tā hái xiǎng mǎi nà běn shū.

In spoken Mandarin, 她 (she) and 他 (he) are both pronounced tā in the first tone.

The difference is only visible in writing:

• 他 = he
• 她 = she
• 它 = it

This means if you only hear tā, you usually need context to know whether the speaker means he, she, or sometimes it.

Here, 还 (hái) means still or also, depending on context.

In 她还想买那本书, it most naturally suggests something like:

• She still wants to buy that book
• or She also wants to buy that book

Which meaning is intended depends on the situation:

• If she wanted it before and continues to want it, 还 = still
• If this is one more thing in addition to others, 还 = also

This is a very common word in Mandarin, and context often decides the best English translation.

Mandarin usually puts adverbs before the verb or before the auxiliary/modal-like word they modify.

Here:

• 还 = an adverb
• 想买 = want to buy

So 还 comes before 想:

• 她 还 想 买 那本书

A rough structure is:

• subject + adverb + verb phrase

This is normal Mandarin word order.

In this sentence, 想 means to want to.

So:

• 想买 = want to buy

But 想 can have other meanings in other contexts, such as:

• to think
• to miss someone
• to feel like / would like to

Examples:

• 我想一想。 = I’ll think about it.
• 我想你。 = I miss you.
• 我想买书。 = I want to buy books.

So in this sentence, 想 is not think; it means want to.

Because 想 is functioning like want to, and it is followed by another verb.

So:

• 想 = want to
• 买 = buy

Together:

• 想买 = want to buy

This is very common in Mandarin. One verb can be followed by another verb to form a larger verb phrase.

Other examples:

• 想去 = want to go
• 想看 = want to read/watch/look at
• 能说 = can speak
• 喜欢吃 = like to eat

So 她还想买那本书 is perfectly normal Mandarin structure.

本 is a measure word, also called a classifier, for books.

In Mandarin, when you use a number or a demonstrative like 这 (this) or 那 (that) with a noun, you usually need a measure word.

So:

• 那 = that
• 本 = measure word for bound books
• 书 = book

Together:

• 那本书 = that book

This is not optional in standard Mandarin. You normally cannot just say 那书 to mean that book in ordinary grammar.

You usually learn the common measure word that goes with each noun.

For 书 (book), the usual measure word is 本.

Examples:

• 一本书 = one book
• 这本书 = this book
• 那本书 = that book

Some other common measure words are:

• 个 for many general items/people
• 张 for flat things like paper, tickets, tables
• 只 for many animals or one of a pair
• 条 for long flexible things

So the pairing here is simply:

• 书 → 本

This is something learners mostly memorize through exposure.

Because Mandarin normally follows verb + object order.

Here:

• 买 = buy
• 那本书 = that book

So:

• 买那本书 = buy that book

This is similar to English in this case:

• buy that book

The full sentence structure is:

• 她 = subject
• 还 = adverb
• 想买 = verb phrase
• 那本书 = object

No, that would not sound right in standard Mandarin.

还 should come before 想, not between 想 and 买.

Correct:

• 她还想买那本书。

Not natural:

• 她想还买那本书。

Why? Because 想买 works as a unit meaning want to buy, and 还 modifies that whole idea. So 还 comes before the verb phrase.

Yes. Mandarin does not have articles like a and the in the same way English does.

So 那本书 literally means:

• that + measure word + book

In natural English, it becomes:

• that book

Mandarin often expresses definiteness through context, demonstratives like 这 / 那, or just leaves it unstated.

So you do not need a separate word for the here.

In this sentence, 还 is pronounced hái with the second tone.

That is the common pronunciation when it means still or also.

There is also another pronunciation, huán, which usually means to return or to give back.

For example:

• 还书 = return a book
• 还钱 = pay back money

So:

• 还想买 → hái
• 还书 → often huán

This is one of those characters where pronunciation depends on meaning.

Yes, absolutely.

That is one of the tricky things about 还. Without more context, both readings are possible.

For example:

1. still

   • Yesterday she wanted it.
   • Today she still wants it.
   • 她还想买那本书。

2. also

   • She wants to buy a magazine.
   • She also wants to buy that book.
   • 她还想买那本书。

So the Chinese sentence can be the same, and context tells you which English translation fits best.

Yes, it is completely natural and grammatical.

A native speaker would easily understand it. It is a very normal kind of sentence because it uses common patterns:

• subject: 她
• adverb: 还
• verb phrase: 想买
• object: 那本书

So it is a good model sentence for learning how adverbs, verbs, and measure words work together in Mandarin.