Verbs

Nobody gets far in a language without a good stock of verbs.

By far the most common verb is 是, meaning to be. In English we can use this with an adjective or a noun, but in Mandarin we can only use it to connect nouns with other nouns or noun phrases.

我是医生

I am a doctor.

我是李白

I am Li Bai.

The word order for most common verbs is the same as English.

我喜欢你

I like you.

你看他

Look at him. (note that in the second person, this implies a command)

我们去学校

We go to school.

我有一个朋友

I have a friend

You can refer to a verb in a “gerund” sense without any special modifications.

我们喜欢唱歌

We like singing songs.