Sentence pattern · Band 1

和: and, but only between nouns

A 和 B

和 is the and for nouns: rice and dumplings, you and me, cats and dogs. It refuses to glue verbs or whole sentences together. To say I studied and then napped, do not press 和 into service; Mandarin uses 也 for also, or simply two short sentences side by side, and everyone relaxes.

Hear it in a sentence

我和你是朋友。Wǒ hé nǐ shì péngyou.You and I are friends.
我喜欢米饭和饺子。Wǒ xǐhuan mǐfàn hé jiǎozi.I like rice and dumplings.
老师和同学都来了。Lǎoshī hé tóngxué dōu lái le.The teachers and students have all come.
你喜欢猫和狗吗？Nǐ xǐhuan māo hé gǒu ma?Do you like cats and dogs?

Mistakes people make

Not this我学习汉语和看电视。Wǒ xuéxí Hànyǔ hé kàn diànshì.Say this我学习汉语，也看电视。Wǒ xuéxí Hànyǔ, yě kàn diànshì.

和 joins nouns only; two actions connect with 也 or just two sentences.

Words in this pattern

和hé

Quick answers

What does 和：连接名词 mean?

和 is the and for nouns: rice and dumplings, you and me, cats and dogs. It refuses to glue verbs or whole sentences together. To say I studied and then napped, do not press 和 into service; Mandarin uses 也 for also, or simply two short sentences side by side, and everyone relaxes.

How do you build it?

A 和 B

What is the most common mistake?

我学习汉语和看电视。 → 我学习汉语，也看电视。

和 joins nouns only; two actions connect with 也 or just two sentences.

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