Manner and 'With-Whom' Placement | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

English loves to trail extra information after the verb: "go with him," "eat with chopsticks," "speak slowly." Chinese does the opposite — every one of these modifiers is an adverbial, and adverbials come before the verb. So who you do something with, what tool you use, and how you do it are all announced first, and the verb comes last. Learn this once and three separate structures fall into place together.

Companion: 跟…一起 goes before the verb

To say you do something together with someone, use the coverb 跟 (gēn, "with") to introduce the person, usually paired with 一起 (yìqǐ, "together"), and place the whole 跟…一起 block ahead of the verb.

我跟他一起去。

wǒ gēn tā yìqǐ qù

I'll go together with him. (informal) — 跟他一起 comes before 去.

我想跟你一起吃午饭。

wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ yìqǐ chī wǔfàn

I want to have lunch with you. (informal)

她常跟朋友一起打球。

tā cháng gēn péngyou yìqǐ dǎ qiú

She often plays ball with friends. (neutral)

你要不要跟我们一起去看电影？

nǐ yào bú yào gēn wǒmen yìqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng?

Do you want to come see a movie with us? (informal)

In speech 和 (hé) and 跟 are interchangeable here; 跟 is a touch more colloquial. The 一起 is what pins down the "together" sense — 跟他去 alone can drift toward "go along with him," so keep 一起 when you mean side by side.

Instrument: 用… goes before the verb

To name the tool or means, use the coverb 用 (yòng, "use / with"), again before the verb. Where English says "eat with chopsticks," Chinese says 用筷子吃饭 — "use-chopsticks eat."

中国人用筷子吃饭。

Zhōngguó rén yòng kuàizi chī fàn

Chinese people eat with chopsticks. (neutral) — 用筷子 precedes 吃饭.

请用铅笔写。

qǐng yòng qiānbǐ xiě

Please write with a pencil. (neutral)

现在我几乎都用手机付钱。

xiànzài wǒ jīhū dōu yòng shǒujī fù qián

These days I pay for almost everything with my phone. (informal)

Manner: adjective + 地 before the verb

To describe how an action is done, put a manner phrase in front of the verb marked with 地 (de) — the adverbial particle. The shape is Adjective + 地 + Verb. This 地 is written differently from the 的 of possession and the 得 of complements, but all three are pronounced de; see the adverbial 地 for the full split.

他慢慢地走过来。

tā mànmàn de zǒu guòlái

He walked over slowly. (neutral) — 慢慢地 sits right before 走.

老师很耐心地解释了两遍。

lǎoshī hěn nàixīn de jiěshì le liǎng biàn

The teacher patiently explained it twice. (neutral)

孩子们高高兴兴地跑出去了。

háizimen gāogāoxìngxìng de pǎo chūqù le

The children ran out happily. (informal) — reduplicated adjectives are a favourite manner pattern.

她认真地听着，一句话也没说。

tā rènzhēn de tīng zhe, yí jù huà yě méi shuō

She listened attentively, not saying a word. (neutral)

💡

When several of these stack, the order is companion → instrument → manner → verb, with the manner-地 phrase hugging the verb: 我跟他一起用筷子吃饭 (with him, using chopsticks, eat). The 地 phrase always ends up nearest the verb.

Common Mistakes

1. English tail order for the instrument. The tool phrase leads; it never trails the verb.

❌ 我吃饭用筷子。

Incorrect — the instrument goes before the verb, not after it.

✅ 我用筷子吃饭。

wǒ yòng kuàizi chī fàn

I eat with chopsticks.

2. Trailing the companion phrase. "…with him" as an afterthought is the English habit; Chinese fronts it.

❌ 我去看电影跟他一起。

Incorrect — 跟他一起 must precede the verb 去.

✅ 我跟他一起去看电影。

wǒ gēn tā yìqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng

I'll go see a movie with him.

3. Using 一起 as if it introduced the person. 一起 means "together"; it can't take an object. The person is introduced by 跟.

❌ 我一起他去。

Incorrect — 一起 can't govern 他; you need 跟他一起.

✅ 我跟他一起去。

wǒ gēn tā yìqǐ qù

I'll go together with him.

4. Confusing manner 地 (before the verb) with degree 得 (after the verb). Manner ahead of the verb takes 地; a degree complement after the verb takes 得.

❌ 他高兴得说：'太好了！'

Incorrect — this is a manner adverbial before the verb, so it needs 地, not 得.

✅ 他高兴地说：'太好了！'

tā gāoxìng de shuō: 'tài hǎo le!'

He said happily, 'Wonderful!'

Key Takeaways

Companion 跟…一起, instrument 用…, and manner …地 are all adverbials, so all come before the verb.
Keep 一起 for "together," and remember it needs 跟 (or 和) to introduce the person — 一起 can't take an object.
Manner uses the particle 地: Adjective + 地 + Verb (慢慢地走, 认真地听).
When they stack, order them companion → instrument → manner → verb, with the 地 phrase closest to the verb.
Don't confuse pre-verbal 地 (manner) with post-verbal 得 (degree complement).

Now practice Chinese

Reading grammar gets you part of the way. The exercises are where it sticks — free, no signup needed.

Start learning Chinese→