Learn Hardcore Chinese: xué zhōngwén duì wǒ de shēnghuó yǒu hěn dà de yǐngxiǎng. - Learning Chinese has a big influence on my life.

If you drop 有, the sentence becomes ungrammatical in this structure. You need a verb between the subject 学中文 and the object 很大的影响, and that verb here is 有.

Other natural options would change the structure:

学中文对我的生活影响很大。
(Here 影响 is the subject complement, and 很大 is the predicate.)
学中文深深地影响了我的生活。
(Here 影响 is used as a verb.)

But 学中文对我的生活很大的影响 by itself is incomplete.

Why is 的 used twice: in 我的 and 很大的影响? Are they the same 的?

Both are written 的, but their functions are slightly different:

我的生活
- 我 + 的 + 生活 = my life
- Here 的 marks possession/association, like English 's or “of.”
很大的影响
- 很大 + 的 + 影响 = a very big influence
- Here 的 links an adjective phrase (很大) to a noun (影响), turning it into an attributive phrase: “very big” → “very big (kind of) influence.”

Grammatically we usually just call them both the 的 that links modifiers to nouns, but in 我的 it feels like possessive, and in 很大的影响 it feels like “adjectival.”

Why is 很 used before 大? Can I just say 有大影响 instead of 有很大的影响?

很 is an adverb of degree. Literally, it means “very”, but in modern Chinese, especially before adjectives, it often works as a default degree marker and may or may not sound strongly like “very.”

In your sentence:

有很大的影响 = “has a very big influence” (natural, common, spoken and written).

有大影响 is not wrong, but:

It sounds more formal or written.
It is less common in everyday speech.
Without 很, Chinese adjectives like 大 often sound a bit abrupt or contrastive unless there is some other degree word.

Compare:

这个问题很大。 (natural)
这个问题大。 (sounds like a contrast: “This problem is big (as opposed to small)”, or slightly unnatural alone in casual speech)

So 有很大的影响 is the most natural everyday wording.

What part of speech is 影响 here? Is it a verb or a noun?

影响 can be both a verb and a noun in Chinese.

In this sentence, it is used as a noun:

有很大的影响 = “to have a very big influence.”

You can see that because:

it is modified by 很大 (an adjective phrase),
and it follows 的: 很大的影响 → a “very big influence.”

If we use 影响 as a verb, the structure changes:

学中文很影响我的生活。 (grammatically possible but sounds awkward)
More natural:
学中文影响了我的生活。
= Studying Chinese has influenced my life.

So, in your original sentence, think of 影响 as the noun “influence.”

What is the difference between 学中文 and 学习中文? Can I use 学习 here?

Both 学中文 and 学习中文 can mean “to study Chinese.”

Differences:

学 is shorter, more colloquial, and very common in speech:
- 我在学中文。 = I’m studying Chinese.
学习 is slightly more formal or bookish, often used in written language, school contexts, etc.:
- 我们认真学习中文。

In your sentence:

学中文对我的生活有很大的影响。
学习中文对我的生活有很大的影响。

Both are correct. The second one sounds a bit more formal; the meaning is essentially the same.

Why is 中文 used here instead of 汉语 or 中国话? Are they interchangeable?

All three relate to the Chinese language, but usage differs:

中文
- Literally “Chinese writing/language.”
- Very common, general; can refer to spoken + written language.
- Often used in contexts like “Chinese as a subject,” “Chinese language skills,” etc.
- Your sentence: 学中文 is completely natural.
汉语
- More formal/linguistic term, “the Han language (Mandarin/Chinese).”
- Often used in textbooks, exams, or when contrasting languages:
  - 汉语和英语有什么区别？
中国话
- Literally “Chinese talk/speech.”
- More colloquial; emphasizes spoken language.
- E.g. 你会说中国话吗？

In your sentence, all three are possible, but:

学中文… is the most common,
学汉语… sounds a bit more textbook/formal,
学中国话… is understandable but less standard in this kind of written-style sentence.

Could I say 对我生活 instead of 对我的生活? Is dropping 的 okay?

You will often hear native speakers drop 的 in spoken Chinese in some cases, especially with short, close relationships (我妈, 我家, 我国, etc.).

对我生活 is understandable, but here it sounds a bit off in careful or standard style.
对我的生活 is the neutral, standard form and is best for learners.

General guideline:

When the noun is an abstract concept like 生活 (life), using 的 is more natural:
- ✅ 我的生活
- ❌ 我生活 (sounds odd except in very specific phrases)

So in this sentence you should keep 的: 对我的生活.

Can we drop 的 in 很大的影响 and just say 很大影响?

Yes, both are possible, but the nuance and style change slightly:

有很大的影响
- Very natural, especially in speech.
- Clearly treats 影响 as a noun with a preceding adjective phrase linked by 的.
有很大影响
- Also correct.
- Feels a bit more concise or formal/written.
- In practice, you will see this a lot in news headlines, reports, etc.

For learners, 有很大的影响 is perfectly safe and natural.
Later, you’ll notice many natives often omit 的 in (degree + adj + noun) patterns like:

产生了深远影响 (= 深远的影响)
留下了深刻印象 (= 深刻的印象)

Why is the word order 学中文对我的生活有很大的影响? Could we change the order like in English?

The Chinese order is:

学中文 (topic/subject: studying Chinese)
对我的生活 (prepositional phrase: on my life)
有 (verb: has)
很大的影响 (object: a very big influence)

This matches a common pattern:

[cause/topic] + 对 + [affected thing] + 有 + [result/noun]

You cannot rearrange it to mirror English word order like:

✗ 我的生活学中文有很大的影响。
✗ 学中文有对我的生活很大的影响。

Those are ungrammatical.

You can use a different, also correct structure:

学中文对我的生活影响很大。
(Here 影响 acts like the complement, and 很大 is the predicate.)

But you still keep:

[topic] + 对 + [affected thing] + [verb] + [rest]

The 对… phrase almost always comes before the main verb in this kind of sentence.

How would I say “Studying Chinese has had a big influence on my life” (emphasizing that the influence has already happened)? Where do I put 了?

You can add 了 to show a completed change or result. There are two common ways:

Put 了 after 有:
- 学中文对我的生活有了很大的影响。
- Implies: there didn’t use to be this influence, but now there is.
Use 影响 as a verb and add 了 after it:
- 学中文对我的生活产生了很大的影响。
- 学中文已经深刻地影响了我的生活。

Your original sentence without 了:

学中文对我的生活有很大的影响。

is tense-neutral; it can be interpreted as a general truth (still true now) without focusing on when the influence started.

Are there other common ways to express the same idea in Chinese?

Yes. Some common alternatives:

Change the structure but keep 影响:
- 学中文对我的生活影响很大。
- 学习中文对我的生活产生了很大的影响。
Use 影响 as a clear verb:
- 学中文深深地影响了我的生活。
- 学中文改变了我的生活。 (more like “changed my life”)
Use expressions with 改变 / 带来:
- 学中文给我的生活带来了很大的改变。
  = Studying Chinese has brought a big change to my life.

All of these are natural; they differ slightly in emphasis (on “influence,” “change,” or “brought about”), but the core meaning is similar.

In English we often say “has a big impact on my life.” Is 影响 exactly the same as “impact,” or is there any difference?

影响 overlaps a lot with English “influence/impact/affect”, but a few notes:

As a noun:
- 很大的影响 ≈ “a big influence/impact.”
As a verb:
- 影响我的生活 ≈ “affect / influence my life.”

It’s slightly broader than English “impact”:

It can be positive, negative, or neutral:
- 好/坏的影响 = good/bad influence.
It doesn’t automatically sound as strong as dramatic “life-changing impact” in English; you shape the strength by the degree words:
- 一点影响 = a little influence.
- 很大的影响 / 深远的影响 = big / far-reaching influence.

So in this sentence, 有很大的影响 is a good match to “has a big impact / has a big influence.”