Is my Chinese sentence in the right order?

I didn't go, or I won't go?

Choose the negative for the situation. A trip that did not happen: 我没去 (wǒ méi qù) — I didn’t go. An invitation you decline: 我不去 (wǒ bú qù) — I’m not going. In that decision context, it can also mean “I won't go.”

没去 (méi qù) says the action did not happen. 不去 (bú qù) says you do not go or decide not to go; 不 also occurs in habits and states. These are two contexts, not a complete past/future rule. Read the source grammar examples.

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Transcript

1. Chinese negation, I didn't go, or I won't go?
2. Yesterday's trip, it didn't happen, which one?
3. A, the action did not happen.
4. 我没去 (wǒ méi qù)
5. 我没去 (wǒ méi qù)
6. Tomorrow's invitation, you decide to stay home, which one?
7. B, a decision not to go.
8. 我不去 (wǒ bú qù)
9. 我不去 (wǒ bú qù)
10. Match the negative to the situation.
11. Check a sentence, inspect its grammar, then compare its meaning with your situation.
12. Try the Sentence Checker, free, at The Pure Language dot com.

Your turn: choose a situation, enter a sentence in the sentence box, and press Check my sentence. Inspect the highlighted grammar and open its lesson. A clear result means no fixed check matched; the checker cannot decide whether your meaning fits your situation.

What it checks

Each check is one mistake from the Chinese grammar library, the kind English speakers make because English puts things in a different place. Together they catch 42 of the 75 classic mistakes the library's lessons list.

What it deliberately does not check

A checker that tells you a correct sentence is wrong looks exactly like one that has caught a real mistake — and if you are still learning, you cannot tell the two apart. So a mistake is only checked when its wrong shape can be told from a right sentence by shape alone. 他说的很快 is a classic 的/得 slip, but 他说的很对 (“what he said is right”) is perfect Chinese with the same shape, so no pattern can flag one without flagging the other. These 33 from the lessons are left to the lessons:

• 我的妈妈的名字 → 我妈妈的名字 · 的 for possession and description
• 书的我 → 我的书 · 的 for possession and description
• 他说的很快。 → 他说得很快。 · 的 for possession and description
• 是你去吗？ → 你去吗？ · 吗 and 呢 questions
• 你有多少个哥哥？ → 你有几个哥哥？ · Question words stay in place
• 有一本书在桌子上。 → 桌子上有一本书。 · 有 — have and there is
• 我有两孩子。 → 我有两个孩子。 · 有 — have and there is
• 两月 → 二月 · 二 vs 两 — two ways to say two
• 三个纸 → 三张纸 · Measure words — the top 25
• 这书很好。 → 这本书很好。 · Measure words — the top 25
• 我昨天没去了。 → 我昨天没去。 · 了 — completed action and change of state
• 我以前每天跑步了。 → 我以前每天跑步。 · 了 — completed action and change of state
• 我去了北京三次。 → 我去过北京三次。 · 了 — completed action and change of state
• 我在吃饭了。 → 我在吃饭。 · 在 — location and "-ing"
• 门在开。 → 门开着。 · 在 — location and "-ing"
• 你喜欢中国菜不喜欢？ → 你喜不喜欢中国菜？ · A-not-A questions
• 他比我更高一点儿。 → 他比我高一点儿。 · 比 comparisons
• 我不比他高。 → 我没有他高。 · 比 comparisons
• 我能说中文。 → 我会说中文。 · 会 / 能 / 可以 — three ways to say "can"
• 今天我不会去。 → 今天我不能去。 · 会 / 能 / 可以 — three ways to say "can"
• 这儿会抽烟吗？ → 这儿可以抽烟吗？ · 会 / 能 / 可以 — three ways to say "can"
• 我不要去。 → 我不想去。 · 想 / 要 / 需要 — want and need
• 我想一杯咖啡。 → 我要一杯咖啡。 · 想 / 要 / 需要 — want and need
• 我要休息，因为我很累。 → 我需要休息，因为我很累。 · 想 / 要 / 需要 — want and need
• 这个菜有点儿好吃。 → 这个菜很好吃。 · 一点儿 vs 有点儿
• 要下雨。 → 要下雨了。 · 快…了 / 要…了 — about to happen
• 他说的很快。 → 他说得很快。 · 的 vs 得 vs 地
• 我把一本书给他。 → 我把那本书给他。 · 把 sentences
• 这本书被很多人喜欢。 → 很多人喜欢这本书。 · 被 passive
• 我找了我的钥匙。 → 我找到了我的钥匙。 · Result complements — 完, 好, 到, 见
• 我不懂你说的话。 → 我听不懂你说的话。 · Result complements — 完, 好, 到, 见
• （standing outside）请进来。 → 你进去吧。 · Directional complements — 上来, 下去, 出来
• 我想起他的名字了。 → 我想起他的名字来了。 · Directional complements — 上来, 下去, 出来

Every check is run against every example sentence the site publishes — the grammar lessons, the dictionary examples, the graded readers and the travel phrasebook — and the site will not build if one of them is flagged. When a check cannot pass that, it is narrowed or dropped rather than trusted.

Questions people ask

Which grammar is my sentence using?

The Grammar in this sentence panel highlights recognised structures and links each to its lesson. It uses fixed patterns and limited word lists. Ambiguous forms are left unlabelled; the coverage section lists library examples it cannot detect. Exact lesson examples are linked separately when their structure is not detected.

Can this check any Chinese sentence?

No, and it says so. It runs a fixed set of checks, each one a classic word-order or grammar mistake that can be recognised from the shape of the sentence alone. Mistakes that depend on meaning — 能 against 会, 想 against 要, or which measure word sounds natural — are left to the grammar lessons, because a pattern cannot judge them without sometimes calling a correct sentence wrong.

Does it use AI?

No. There is no language model and no translation service behind it. Every check is a fixed pattern written from the site's grammar library, so the same sentence always gets the same answer, and every answer links to the lesson that explains it.

If it finds nothing, is my sentence correct?

Not necessarily. "Nothing found" means none of its checks matched. Word choice, meaning, tones and anything outside those checks are beyond it, so read the result as "no known mistake", not as a grade.

How do you know it will not mark a correct sentence as wrong?

Every check is run against every example sentence the site publishes — the grammar library, the dictionary examples, the graded readers and the travel phrasebook — and the build fails if a single one of them is flagged. A check that cannot pass that is narrowed or removed.

Is my sentence stored?

No. It is checked in memory for this one answer and not saved, logged or shared. There is no account and nothing to sign up for.