practice aloud. In this chapter, practice giving a short response and then checking what matters.

Use it in context

A: 你现在在做什么？ (Nǐ xiànzài zài zuò shénme?)

B: 我在等地铁。你去过北京吗？ (Wǒ zài děng dìtiě. Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?)

▶ Listen to the dialogue▶ Listen slowlyStop● Record my voiceStop

Phrase map for this chapter

Question or situation

你现在在做什么？ (Nǐ xiànzài zài zuò shénme?)

Central response

我在等地铁。你去过北京吗？ (Wǒ zài děng dìtiě. Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?)

Another natural way to say it

我正在等地铁。 (Wǒ zhèngzài děng dìtiě.)

Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.

How to use it

Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

Turn the model into three conversation turns

1. 1. Open the situation你现在在做什么？ (Nǐ xiànzài zài zuò shénme?)
2. 2. Say the central response我在等地铁。你去过北京吗？ (Wǒ zài děng dìtiě. Nǐ qù guo Běijīng ma?)
3. 3. Add an alternative我正在等地铁。 (Wǒ zhèngzài děng dìtiě.)

Before acting, check the point most likely to cause a misunderstanding. This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

A useful variation

Keep the same purpose, then change the person, time or place to make it your own.

我正在等地铁。 (Wǒ zhèngzài děng dìtiě.)

Use this variation in a situation you genuinely expect to handle.

Listen to the model once, then say it again with one detail from your own situation.

A common trap

For important details, do not decide from what you think you heard; check written information when needed.

时间、正在进行和过去经历不要混在同一句里。 (Shíjiān, zhèngzài jìnxíng hé guòqù jīnglì bú yào hùn zài tóng yí jù lǐ.)

This dialogue is for practice. For important decisions, confirm official guidance as well.

Three-step practice

1. Open the situation in one short phrase
2. Say the central response
3. Add one detail of your own