Phase Verbs: 开始 / 继续 / 停 (Begin / Continue / Stop) | Chinese (Mandarin) Grammar

Some verbs don't describe an action so much as point at where you are inside one: its beginning, its continuation, or its end. These are phase verbs: 开始 (kāishǐ) begin, 继续 (jìxù) continue, 停 (tíng) stop, 结束 (jiéshù) end. Their defining feature is that they take another verb directly as their object — 开始 + a bare verb — with none of the "to" or "-ing" that English demands ("begin to study," "keep on working"). That single fact removes a whole category of beginner error, and it's the reason a sentence like 开始学中文 feels so clean.

No "to," no "-ing": phase verb + bare verb

English forces a choice after "begin": infinitive ("begin to run") or gerund ("begin running"). Chinese has neither. The phase verb sits directly in front of the verb phrase it frames, and that's the whole construction.

Phase	Verb	Pattern	Example
start	开始 (kāishǐ)	开始 + VP	开始学中文 (start learning Chinese)
continue	继续 (jìxù)	继续 + VP	继续工作 (keep working)
stop	停 / 停止 (tíng / tíngzhǐ)	停下来 / 停止 + VP	停下来 (come to a stop)
end	结束 (jiéshù)	(subject) 结束	会议结束了 (the meeting ended)

开始 — inception

开始 marks the moment an action gets going. It takes a verb phrase, but it just as happily takes a noun ("class") or stands with a weather/change event. Adding 了 signals the transition actually happened.

我们开始上课吧。

wǒmen kāishǐ shàngkè ba

Let's start class. (neutral) — 开始 + the verb-object 上课.

他三岁就开始学钢琴了。

tā sān suì jiù kāishǐ xué gāngqín le

He started learning the piano at three. (informal) — 开始 + the bare verb phrase 学钢琴.

天开始下雨了。

tiān kāishǐ xià yǔ le

It's starting to rain. (informal) — 开始 marks the onset of an event.

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Chinese also has a suffix-style inceptive — the complement 起来 attached to a verb (说起来 "start talking," 笑起来 "burst out laughing"). 开始 is the free-standing verb; 起来 is glued onto the action verb. See inceptive 起来 for that pattern.

继续 — carrying on

继续 resumes or sustains an action already underway. Like 开始, it takes the following verb bare.

别停，继续说。

bié tíng, jìxù shuō

Don't stop, keep talking. (informal) — 继续 + bare verb 说.

休息一下，我们再继续工作。

xiūxi yíxià, wǒmen zài jìxù gōngzuò

Let's take a break, then keep working. (informal) — 继续工作, no linker.

请大家继续努力。

qǐng dàjiā jìxù nǔlì

Everyone, please keep up the good work. (formal) — 继续 + 努力.

There's also a glued-on continuative, the complement 下去 (说下去 "carry on speaking," 活下去 "go on living"), covered under continuative 下去. 继续 is the standalone verb; 下去 the suffix.

Stopping: 停, 停止, 结束

Here the map gets subtle, because English "stop" and "finish" hide three different Chinese ideas.

停 is halt — an action or motion coming to rest. Intransitively it's "stops" (雨停了); it very often appears as 停下来 ("come to a stop"). Plain 停 does not take an activity verb as its object.

雨停了，我们出去走走吧。

yǔ tíng le, wǒmen chūqù zǒuzou ba

The rain's stopped, let's go for a walk. (informal) — 停 as intransitive 'halt'.

车还没停稳，别开门。

chē hái méi tíng wěn, bié kāimén

The car hasn't come to a full stop, don't open the door. (informal) — 停稳 = stop completely.

说到一半，他突然停下来了。

shuō dào yíbàn, tā tūrán tíng xiàlai le

Halfway through, he suddenly stopped. (informal) — 停下来 for coming to a halt.

停止 is the formal, transitive "cease / stop [doing]" — and unlike 停, it can take a verb-phrase object.

请大家停止说话，考试现在开始。

qǐng dàjiā tíngzhǐ shuōhuà, kǎoshì xiànzài kāishǐ

Everyone please stop talking, the exam begins now. (formal) — 停止 + verb phrase 说话.

结束 is "come to an end / conclude" — the natural finish of an event, class, or meeting. Don't confuse it with 完 (wán), the completive complement glued onto a verb to mean "finish doing" (吃完 "finish eating"), covered under resultative 完/好.

会议五点就结束了。

huìyì wǔ diǎn jiù jiéshù le

The meeting ended at five. (neutral) — 结束 = an event reaching its end.

我吃完饭就给你打电话。

wǒ chīwán fàn jiù gěi nǐ dǎ diànhuà

I'll call you as soon as I finish eating. (informal) — 完 = finish the action, glued onto 吃.

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Keep 停 / 结束 / 完 in three lanes: 停 = interrupt or halt (可能没做完 — maybe not finished); 结束 = an event runs its natural course to the end; 完 = an action is carried through to completion. A meeting can 结束 on schedule, a runner can 停下来 halfway, and only after you 做完 is the task actually done.

Common Mistakes

1. Adding a progressive 在 or a linker after 开始. The phase verb takes the following verb bare.

❌ 我们开始在工作。

Incorrect — no 在 between 开始 and the verb; the frame verb attaches directly.

✅ 我们开始工作。

wǒmen kāishǐ gōngzuò

We're starting work. (neutral) — 开始 + bare verb.

2. Using 停 for "finish." 停 = halt (often before completion); "finish doing" is the completive 完.

❌ 我停吃饭了。

Says 'I halted the eating' — sounds like you stopped mid-meal, not that you finished.

✅ 我吃完饭了。

wǒ chīwán fàn le

I've finished eating. (informal) — 完 for completion.

3. Using 停 where an event ends (结束). A film or meeting reaching its end is 结束; 停 would mean it was paused or froze.

❌ 电影十点停了。

Says 'the movie stopped/paused at ten' — as if the screen froze, not that it ended.

✅ 电影十点结束了。

diànyǐng shí diǎn jiéshù le

The movie ended at ten. (neutral) — 结束 for reaching the end.

4. Giving plain 停 a verb object. 停 alone can't govern an activity verb; use 停止 (formal) or 别 + verb + 了 (colloquial).

❌ 请停说话。

Incorrect — 停 can't take the verb 说话 directly.

✅ 请停止说话。

qǐng tíngzhǐ shuōhuà

Please stop talking. (formal) — 停止 takes the verb phrase; colloquially 别说话了.

Key Takeaways

开始 / 继续 take the following verb bare — 开始学中文, 继续工作 — no "to," no "-ing."
开始 marks inception; adding 了 signals the transition happened.
停 = halt (often 停下来); it does not take an activity verb — use 停止 (formal) for that.
结束 = an event reaches its end; don't swap it for 完, the completive complement for finishing an action (吃完).
The glued-on cousins live in aspect: inceptive 起来 and continuative 下去.

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