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A2 Intermediate Sentence Structure

Actions in a Row: How to Link Two Verbs (No “And”)

To say you do one thing then another, Chinese just puts one verb phrase after the next — no connecting word: 我回家吃饭 (“I go home and eat”). The classic trap: don't link verbs with 和 (和 is for nouns).

Why this trips learners up

Stringing two actions together in Chinese is refreshingly simple: you just put one verb phrase after another, with no connecting word at all. Subject + [Verb Phrase 1] + [Verb Phrase 2]: 我回家吃饭 = “I go home and eat”, 我去商店买水 = “I go to the store to buy water”. The order of the verbs is the sequence — first this, then that (or: do the first thing in order to do the second). The English “and” (and the “to” of “go to buy”) simply have no equivalent here.

This leads to the single most common beginner mistake: reaching for 和 (hé) to glue the verbs together — 我回家和吃饭 ✗. Don't. 和 joins nouns, never verbs or clauses: 茶和咖啡 (“tea and coffee”), 我和你 (“you and I”) — yes; two actions — no. When the English “and” sits between two verbs, Chinese uses nothing; only when it sits between two nouns do you use 和.

A couple of refinements. A modal at the front (要 / 想 / 可以) governs the whole chain — 我要回家吃饭 = “I want to [go home and eat]”. And when you want to spell out an explicit order, 先…再… (“first…, then…”) makes it clear: 我们先点菜再聊天 = “let's order first, then chat”. But for everyday back-to-back actions, no extra word is needed at all.

The structure

SubjectVerbObjectVerbObject
Colour key

Each colour marks one grammatical role — and the same colour means the same role on every page in the Lab.

Subject Verb Object Time Place Negation Adverb Function word Question

Examples in context

Real-world sentences, easiest first. Toggle pinyin or the translation, tap any word to see its role, or play the audio.

Tap a word to see its grammatical role.

wǒ 我 Subject qù 去 Verb shāngdiàn 商店 Object mǎi 买 Verb shuǐ 水 Object

I go to the store to buy water.

tā 他 Subject huí 回 Verb jiā 家 Object shuìjiào 睡觉 Verb

He goes home to sleep.

wǒ 我 Subject yào 要 Function word zuò 坐 Verb dìtiě 地铁 Object qù 去 Verb jīchǎng 机场 Object

I'll take the subway to the airport.

nǐ 你 Subject xiǎng 想 Function word qù 去 Verb gōngyuán 公园 Object sànbù 散步 Verb ma 吗 Question

Do you want to go to the park for a walk?

wǒ 我 Subject jīntiān 今天 Time bù 不 Negation xiǎng 想 Function word chūqù 出去 Verb chīfàn 吃饭 Verb

I don't want to go out to eat today.

tā 她 Subject xiàbān 下班 Verb huí 回 Verb jiā 家 Object zuòfàn 做饭 Verb

She gets off work, goes home, and cooks.

wǒmen 我们 Subject xiān 先 Adverb diǎncài 点菜 Verb zài 再 Adverb liáotiān 聊天 Verb

Let's order first, then chat (先…再…).

zhōumò 周末 Time wǒ 我 Subject xǐhuan 喜欢 Verb zài jiā 在家 Place kàn 看 Verb shū 书 Object hē 喝 Verb chá 茶 Object

On weekends I like to stay home, read, and drink tea (no 和 between the verbs).

Common mistakes

Avoid: 我回家和吃饭。 wǒ huí jiā hé chīfàn.
Say this: 我回家吃饭。 wǒ huí jiā chīfàn.

Why it happens: Don't link two verbs with 和 — that's the classic early mistake. “I go home and eat” is 我回家吃饭, never 我回家和吃饭. 和 joins nouns (茶和咖啡); two actions just sit in a row.

Avoid: 我去美国坐飞机。 wǒ qù Měiguó zuò fēijī.
Say this: 我坐飞机去美国。 wǒ zuò fēijī qù Měiguó. (fly → to the US)

Why it happens: The order of the verbs IS the sequence — the earlier action (or the means) comes first, the later one (or the goal) second. “I fly to the US” is 我坐飞机去美国 (fly → to the US), not 我去美国坐飞机 (which would be “go to the US, then fly”).

Avoid: 我回家要吃饭。 wǒ huí jiā yào chīfàn.
Say this: 我要回家吃饭。 wǒ yào huí jiā chīfàn. (= want to go home and eat)

Why it happens: A modal that covers the whole chain goes at the FRONT, before the first verb — “I want to go home and eat” is 我要回家吃饭, not 我回家要吃饭 (which puts the wanting only on the eating).

Compare & contrast

Verbs in a row — a sequence (no word)和 — joins two NOUNS (not verbs)The difference
我买菜做饭。wǒ mǎi cài zuòfàn. = I buy groceries and cook (two actions)我买了菜和水果。wǒ mǎi le cài hé shuǐguǒ. = I bought groceries and fruit (two nouns)我买菜做饭 = “I buy groceries and cook” — two actions, nothing between them. 我买了菜和水果 = “I bought groceries and fruit” — two nouns, joined by 和.
他去北京开会。tā qù Běijīng kāihuì. = he goes to Beijing for a meeting (two actions)他和老板去北京。tā hé lǎobǎn qù Běijīng. = he and the boss go to Beijing (two nouns)他去北京开会 = “he goes to Beijing for a meeting” — two actions. 他和老板去北京 = “he and the boss go to Beijing” — two people, joined by 和.
Rule of thumbTwo ACTIONS in a row need no connecting word — just put one verb phrase after another (我买菜做饭). 和 is only for joining NOUNS (菜和水果, 我和你). English “and” between two verbs → nothing in Chinese; English “and” between two nouns → 和.

Try it yourself

Say “I go home and watch TV.” (two actions, no connector) — tap the words into order.

Related patterns

和How to Say “And” with 和 (hé)

和 is what you must NOT use here — it joins nouns (茶和咖啡), never two verbs. This is the trap it causes.

 我吃饭How to Build a Basic Chinese Sentence

This just extends the basic Subject-Verb-Object frame with a second verb phrase.

 一边…一边一边…一边… (yībiān…yībiān…): Doing Two Things at Once

一边…一边… is two actions AT ONCE; verbs in a row is one action THEN the next.

 以后以后 (yǐhòu): How to Say “After…” and “In the Future”

For a clearer break between events, mark it with 以后 (“after”); tight sequences need nothing.

 看看Verb Reduplication: Why Chinese Repeats Verbs (看看, 试试)

Reduplication often rides on a verb chain: 出去走走 (“go out for a little walk”) — 出去 then the doubled 走走.

 来How to Say “In Order To” with 来 (lái)

Verbs in a row can already imply purpose (坐飞机去美国, “fly to the US”); 用 / 通过…来… makes that purpose explicit, with 来 between the method and the goal.

 开着How to Use 着 (zhe) for Ongoing States

One way to link two verbs is to make the first a state or manner with 着: 笑着说 (“say it smiling”), 站着吃 (“eat standing”). The 着 marks how the main action is done.

 让我去How to Make Someone Do Something: Causative Verbs 让, 叫, 请, 使

A causative is a special verb chain with a pivot: the person is the object of 让 / 叫 and the subject of the next verb (我让他来 = “I have him come”), one noun doing double duty.

 顺便How to Say “While You're At It” with 顺便 (shùnbiàn)

The “while I'm at it” version. Serial verbs simply line up actions in order (去商店买东西); slip in 顺便 and the second one becomes a convenient extra rather than the goal (去商店顺便买瓶水). One just sequences; 顺便 adds “since I'm already there.”
Quick reference card
Merry Mandarin Actions in a Row: How to Link Two Verbs (No “And”) grammar.merrymandarin.com

A pocket summary — print it and keep it by your desk.

Structure
Subject + Verb + Object + Verb + Object
Example
我去商店买水
I go to the store to buy water.
Watch out
✗ 我回家和吃饭。  →  ✓ 我回家吃饭。