Mandarin Chinese 1 Quiz: Affirmative And Negative Sentences
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Affirmative And Negative SentencesQuestion 1 of 10

Maria is learning Chinese and wants to tell her friend that she does not drink coffee. She writes: '我不喝咖啡。' Her friend then asks her to say the same thing but emphasizing that she has never tried coffee before.

Which sentence correctly expresses that the speaker has never drunk coffee, using the appropriate negation word for past experiences?

我不喝过咖啡。(Wǒ bù hē guò kāfēi.)
我没喝过咖啡。(Wǒ méi hē guò kāfēi.)
我不喝咖啡过。(Wǒ bù hē kāfēi guò.)
我没有不喝咖啡。(Wǒ méiyǒu bù hē kāfēi.)
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Mandarin Chinese 1 Quiz

Mandarin Chinese 1 Quiz: Affirmative And Negative Sentences

Practice Affirmative And Negative Sentences in Mandarin Chinese 1 with focused quiz questions that help you check what you know, review explanations, and build confidence with test-style prompts.

What this quiz covers

This quiz focuses on Affirmative And Negative Sentences, giving you a quick way to practice the rules, question types, and explanations that matter most for Mandarin Chinese 1.

How to use this quiz

Try each quiz question before looking at the correct answer. Use the explanations to review missed ideas, then come back to similar questions until the pattern feels familiar.

All questions

Question 1

Maria is learning Chinese and wants to tell her friend that she does not drink coffee. She writes: '我不喝咖啡。' Her friend then asks her to say the same thing but emphasizing that she has never tried coffee before.

Which sentence correctly expresses that the speaker has never drunk coffee, using the appropriate negation word for past experiences?

  1. 我不喝过咖啡。(Wǒ bù hē guò kāfēi.)
  2. 我没喝过咖啡。(Wǒ méi hē guò kāfēi.) (correct answer)
  3. 我不喝咖啡过。(Wǒ bù hē kāfēi guò.)
  4. 我没有不喝咖啡。(Wǒ méiyǒu bù hē kāfēi.)
Explanation: When expressing whether something has or hasn't happened as a past experience in Mandarin, you need to pay close attention to two things: the negation word you choose and the placement of 过 (guò). The particle 过 marks a life experience — something that has or hasn't ever occurred — and it always attaches directly after the verb. The negation word that pairs with experiential 过 is 没 (méi), not 不 (bù). Here's why: 不 negates habitual actions, general preferences, or present/future intentions ("I don't drink coffee" as a habit). 没 negates completed actions or past experiences. So when Maria wants to say she has never tried coffee, 没 is the correct choice, giving you 我没喝过咖啡 — "I have never drunk coffee before." This is answer B, and it's correctly constructed: 没 + verb + 过 + object. Looking at the wrong options: A uses 不 instead of 没 before 喝过, which is the core error — 不 cannot negate a past experience marked by 过. C misplaces 过 at the end of the sentence after the object 咖啡, but 过 must follow the verb directly (喝过), not trail the object. D is a double-negation construction (没有不, meaning "it's not the case that I don't...") that actually implies she does drink coffee — the opposite of the intended meaning. A useful memory trick: think of 没 as the "past/experience" negator and 不 as the "present/habit" negator. Whenever you see 过 in a sentence, your default negation should be 没.

Question 2

Which of the following sentences correctly means 'I don't have a car' in Chinese?

  1. 我不有车。(Wǒ bù yǒu chē.)
  2. 我没有车。(Wǒ méiyǒu chē.) (correct answer)
  3. 我是没有车。(Wǒ shì méiyǒu chē.)
  4. 我有不车。(Wǒ yǒu bù chē.)
Explanation: When expressing possession or existence in Chinese, the verb you use matters enormously. Chinese has two key negation words — 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) — and they are not interchangeable. 不 negates general actions, habits, or states, while 没 specifically negates 有 (yǒu, "to have/exist") and completed actions. This distinction is the heart of this question. The correct answer is B: 我没有车 (Wǒ méiyǒu chē). To say you don't possess something, you must use 没有, never 不有. 没有 functions as a fixed unit meaning "to not have," and 车 (chē, "car") follows naturally as the object. Option A is the most common beginner mistake. Using 不有 (bù yǒu) sounds logical if you apply English negation rules, but it is simply ungrammatical in Chinese — native speakers never negate 有 with 不. Option C adds 是 (shì, "to be") before 没有, which is unnecessary and incorrect. 是 is the linking verb for identity (e.g., "I am a teacher"), not a general verb reinforcer. This construction doesn't exist in standard Mandarin for possession. Option D places 不 between 有 and 车, which completely breaks Chinese word order and is nonsensical — negation always comes before the verb, not after it. A helpful rule to memorize: 有 is always negated by 没, never by 不. Think of 没有 as one inseparable phrase. When you see a possession sentence on the exam, immediately ask yourself whether the negation uses 没有 — if it doesn't, the answer is almost certainly wrong.

Question 3

A student wants to say 'I am not busy tomorrow' in Chinese. Which sentence is correct?

  1. 我明天没忙。(Wǒ míngtiān méi máng.)
  2. 我明天忙不。(Wǒ míngtiān máng bù.)
  3. 我不明天忙。(Wǒ bù míngtiān máng.)
  4. 我明天不忙。(Wǒ míngtiān bù máng.) (correct answer)
Explanation: When negating adjectives and stative verbs in Mandarin, the key rule is that 不 (bù) is placed directly before the word it negates, and the overall sentence follows a Subject + Time Word + Negation + Adjective/Verb structure. Keeping this word order in mind makes this question straightforward. In Chinese, 忙 (máng) means "busy" and functions as a stative verb/adjective. To say "not busy," you place 不 immediately before 忙, giving you 不忙 (bù máng). The time word 明天 (míngtiān, "tomorrow") slots in after the subject and before the predicate. That gives you: 我 (I) + 明天 (tomorrow) + 不忙 (not busy) — making D) 我明天不忙 the correct sentence. Here's why the other options fail. A) uses 没 (méi) instead of 不. While 没 is used to negate 有 (to have) or to indicate something hasn't happened, it is not used to negate stative adjectives like 忙 — that's a classic mix-up. B) places 不 after 忙, which is grammatically wrong in Mandarin; negation always precedes the verb or adjective, never follows it. C) puts 不 before the time word 明天, which incorrectly implies you're negating "tomorrow" rather than "busy" — the word order breaks the standard Subject + Time + Predicate rule. A helpful tip: in Mandarin, 不 always sits directly in front of the word it negates, and time expressions come before the predicate, not after the subject marker. Memorizing the pattern Subject + Time + 不 + Verb/Adjective will serve you well throughout this course.

Question 4

Which of the following sentences correctly means 'My younger sister does not like vegetables' in Chinese, using the appropriate negation?

  1. 我妹妹没喜欢蔬菜。(Wǒ mèimei méi xǐhuān shūcài.)
  2. 我妹妹不喜欢蔬菜。(Wǒ mèimei bù xǐhuān shūcài.) (correct answer)
  3. 我妹妹喜欢不蔬菜。(Wǒ mèimei xǐhuān bù shūcài.)
  4. 我妹妹不喜欢不蔬菜。(Wǒ mèimei bù xǐhuān bù shūcài.)
Explanation: When negating verbs in Mandarin, the two most important words are 不 (bù) and 没 (méi), and knowing when to use each is essential. Use 不 (bù) to negate habitual actions, preferences, or general states — things that are regularly or generally not true. Use 没 (méi) to negate completed actions or to say something has not happened yet, often paired with 有 (yǒu). Since "liking vegetables" describes a general preference — not a specific completed event — the correct negation is 不 (bù) placed directly before the verb 喜欢 (xǐhuān). This gives you 我妹妹不喜欢蔬菜, meaning "My younger sister does not like vegetables" as a general truth. That makes B the correct answer. A is wrong because 没 (méi) implies a completed action was not done, which doesn't fit a preference. Saying 没喜欢 suggests she "hasn't liked" something in a specific past instance, which sounds unnatural for expressing a general dislike. C places 不 after the verb and before the object (蔬菜), which breaks Mandarin grammar entirely. Negation must come directly before the verb, not between the verb and its object. D doubles the negation with 不 appearing twice — once before 喜欢 and once before 蔬菜. This is grammatically incorrect and doesn't create emphasis or a double negative the way some languages allow; it's simply an error. A useful memory tip: think of 不 as your go-to negation for preferences, habits, and states, and reserve 没 for actions involving completion or the word 有.

Question 5

A teacher presents the following sentence and asks students to identify the error: '我昨天不去了超市。(Wǒ zuótiān bù qù le chāoshì.)'

Why is the sentence '我昨天不去了超市' incorrect, and what is the best correction?

  1. 不 cannot be used to negate a completed past action; the corrected sentence is: 我昨天没去超市。(Wǒ zuótiān méi qù chāoshì.) (correct answer)
  2. The time word 昨天 must come after the verb; the corrected sentence is: 我不去了昨天超市。(Wǒ bù qù le zuótiān chāoshì.)
  3. 了 must come at the end of the sentence after the object; the corrected sentence is: 我昨天不去超市了。(Wǒ zuótiān bù qù chāoshì le.)
  4. 没 must replace 不, and 了 must be kept in the same position; the corrected sentence is: 我昨天没去了超市。(Wǒ zuótiān méi qù le chāoshì.)
Explanation: When negating actions in Mandarin, the choice between 不 (bù) and 没 (méi) is critical — and this is exactly what's being tested here. Think of it this way: 不 expresses intentional refusal or habitual non-action (present/future), while 没 negates completed actions (past). Whenever you see a past-tense context with 了, ask yourself which negator belongs there. The original sentence uses 不 with 了 to describe something that didn't happen yesterday — a completed past action. This is grammatically wrong because 不 cannot negate completed events. The correct fix, as answer A shows, is to replace 不 with 没 and drop 了 entirely: 我昨天没去超市 (Wǒ zuótiān méi qù chāoshì). When 没 is used to negate a past action, 了 is automatically removed because 没 already implies the action was not completed. Answer B is wrong because time words like 昨天 correctly appear before the verb in Mandarin — moving them after the verb violates standard sentence structure. Answer C keeps 不, which remains the wrong negator for past actions; moving 了 to the end doesn't fix the core error. Answer D correctly swaps 不 for 没, but critically keeps 了 in place — this is a common trap. 没 and 了 together in this construction are contradictory: 没 signals incompletion, while 了 signals completion. Study tip: Remember the rule as a pair — 没 negates past actions, and 了 disappears with 没. If you see both 没 and 了 together in a simple past negation, that's your red flag.

Question 6

Two students are debating which sentence correctly means 'They did not eat lunch yesterday.' They write four options on the board.

Which sentence correctly expresses that they did not eat lunch yesterday?

  1. 他们昨天不吃午饭。(Tāmen zuótiān bù chī wǔfàn.)
  2. 他们昨天没吃午饭。(Tāmen zuótiān méi chī wǔfàn.) (correct answer)
  3. 他们昨天吃没午饭。(Tāmen zuótiān chī méi wǔfàn.)
  4. 他们不昨天吃午饭。(Tāmen bù zuótiān chī wǔfàn.)
Explanation: When negating actions in Mandarin, the key distinction is between 不 (bù) and 没 (méi). Use 不 to express unwillingness or habitual non-action ("I don't eat lunch"), and use 没 to negate completed or past actions ("I didn't eat lunch"). Since this sentence describes something that did not happen yesterday — a specific past event — you need 没, not 不. That makes B (他们昨天没吃午饭) the correct answer. The structure follows Mandarin's standard word order: Subject + Time Word + Negation + Verb + Object. Here, 没 precedes the verb 吃 (chī, "eat") to indicate the action was not completed in the past. This is natural, grammatically correct, and perfectly expresses the intended meaning. A uses 不 instead of 没, which signals a general or habitual negation — like "They don't eat lunch (as a rule)" — not a past event. This is a very common trap: 不 feels like a general "no," so students reach for it first. C places 没 between the verb and object (吃没午饭), which is not a valid Mandarin structure. Negation words must come before the verb, not after it. D puts 不 before the time word 昨天, which breaks Mandarin word order rules. Negation belongs before the verb, not before time expressions. A quick memory trick: 没 = past/completed negation, 不 = present habit or refusal. Whenever you see a past time word like 昨天, 上周, or 以前, ask yourself whether 没 should be doing the negating.

Question 7

A student is writing a journal entry and wants to include the sentence: 'This week, I did not exercise at all.' The student is unsure whether to use 不 or 没.

Which sentence correctly expresses that the speaker did not exercise at all this week?

  1. 这个星期，我不运动了。(Zhège xīngqī, wǒ bù yùndòng le.)
  2. 这个星期，我没运动过去。(Zhège xīngqī, wǒ méi yùndòng guòqù.)
  3. 这个星期，我运动不了。(Zhège xīngqī, wǒ yùndòng bù le.)
  4. 这个星期，我没有运动。(Zhège xīngqī, wǒ méiyǒu yùndòng.) (correct answer)
Explanation: When expressing negation in Mandarin, the choice between 不 (bù) and 没/没有 (méi/méiyǒu) depends on what kind of negation you mean. 不 negates habits, intentions, or general truths ("I don't exercise" as a lifestyle choice), while 没有 negates completed or past actions ("I did not exercise" — something that simply didn't happen). Since the journal entry describes a specific past week with no exercise, 没有 is the correct tool. Option D — 这个星期，我没有运动 — is correct because 没有 + verb accurately negates a past action within a defined time frame (this week). It's natural, grammatically clean, and matches the intended meaning perfectly. Option A uses 不运动了, which implies a change in habit or intention, as if the speaker is announcing "I'm quitting exercising from now on." The particle 了 here signals a change of state, not a past non-event — so it completely shifts the meaning. Option B adds 过去 (guòqù), which means "the past" or "to pass by" as a standalone phrase. Attaching it after 运动 this way is ungrammatical and doesn't function as a past-tense marker. Don't confuse it with 过 (guò), which marks life experience (e.g., 我运动过 = "I have exercised before"). Option C uses 运动不了, which means "unable to exercise" — expressing inability, not simply the fact that no exercise occurred. This is a potential construction (V + 不了), not a negation of a past action. Your study tip: when describing something that didn't happen in a specific time period, default to 没有 + verb. Save 不 for habits, preferences, and intentions.

Question 8

Read this short exchange: 学生：你吃了吗？(Did you eat?) 朋友： 。(No, I didn't eat.)

Which response correctly fills in the blank to mean 'No, I didn't eat' as a response about a recent completed action?

  1. 不，我不吃了。(Bù, wǒ bù chī le.)
  2. 不，我吃没有。(Bù, wǒ chī méiyǒu.)
  3. 没有，我没吃。(Méiyǒu, wǒ méi chī.) (correct answer)
  4. 没有，我不吃。(Méiyǒu, wǒ bù chī.)
Explanation: When negating a completed action in Mandarin, you need to think carefully about which negative word to use: 不 (bù) vs. 没 (méi). This distinction is one of the most tested grammar points in beginner Mandarin, and getting it wrong changes your meaning entirely. In Mandarin, 没 (méi) is used to negate past or completed actions — essentially saying something did not happen. 不 (bù), by contrast, negates present habits, intentions, or general preferences. Since the question asks about a recent completed action ("did you eat?"), the correct negation must use 没. Option C — 没有，我没吃 — does exactly this. The opening 没有 (méiyǒu) is the standard short-form "no" when responding to questions about completed events, and 我没吃 correctly negates the action with 没. Looking at the wrong answers: A uses 不 twice, which would sound like "I don't eat (anymore)" — implying a general choice or habit change, not a denial of a past event. B puts the negative word after the verb (吃没有), which is not standard Mandarin sentence structure — negation must come before the verb. D opens correctly with 没有 but then uses 不吃, which again implies a habitual refusal ("I don't eat") rather than "I didn't eat" — mixing the right opener with the wrong negator. A handy rule to remember: 没 = past/completed actions; 不 = present habits or intentions. When you see a question involving whether something happened, always reach for 没, and make sure it comes directly before the verb.

Question 9

A teacher gives students this affirmative sentence: '她每天都去图书馆。(Tā měitiān dōu qù túshūguǎn.)' — 'She goes to the library every day.' The teacher asks students to correctly negate this habitual action.

Which negative sentence correctly expresses that she does NOT go to the library every day as a habit?

  1. 她每天都没去图书馆。(Tā měitiān dōu méi qù túshūguǎn.)
  2. 她不每天都去图书馆。(Tā bù měitiān dōu qù túshūguǎn.)
  3. 她每天都不去图书馆。(Tā měitiān dōu bù qù túshūguǎn.) (correct answer)
  4. 她每天去没图书馆。(Tā měitiān qù méi túshūguǎn.)
Explanation: When negating habitual actions in Mandarin, the key distinction is between 不 (bù) and 没 (méi). Use 不 to negate habitual or general behaviors (present/future tendency), and 没 to negate completed past actions. Since this question asks about a habit — an ongoing routine — 不 is the correct negator. Answer C, 她每天都不去图书馆, is correct because it places 不 directly before the verb 去, negating the habitual action itself. The structure 每天都 ("every day") remains intact, and 不去 clearly means "does not go" as a regular pattern. This mirrors the original sentence's structure while simply flipping the verb to negative. Answer A uses 没 instead of 不, which signals a past completed action — "She didn't go to the library every day" (implying a specific past period). This changes the meaning from a habitual negation to a past-tense one, making it the wrong tool for the job. Answer B places 不 before 每天, producing an awkward structure that sounds like "She not-every-day goes," which disrupts the natural flow and doesn't correctly negate the habit. In Mandarin, negators typically appear directly before the verb, not before time expressions like 每天. Answer D places 没 between the verb 去 and the object 图书馆, which is grammatically incorrect in Mandarin. Negators must precede the verb, never split the verb from its object. A handy tip: when you see a question about habitual or general behavior, ask yourself "is this a routine or a completed event?" Routine → 不; completed past action → 没.

Question 10

A student wants to say 'He is not a teacher' in Chinese. Which of the following sentences is grammatically correct?

  1. 他不是老师。(Tā bù shì lǎoshī.) (correct answer)
  2. 他没是老师。(Tā méi shì lǎoshī.)
  3. 他是不老师。(Tā shì bù lǎoshī.)
  4. 他没有是老师。(Tā méiyǒu shì lǎoshī.)
Explanation: When negating sentences in Chinese, the key is choosing the right negation word — and that choice depends entirely on what kind of verb or state you're negating. For the verb 是 (shì, "to be"), the correct negation is always 不 (bù), placed directly before the verb. So "He is not a teacher" becomes 他不是老师 — subject + 不 + 是 + noun. This is option A, and it's grammatically perfect. Here's why the other options fail. Option B uses 没 (méi) before 是, which is incorrect because 没 is used to negate 有 (yǒu, "to have") or to indicate that an action hasn't happened yet — it cannot negate the existential/linking verb 是. Option C places 不 after 是, giving you 他是不老师, which completely breaks Chinese word order. Negation words must come before the verb they negate, never after. Option D compounds the error by using 没有是 — combining 没有 (méiyǒu, "to not have") with 是, which produces a structure that doesn't exist in Chinese. 没有 is its own verb phrase and cannot be stacked in front of 是 this way. A great study tip: memorize the pairing 不是 as a fixed chunk meaning "is not." In Mandarin, 没 and 不 are not interchangeable — 没 negates 有 and completed actions, while 不 negates everything else, including 是. If you drill the pattern 他不是… ("He is not…"), you'll avoid the most common traps on negation questions.