Where to Put 也, 都, 很, and 常常 in a Chinese Sentence
也 yě — also / too
也 yě means “also” or “too.” It shows that another person, object, or action is being added to information that has already been mentioned.
The main rule:
也 is placed before the verb or adjective.
Subject + 也 + verb / adjective
我也学习中文。
wǒ yě xuéxí Zhōngwén.
I also study Chinese.
他也喝咖啡。
tā yě hē kāfēi.
He also drinks coffee.
我也喜欢茶。
wǒ yě xǐhuan chá.
I also like tea.
她也很忙。
tā yě hěn máng.
She is also busy.
Notice that 也 is not placed at the end of the sentence.
Incorrect:
我学习中文也。
Correct:
我也学习中文。
wǒ yě xuéxí Zhōngwén.
I also study Chinese.
也 with negation
If there is negation in the sentence, 也 is usually placed before 不 or 没.
Subject + 也 + 不 / 没 + verb
我也不喝咖啡。
wǒ yě bù hē kāfēi.
I also don’t drink coffee.
他也不想去。
tā yě bù xiǎng qù.
He also doesn’t want to go.
我也没去学校。
wǒ yě méi qù xuéxiào.
I also didn’t go to school.
她也没有时间。
tā yě méi yǒu shíjiān.
She also doesn’t have time.
It is important not to confuse the word order:
Correct:
我也不喜欢。
wǒ yě bù xǐhuan.
I don’t like it either.
Unnatural for this meaning:
我不也喜欢。
For beginners, it is better to remember the simple pattern: 也 + 不 / 没.
都 dōu — all / both
都 dōu means “all,” “both,” or “everything.” It shows that an action or quality applies to the whole group.
The main rule:
都 is placed after the group it refers to and before the verb or adjective.
Group + 都 + verb / adjective
我们都学习中文。
wǒmen dōu xuéxí Zhōngwén.
We all study Chinese.
他们都喜欢咖啡。
tāmen dōu xǐhuan kāfēi.
They all like coffee.
这些学生都很认真。
zhèxiē xuésheng dōu hěn rènzhēn.
These students are all very hardworking.
这两个菜都很好吃。
zhè liǎng ge cài dōu hěn hǎochī.
Both of these dishes are very tasty.
So first we name the group: we, they, these students, these two dishes. Then we put 都.
都 with negation
With negation, 都 is often placed before 不 or 没.
我们都不喝咖啡。
wǒmen dōu bù hē kāfēi.
We all don’t drink coffee.
他们都不想去。
tāmen dōu bù xiǎng qù.
They all don’t want to go.
我们都没吃早饭。
wǒmen dōu méi chī zǎofàn.
We all didn’t have breakfast.
这些学生都没有问题。
zhèxiē xuésheng dōu méi yǒu wèntí.
None of these students have any questions.
Group + 都 + 不 / 没 + verb
But it is important to understand the meaning. 都不 usually means “all do not…” / “none of them…”
我们都不去。
wǒmen dōu bú qù.
We are all not going / None of us is going.
也 and 都 together
Sometimes 也 and 都 appear in the same sentence. The usual order is:
subject + 也 + 都 + verb / adjective
他们也都学习中文。
tāmen yě dōu xuéxí Zhōngwén.
They all also study Chinese.
这些菜也都很好吃。
zhèxiē cài yě dōu hěn hǎochī.
All of these dishes are also very tasty.
我们也都想去。
wǒmen yě dōu xiǎng qù.
We all also want to go.
For beginners, the main thing to remember is: if both 也 and 都 appear, 也 most often comes before 都.
很 hěn — very / marker before an adjective
很 hěn is usually translated as “very.” But in Chinese, it has an important feature: in simple sentences with adjectives, 很 often simply helps connect the subject with the quality.
Subject + 很 + adjective
我很忙。
wǒ hěn máng.
I am busy.
她很漂亮。
tā hěn piàoliang.
She is beautiful.
今天很冷。
jīntiān hěn lěng.
It is cold today.
这个菜很好吃。
zhè ge cài hěn hǎochī.
This dish is tasty.
In sentences like these, 很 does not always need to be understood as a strong “very.” Often, it simply makes the phrase sound natural.
很 is not placed before nouns
很 is placed before adjectives, but not before nouns.
Incorrect:
我很老师。
Correct:
我是老师。
wǒ shì lǎoshī.
I am a teacher.
Incorrect:
他很学生。
Correct:
他是学生。
tā shì xuésheng.
He is a student.
If the word that follows is a noun, you usually need 是, not 很.
Let’s compare:
她很漂亮。
tā hěn piàoliang.
She is beautiful.
她是医生。
tā shì yīshēng.
She is a doctor.
很 with negation
If you need to say “not very” or simply negate a quality, 不 is used before the adjective. 很 is often removed in negation or replaced with 不太.
我不忙。
wǒ bù máng.
I am not busy.
这个菜不好吃。
zhè ge cài bù hǎochī.
This dish is not tasty.
今天不冷。
jīntiān bù lěng.
It is not cold today.
If we want to say it more softly — “not very”:
我不太忙。
wǒ bú tài máng.
I am not very busy.
这个菜不太好吃。
zhè ge cài bú tài hǎochī.
This dish is not very tasty.
她不太高兴。
tā bú tài gāoxìng.
She is not very happy.
For beginners, it is useful to remember this pair:
很 + adjective
不太 + adjective
常常 chángcháng — often
常常 chángcháng means “often.” It shows how often an action happens.
The main rule:
常常 is usually placed before the verb.
Subject + 常常 + verb + object
我常常喝茶。
wǒ chángcháng hē chá.
I often drink tea.
他常常去学校。
tā chángcháng qù xuéxiào.
He often goes to school.
我们常常看电影。
wǒmen chángcháng kàn diànyǐng.
We often watch movies.
她常常听音乐。
tā chángcháng tīng yīnyuè.
She often listens to music.
常常 is not placed at the end of the sentence.
Incorrect:
我喝茶常常。
Correct:
我常常喝茶。
wǒ chángcháng hē chá.
I often drink tea.
常常 with time words
If there is a time word in the sentence, it is usually placed before 常常 or at the beginning of the sentence.
我晚上常常看书。
wǒ wǎnshang chángcháng kàn shū.
In the evening, I often read books.
他周末常常去咖啡馆。
tā zhōumò chángcháng qù kāfēiguǎn.
On weekends, he often goes to cafés.
我们下课以后常常聊天。
wǒmen xiàkè yǐhòu chángcháng liáotiān.
After class, we often chat.
You can also put the time word at the beginning:
晚上我常常看书。
wǎnshang wǒ chángcháng kàn shū.
In the evening, I often read books.
Both options are possible. The main thing is that 常常 stays before the verb.
常常 with negation
In negation, 不常 is more often used, meaning “not often.”
我不常喝咖啡。
wǒ bù cháng hē kāfēi.
I don’t often drink coffee.
他不常去健身房。
tā bù cháng qù jiànshēnfáng.
He doesn’t often go to the gym.
我们不常看电视。
wǒmen bù cháng kàn diànshì.
We don’t often watch TV.
You may also see 不常常, but for beginners it is better to remember the more natural option: 不常 + verb.
When several of these words appear together
Sometimes there may be several of these words in one sentence. In that case, word order is important.
也 + 很
我也很忙。
wǒ yě hěn máng.
I am also busy.
她也很喜欢中文。
tā yě hěn xǐhuan Zhōngwén.
She also likes Chinese very much.
都 + 很
我们都很忙。
wǒmen dōu hěn máng.
We are all busy.
这些学生都很认真。
zhèxiē xuésheng dōu hěn rènzhēn.
These students are all very hardworking.
也 + 常常
我也常常喝茶。
wǒ yě chángcháng hē chá.
I also often drink tea.
他也常常看电影。
tā yě chángcháng kàn diànyǐng.
He also often watches movies.
都 + 常常
我们都常常练习口语。
wǒmen dōu chángcháng liànxí kǒuyǔ.
We all often practice speaking.
他们都常常去图书馆。
tāmen dōu chángcháng qù túshūguǎn.
They all often go to the library.
也 + 都 + 很
他们也都很喜欢中文。
tāmen yě dōu hěn xǐhuan Zhōngwén.
They all also like Chinese very much.
The general order can be shown like this:
Subject + 也 / 都 + 常常 + 很 + verb / adjective
But you do not need to try to put all these words into one sentence right away. At first, it is enough to use each word confidently on its own.
In Chinese, the words 也, 都, 很, and 常常 cannot be placed just anywhere. Their position in the sentence is quite fixed.
The main rule for beginners is: most often, they stand before the verb or adjective.
我也学习中文。
wǒ yě xuéxí Zhōngwén.
I also study Chinese.
我们都学习中文。
wǒmen dōu xuéxí Zhōngwén.
We all study Chinese.
我很忙。
wǒ hěn máng.
I am busy.
我常常喝茶。
wǒ chángcháng hē chá.
I often drink tea.
If you remember these basic positions, Chinese sentences will immediately become clearer and more natural.