Cantonese is an analytic language in which the arrangement of words in a sentence is important to its meaning. A basic sentence is in the form of SVO, i.e. a subject is followed by a verb then by an object, though this order is often violated because Cantonese is a topic-prominent language. Unlike synthetic languages, seldom do words indicate time, gender and number by inflection. Instead, these concepts are expressed through adverbs, aspect markers, and particles, or are deduced from the context. Different particles are added to a sentence to further specify its status or intonation.
A verb itself indicates no tense. The time can be explicitly shown with time-indicating adverbs. Certain exceptions exist, however, according to the pragmatic interpretation of a verb's meaning. Additionally, an optional aspect particle can be appended to a verb to indicate the state of an event. Appending interrogative or exclamative particles to a sentence turns a sentence into a question or shows the attitudes of the speaker.
In contrast to many European languages, Cantonese verbs are marked for aspect rather than tense—that is, whether an event has begun, is ongoing, or has been completed. Tense—where an event occurs within time, i.e. past, present, future—is specified through the use of time adverbs. In addition, verbal complements may convey aspectual distinctions, indicating whether an event is just beginning, is continuing, or at completion, and also the effect of the verb on its object(s).
Aspect particles are usually treated as suffixes bound to the verb. Aspect particles can also be added to an adjective and function as a verb "be (adjective)".
| Aspect | Marker | Usage | Example |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perfective | To emphasise a completed activity the result of which still applies to the present situation | ||
| Experiential | To emphasise an activity completed in the indeterminate past which no longer applies to the present situation | ||
| Progressive | To emphasise a dynamic activity which may undergo a change of state | ||
| Durative | To emphasise a continuous activity without a change of state | ||
| Delimitative | To emphasise an activity of brief duration | ||
| Habitual | To emphasise an activity protracted over a period of time to the point that it has become characteristic or habitual | ||
| Inchoative | To emphasise the beginning of an activity | ||
| Continuative | To emphasise the continuation of an activity | ||
| Returning | To emphasise the return of the "supposed state".Meanings can include: "continue a paused action" or "return to" (Example 1) Note: When added to an adjective, it can also function as a verb of "becoming (adjective) again". (Example 2) | ||
Cantonese has many final particles to change the moods or sometimes even the meaning of an utterance. [1] They can also be added to an adjective and function as a verb "be (adjective)".
| Particle | Usage | Example | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Used in neutral questions. Also used to soften the tone of affirmative statements so they don't sound as abrupt. | 你去邊處呀? Where are you going? 我返屋企呀 I'm going home. | |||
| Used in assertions where something is emphasized (usually 係 hai6 is in front of what is being emphasized). Pronouncing it as ge2 adds a sense of puzzlement about the situation. This is equivalent to the Mandarin/written Chinese 的 dik1. | 我係今日返屋企嘅 I'm going home today. (the "today" is emphasized) | |||
| Contraction of the combination 嘅呀 ge3 aa3. | 你係幾時返來㗎? When are you coming back? (the "when" is emphasized) | |||
| Used in requests and imperatives. This is one particle where leaving it out could make the sentence sound rude. This is equivalent to the Mandarin/written Chinese sentence final 吧 baa6. | 俾我啦 Give it to me [please]. | |||
| Indicates a change of situation or a past event that has occurred and adds a sense of current relevance to the statement. This is equivalent to the Mandarin/written Chinese sentence final 了 liu5. Also used for polite refusal. | 佢返咗屋企嘞 He went home [already]. 唔使喇，唔該 No need, thank you. | |||
| (same as 喇 laa3) | ||||
| Indicates a suggestion or conclusion that should be obvious (usually occurs with 咪 mai6). | 我冇車咪返唔到屋企囉 Without a car, [then of course] I am unable to go home. | |||
| Indicates an agreement with the previous speaker. | 好,我跟你返屋企咯 Okay, I will follow you home. | |||
| Can be used to mean "only" or "that's all," or used to play down the significance of the situation. | 佢返一日啫 He's only coming back for one day. | |||
| Contraction of the combination 啫呀/嗻呀 ze1 aa3. | 佢返一日咋 He's only coming back for one day. (slightly harsher tone than 佢返一日啫) | |||
| Contraction of the combination 啫吖/嗻吖 ze1 aa4. | 佢返一日咋? He's only coming back for one day? [Only one day? I wish it was more.] | |||
| Can be used to mean "also," "too," or "as well" in a sentence (usually occurs with 重 zung6). | 我重要返屋企添 I still have to go home as well. | |||
| Used in questions asking whether an action has been done yet. | 佢返來未? Has he come back yet? | |||
| Used in questions expressing surprise or disbelief. | 佢今日返來咩? He's coming back today? [Really? I wasn't aware of this.] | |||
| Used in follow up questions or when a question is repeated but for a different subject. Also used for rhetorical questions where an answer is not expected (especially when the speaker is wondering to themself). | 佢返咗來,你返唔返來呢? He came back, are you coming back?佢點解返屋企呢? I wonder why he's going home. | |||
| Used to change a statement into a neutral question. This is used more often in Mandarin/written Chinese, but can still be heard in Cantonese. | 你返屋企嗎? Are you coming home? | |||
| Can be used to mean "first" in a sentence. In questions, it may convey a sense of impatience. | 我哋等佢返來先 We'll wait for him to come back first.你返唔返來先? Are you coming back or not? [Answer me quickly.] | |||
| Used to soften an instruction, similar to adding "okay?" in English. | 記得買奶吓 Remember to buy milk, okay? | |||
| Used to check whether a statement is correct, similar to adding "right?" in English. | 你買咗奶呵? You bought the milk, right? | |||
| Can indicate enthusiastic consent or a sarcastic retort. Can also be used like 喇 laa1. | 好吖! 我跟你返屋企吖 | Okay! I'll follow you home | 我點返屋企吖? How am I supposed to be able to go home? (sarcastically)返來吖 Come back [please]. | |
| Used in questions expecting agreement, sometimes with a sense of disapproval. | 你返屋企吖? You're going home? [But really I don't want you to.] | |||
| Contraction of the combination 嘅吖 ge3 aa4. | 你係今日返屋企㗎? You're going home today? [But really I don't want you to. Can't you wait until tomorrow?] (the "today" is emphasized) | |||
| Indicates uncertainty in a statement. | 佢返咗屋企啩 He went home [but I'm not completely sure of this]. | |||
| Indicates information is being reported. Pronouncing it as wo5 adds the indication that the information is second-hand and the speaker may not agree with it. | 爸爸叫你返屋企喎 Father is telling you to come home. | |||
| Indicates that the sentence is a reminder. Also used as a realization. | 揸車返屋企好快噃 It is quick to go home by car. (used in the context where the person being addressed may not have thought about driving home)揸車返屋企都好快噃 It is pretty quick to go home by car. [I didn't know that] |
Final particles may sometimes combine to convey multiple moods. However, not all combinations are possible. For example, 嘅 ge3 must be used before any other particles, whereas question particles (such as 呀 aa3, 咩 me1, 呢 ne1, and 嗎 maa3) must be used after all others.[2] [3]
| Particle | Usage | Example | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Used in response to a question where the answer is obvious. | 佢返屋企呀嘛! He's going home | [So of course he can't go to the movies with us.] | |
| Contraction of the combination 喇呀嘛 laa3 aa1 maa3. | 佢返咗屋企啦嘛! He went home | [So of course he can't be here right now.] | |
| Contraction of 嘅 and 呀嘛; used at the end of a sentence to express that it is something that the listener/reader should be aware of, or something that they are expected to agree with | 佢傻咖嘛，使乜理佢唧? He's crazy. [You know already] Why bother with him?你大條道理咖嘛，唔使怕 You definitely have reason on your side. You needn't be afraid. | ||
| Contraction of the combination 啫呀嘛 ze1 aa1 maa3. | 佢返一日咋嘛! He's only coming back for a day | [So of course he won't have time to visit all of us.] | |
| Can be used to mean "only". Convey a sense of defensiveness. | 我返屋企之嘛 I'm only going home. [...and nothing else. What else are you expecting from me?] |
See also: Cantonese pronouns. Cantonese uses the following pronouns, which like in many other Sinitic languages, function as both nominative (English: I, he, we) and accusative (me, him, us):
States and qualities are generally expressed using stative verbs that do not require the verb "to be". For example, to say "I am hungry", one would say 我肚餓 ngo5 tou5 ngo6 (literally: I stomach hungry).
With noun complements, the verb 係 hai6 serves as the verb "to be".
Another use of 係 is in cleft constructions for emphasis, much like the English construction "It's ... that ...". The sentence particle 嘅 ge3 is often found along with it.
To indicate location, the words 喺 hai2 (a "lazy" variation is 响 hoeng2) which are collectively known as the locatives or sometimes coverbs in Chinese linguistics, are used to express "to be at":
(Here 而家 ji4 gaa1 means "now".)
Many negation words start with the sound m- in Cantonese; for example, 唔 m4 "not", 冇 mou5 "to not have (done sth)", 未 mei6 "not yet". Verbs are negated by adding the character 唔 m4 in front of it. For example:
\longrightarrow |
The exception is the word 有 jau5 'to have', which turns into 冇 mou5 'to not have' without the use of 唔 m4.
The negative imperative is formed by prefixing 唔好 m4 hou2 (also pronounced mou2) or 咪 mai5 in front of the verb:
In contrast to the examples of sentential negation above where the entire sentence is negated, 唔 m4 can be used lexically to negate a single word. The negated word often differs slightly in meaning from the original word; that is, this lexical negation is a kind of derivation. Evidence for this is that they can be used with the perfective aspect particle 咗 zo2, which is not possible with sententially negated verbs.
is perfectly acceptable, but
is ungrammatical. (The correct expression should be 我冇食嘢 ngo5 mou5 sik6 je5: 我(I)冇(did not)食(eat)嘢(something/anything), but actually with an emphasis on not doing an action, as it is the negation of 我有食嘢 ngo5 yau5 sik6 je5: 我(I)有(did)食(eat)嘢(something/anything).)
Questions are not formed by changing the word order as in English. Sentence final particles and certain interrogative constructions are used instead.
There are two ways to form a yes–no questions. One way is by the use of final particle and/or intonation alone. The question particle 呀 aa4 indicates surprise or disapproval. It tends to presuppose a positive answer.
The particle 咩 me1 is exclusively interrogative, indicating surprise and used to check the truth of an unexpected state of affairs.
A question may be indicated by a high rising intonation alone at the end of a question. (This intonation can be considered a nonsyllabic final particle indicating a question.) This intonation pattern usually modifies or exaggerates the basic tone of the last syllable. This type of question is used especially for echo, where the questioner repeats a statement out of surprise.
The other way to form yes–no questions uses a special construction in which the head of the predicate, say X, is replaced by X-not-X. Final particles may be used in addition.
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A syntax of yes–no question in the form "X-not-X" is actually a contraction of a combination of syntax of an affirmative sentence and the syntax of a negative sentence.
| Interrogative | Pronunciation | English equivalent | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 邊個 | bin1 go3 | who | |
| 乜(嘢) / 咩 | mat1 (je5) / me1e5 | what | |
| 邊度 / 邊處 | bin1 dou6 / bin1 syu3 | where | |
| 幾時 | gei2 si4 | when | |
| 點解 | dim2 gaai2 | why | |
| 點 | dim2 | how about | |
| 點(樣) | dim2 (joeng6*2) | how (in what manner) | |
| 幾 | gei2 | how (adjective) | |
| 幾多 | gei2 do1 | how many/much |
The proximal demonstrative ("this"), is 呢 ni1 / nei1, or more frequently in fast speech, 依 ji1 (+ measure word). For example:
呢本書 ni1/nei1 bun2 syu1 "this book"
依本書 ji1 bun2 syu1 "this book"
The distal demonstrative ("that") is 嗰 go2. For example:
嗰本書 go2 bun2 syu1 "that book"
Between the demonstrative and its noun, a certain word to link them must be used, whether a corresponding classifier for the noun for singular count nouns or 啲 di1 for plural count nouns and mass nouns:
呢架車 ni1/nei1 gaa3 ce1 "this car"
呢啲車 ni1/nei1 di1 ce1 "these cars"
嗰啲水 go2 di1 seoi2 "that water"
N.B.: 啲 di1 is a very versatile word in Cantonese, besides pluralizing certain phrases, it can also mean "a little/few", e.g. 一啲 jat1 di1 "a little", or 早啲 zou2 di1 "earlier" (literally: early + (intensifier)).
However, in the case where there's an implied plural noun, one does not say:
For example:
嘅呀 ge3 aa3 is usually shortened in speech into one syllable, 㗎/嘎 gaa3.
Both of these are generic possessives.
The "part of speech" (POS) in Cantonese is different from English. Usually, a word can be used in different POS, without any changes. Example: 跑步 (Meaning: running), can be either verb or noun.
你可以喺公園跑步 (You can run at the park) [跑步 act as a verb]
跑步係我嘅興趣 (Running is my hobby) [跑步 act as a noun]
Moreover, particles may also change the POS.
E.g. 碗湯係熱嘅 OR 碗湯熱嘅 means: the bowl of soup is hot
But 碗湯係熱 means: the bowl of soup
This concpet is similar in Mandarin Chinese, replacing 係 with 是, and replacing 嘅 with 的.
To alter the mood or lead other focuses, other final particles can also be used to substitute the particle 嘅, like 㗎.
The following Cantonese grammatical points are not found in Mandarin Chinese.
The direct object precedes the indirect object when using the verb 畀 bei2 "to give". In Mandarin verbs of giving, an indirect object precedes a direct object.
compared to Mandarin
The suffix used for the plural of pronouns, 哋 dei6, cannot associate with human nouns, unlike its similar Mandarin counterpart 們 -men. Mandarin 學生們 xuéshengmen "the students" would be rendered in Cantonese as:
While the vocative use of 學生們 xuéshengmen "students" would be rendered in Cantonese as:
There are words in Mandarin which often require the suffixes 子 -zi or 頭 -tou, but they are normally optional in Cantonese, e.g. Mandarin 鞋子 xiézi "shoe" and 石頭 shítou "rock" can be 鞋 haai4 and 石 sek6 in Cantonese.
Classifiers can be used instead of the possessive 嘅 ge3 to indicate possession of a single object. Classifiers cannot be used this way in Mandarin.
Classifiers in both Cantonese and Mandarin can serve to individualize a noun, giving it a singular meaning (or plural in the case 啲 di1). However, such a construction in Mandarin will be of indefinite reference, unless a demonstrative (e.g. 這 zhè "this") or the universal quantifier (每 měi "every") is present. Furthermore, there are great limitations on using this construction in subject position in Mandarin. In Cantonese, these restrictions do not exist.
Adjective comparison in Cantonese is formed by adding the marker 過 gwo3 after an adjective. The adjective-marker construction serves as a transitive verb which takes the standard of comparison as an object.
In Standard Mandarin, comparison is marked by adding 比 bǐ, which serves in an adverbial phrase, leaving the adjective itself unchanged. The sentence above is translated into Mandarin as:
Alternatively the plural marker 啲 di1 alone (without the numeral 一 yat1) can be used use as the sole complement of the verbal adjective.
Cantonese has a dedicated habitual aspect marker, 開 hoi1, with no similar counterpart in Mandarin.
In Cantonese, there must always be an agent in a passive, while in Mandarin this isn't the case. If there's no known or specific agent, Cantonese must at least use 人 jan4 "someone" as a dummy agent.
It is possible to stack various of such particles one after the other, while Mandarin is restricted to sentence-final 了 and one particle.
There is no gender distinction between the third person singulars of he, she and it in spoken or written Cantonese (佢); however in written Cantonese of formal register, which is similar to Mandarin, male and female may be distinguished with two different characters, 他 for male and 她 for female,[4] as well as 它 for inanimate objects (including plants), 牠 for (non-human) animals, and 祂 for god(s), which all have the same pronunciation.