A huge share of everyday serial verb sentences answer the question "how?" — how you travel, what you use, in what posture you act. Chinese handles all of these the same way: the verb phrase describing the means or manner comes first, and the main action follows. 坐车去 is "sit-vehicle-go" = "go by bus"; 用筷子吃饭 is "use-chopsticks-eat" = "eat with chopsticks"; 站着说话 is "stand-talk" = "talk standing up." Where English reaches for a preposition ("by bus," "with chopsticks," "on foot"), Chinese reaches for a verb — and puts it up front.
Means of transport: 坐车去, 走路来, 开车去
To say how you get somewhere, name the mode of transport as a verb phrase before the motion verb 去/来. This literally tracks the timeline: first you board the bus, then you arrive.
我一般坐地铁去公司。
wǒ yìbān zuò dìtiě qù gōngsī
I usually take the subway to work. (neutral) — means (坐地铁) first, destination (去公司) second.
今天堵车，你走路来吧。
jīntiān dǔchē, nǐ zǒu lù lái ba
Traffic's bad today — just come on foot. (informal) — 走路 (walk) is the manner, 来 the motion.
他每天开车去接孩子。
tā měitiān kāichē qù jiē háizi
He drives to pick up the kids every day. (neutral) — 开车 (drive) precedes 去接.
Notice the mirror-of-English trap: English says "go by bus" (motion first, means second), but Chinese says 坐车去 (means first, motion last). The two languages put these pieces in opposite order.
Instrument: 用 + tool + verb
To say what you do something with, lead with 用 (yòng, "use") + the instrument, then the main verb. This is the most productive instrument pattern in the language.
在中国，大家都用手机付钱。
zài Zhōngguó, dàjiā dōu yòng shǒujī fù qián
In China everyone pays with their phone. (neutral) — 用手机 (use the phone) sets up the means for 付钱.
他不太会用筷子吃饭。
tā bú tài huì yòng kuàizi chī fàn
He's not very good at eating with chopsticks. (informal) — 用筷子 before 吃饭 (不 → bú before the 4th-tone 太).
你能不能用中文说一遍？
nǐ néng bu néng yòng Zhōngwén shuō yí biàn?
Could you say it once in Chinese? (neutral) — even 'in a language' uses 用: 用中文 'using Chinese.'
用 has drifted so far toward "prepositional" behavior that it is usually classed as a coverb — the topic of the coverb + verb page and, in depth, the 用 (instrument) page.
Manner with 着: 站着说话, 笑着说
To describe the posture or manner accompanying an action, attach the durative marker 着 (zhe) to the manner verb and place it first: 站着 ("standing"), 躺着 ("lying down"), 笑着 ("smilingly"). The 着-phrase and the main verb happen at the same time — this is the one means/manner sub-type that is simultaneous rather than sequential.
| Manner phrase | Main verb | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 站着 (zhàn zhe, standing) | 说话 | talk standing up |
| 躺着 (tǎng zhe, lying down) | 看书 | read lying down |
| 笑着 (xiào zhe, smiling) | 说 | say with a smile |
| 走着 (zǒu zhe, walking) | 去 | go on foot |
别站着说话了，坐下吧。
bié zhàn zhe shuōhuà le, zuò xià ba
Don't stand there talking — sit down. (informal) — 站着 (standing) describes the posture during 说话.
她笑着跟我打招呼。
tā xiào zhe gēn wǒ dǎ zhāohu
She greeted me with a smile. (neutral) — 笑着 (smiling) colors the manner of the greeting.
不远，我们走着去吧。
bù yuǎn, wǒmen zǒu zhe qù ba
It's not far — let's just walk there. (informal) — 走着去, another way to say 'go on foot.'
Common Mistakes
1. Putting the means after the main verb (English order). English says "go by bus"; Chinese puts the means first: 坐车去.
❌ 我去公司坐地铁。
Wrong order — this reads 'go to the office, then ride the subway.' The means must lead.
✅ 我坐地铁去公司。
wǒ zuò dìtiě qù gōngsī
I take the subway to the office. — means (坐地铁) before motion (去公司).
2. Dropping 用 before an instrument. Unlike English, which can bury the tool in a preposition, Chinese needs the verb 用 to introduce it.
❌ 我筷子吃饭。
Incorrect — an instrument needs the coverb 用 to introduce it.
✅ 我用筷子吃饭。
wǒ yòng kuàizi chī fàn
I eat with chopsticks. — 用 + instrument, then the verb.
3. Forgetting 着 on a posture verb. To mark manner that runs alongside the action, the first verb takes 着.
❌ 他站说话。
Incomplete — a posture accompanying the action needs 着: 站着说话.
✅ 他站着说话。
tā zhàn zhe shuōhuà
He talks standing up. — 着 marks the ongoing posture.
4. Linking the two verbs with 和. As always in serial verbs, no conjunction sits between them.
❌ 我坐车和去。
Incorrect — 和 can't join verbs; it's 坐车去.
✅ 我坐车去。
wǒ zuò chē qù
I go by bus. — no connector between the two verbs.
Key Takeaways
- The verb phrase stating means or manner comes first; the main action follows — the reverse of English "go by bus," "eat with chopsticks."
- Transport: 坐车去, 走路来, 开车去 — mode-of-travel verb, then 去/来.
- Instrument: 用 + tool + verb — 用筷子吃饭, 用手机付钱; 用 also covers "in (a language)": 用中文说.
- Posture/manner: manner verb + 着
- main verb — 站着说话, 笑着说 — the two actions overlap in time.
- No 和 and no preposition between the verbs — Chinese uses a leading verb where English uses a preposition.
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- Serial Verb Constructions (连动句)HSK 2 — In a 连动句, one subject performs two or more verbs in a row with no conjunction between them — and their order mirrors the real-world sequence of events: 坐车回家, 去买东西, 开门进来.
- Coverb + Verb: 用筷子吃饭HSK 2 — A coverb (介词) is a verb-turned-preposition that takes an object and forms a phrase BEFORE the main verb — 用筷子吃饭, 跟朋友聊天, 给妈妈打电话 — where English would use a preposition after the verb.
- 用 (yòng): With / Using (Instrument)HSK 1 — 用 (yòng) marks the tool or method 'with / using', sitting before the main verb: 用筷子吃饭 (eat with chopsticks), 用中文写 (write in Chinese), 用手机付钱 (pay with a phone). The instrument phrase always comes first: Subject + 用 + tool + Verb. Keep instrumental 'with' (用) separate from comitative 'with a person' (跟/和).
- 去/来 + Verb Phrase: Going/Coming to DoHSK 1 — 去 (qù) and 来 (lái) combine directly with a following verb to express purpose — 我去买菜, 你来帮我 — with no 'to' in between; the motion verb can also trail after the whole phrase (买菜去).