Learn Hardcore Chinese: Tā juédìng bù cānjiā zhège kǎoshì.

Why is there no word for “will” or “is going to” in this Chinese sentence? In English we say “She decided not to take this exam,” which feels like the future.

Chinese usually doesn’t mark tense (past, present, future) with extra words like will or changes in the verb.

决定 (juédìng) by itself means “to decide”.
Whether the decision is about the future is understood from context.

So 她决定不参加这个考试。 can be translated as:

“She decided not to take this exam.” (past decision)
“She has decided not to take this exam.”
The time is normally clear from context, or you can add a time word: 她昨天决定不参加这个考试。 (“She decided yesterday not to take this exam.”)

Why is the negation 不 (bù) placed before 参加 (cānjiā) and not before 决定 (juédìng)?

不 directly negates the verb or adjective that comes right after it.

她决定不参加这个考试。
= “She decides not to take this exam.”
Here, the decision itself is not negated; what’s negated is 参加 (“to take/attend”).

If you say:

她不决定参加这个考试。

this sounds very unnatural and would mean something like “She does not decide to take this exam,” which is not how Chinese speakers express this idea. The natural way is to negate the action being decided, not the deciding itself.

Can we add 了 (le) after 决定 to show past tense, like 她决定了不参加这个考试。?

In this sentence, adding 了 right after 决定 is usually unnatural or at least stylistically odd.

她决定不参加这个考试。
is the normal, natural way.

You can say things like:

她已经决定不参加这个考试了。
Here, 了 is at the end of the sentence and works more like a change-of-situation marker (“has now decided”).

Putting 了 directly after 决定 (决定了) is more common when it’s followed by a noun phrase or a clause introduced by 要 / 去:

她决定了一个计划。 – “She worked out / made a plan.”
她决定了要出国。 – “She decided she wants to go abroad.”

With 不参加这个考试 right after 决定, we normally leave 了 out.

What’s the difference between 参加 (cānjiā) and 去 (qù)? Why not say 她决定不去这个考试?

参加 means “to participate in; to take part in” and is the standard verb used with 考试 (exam):

参加考试 = “to take an exam”

去 mainly means “to go (to a place)”. While you can sometimes say 去参加考试 (“go to take the exam”), you cannot normally say 去考试 to mean “take an exam” in this context; and 不去这个考试 is not idiomatic.

So:

✅ 她决定不参加这个考试。 – natural, standard
✅ 她决定不去参加这个考试。 – also OK; emphasizes the “going (there) to participate” part
❌ 她决定不去这个考试。 – ungrammatical / unnatural

Is 决定 (juédìng) a verb or a noun here? Could it ever be a noun?

In 她决定不参加这个考试。, 决定 is a verb meaning “to decide.”

决定 can also be a noun, meaning “decision”:

Verb: 我决定明年去中国。 – “I (have) decided to go to China next year.”
Noun: 这是我的决定。 – “This is my decision.”

A quick check: if you can put 了 directly after it or an object directly after it (like 一个计划, “a plan”), it’s often acting as a verb. If it’s preceded by something like 这个, 那个, 你的, then it’s likely a noun (e.g. 你的决定 “your decision”).

Why is there no word for “to” before 参加, like “decided to not participate”?

Chinese does not use an infinitive marker like English “to”.
The pattern is simply:

Subject + 决定 + (不) + Verb Phrase

So:

她决定不参加这个考试。
literally: “She decide not participate this exam.”

There is no separate word for “to.” The second verb (参加) just follows 决定 directly.

Can 她 (she) be omitted? Could you just say 决定不参加这个考试。?

In normal, standalone sentences, you usually keep the subject:

她决定不参加这个考试。

Dropping 她 to say only 决定不参加这个考试。 is possible only when the subject is already very clear from context, for example in a dialogue:

A: 她打算参加这个考试吗？ – “Does she plan to take this exam?”
B: （她）决定不参加这个考试。 – “(She) decided not to take this exam.”

So yes, it can be omitted in context, but not in an isolated sentence where you’re introducing the information for the first time.

Why use 不 (bù) and not 没 (méi) in this sentence?

不 and 没 are both negation words, but they’re used differently:

不 negates habitual actions, future actions, decisions, intentions, or general statements.
没 (没有) usually negates past actions, existence, or possession.

In 她决定不参加这个考试。 we’re talking about a decision / intention regarding participation (an event that would happen in the future), so 不 is correct.

If you use 没 here (她决定没参加这个考试), it sounds ungrammatical/wrong to a native speaker.

How do you pronounce 这个 (zhège) in natural speech? I’ve heard different versions.

The standard pronunciation is:

这 – zhè (4th tone)
个 – ge (neutral tone here)

So: zhè·ge.

In fast or colloquial speech, many speakers say zhèi ge (with a sort of extra “i” sound: zhèi). Both are common and understood, but zhè ge is the dictionary form and what you should aim for in careful speech.

Is there any difference between saying 这个考试 and just 考试? Can I drop 这个?

Yes, you can drop 这个 if the context allows.

她决定不参加这个考试。
– “She decided not to take this exam (the one we both know about).”
她决定不参加考试。
– “She decided not to take the exam / exams.” (more general; could mean that she’s not taking an upcoming exam, or doesn’t plan to take exams at all in some context)

这个 specifies a particular exam that both speaker and listener have in mind. Without 这个, it’s less specific and more general.