Cantonese grammar, step by step

Cantonese verbs have zero inflection — they never change for person, tense, or number. But tones are part of every syllable's identity: changing the tone changes the word entirely, as if you had swapped a letter.

Cantonese follows Subject–Verb–Object order. The verb 識 (sik1, "know how to") expresses learned ability and naturally precedes another verb — this stacking of verbs is common in Cantonese.

Cantonese has 60+ classifiers (CRG p. 110). Each noun is assigned one (sometimes more), much like grammatical gender in European languages — but based on shape, function, or convention rather than sex. Some classify by intrinsic features (sortal: 條 long-thin, 張 flat, 隻 animal); others measure quantities (mensural: 啲 some, 杯 cup); a few classify by function (把 tool, 架 vehicle).

咗 (zo2) sits directly after a verb and marks that the action reached its endpoint. It is not past tense — it is completion. You can use it for future events: finish the task, then leave.

唔 (m4) is the general negator placed before verbs and adjectives in present or future contexts. 冇 (mou5) specifically negates possession and past actions — it is the negative counterpart of 有 (have) and also replaces 唔 + 咗 for past negation. For commands, a separate negator 唔好 (m4 hou2) "don't" is used. All native Cantonese negators begin with the nasal m-.

係 (hai6) links a subject to an identity or category. Adjectives behave as stative verbs and do not need 係 — they stand directly after the subject. Adding 好 (hou2) before an adjective means "very" and is also the neutral way to predicate an adjective.

The standard Cantonese yes/no question is formed by repeating the verb with 唔 in between: V + 唔 + V. Question words (who, what, where, etc.) stay in the position the answer would occupy — they do not move to the front.

Sentence-final particles are a defining feature of Cantonese. They are not optional decoration — they carry real communicative meaning, signalling whether something is an assertion, hearsay, resignation, a request, or a qualifier, and are used constantly in natural speech.

緊 (gan2) placed after a verb marks an action that is currently in progress. Cantonese now has two aspect markers — 咗 for completion, 緊 for ongoing action — and they can combine with sentence-final particles for further nuance.

過 (gwo3) after a verb marks that the speaker has experienced the action at least once in their life. It is the experiential aspect: "have ever done." Negation uses 冇 before the verb: 冇去過 (have never been).

有 (jau5) covers both possession ("I have") and existence ("there is"). Its negative is 冇 (mou5). The A-not-A pattern applies to 有 just like any other verb: 有冇 forms a natural question.

Topics are typically definite — a specific book, language names, generic kinds. To introduce something indefinite ("a student", "someone"), Cantonese uses existential 有 (jau5) first. No topic marker is needed: fronting position alone signals topic status.

Relative clauses in Cantonese come before the noun they modify, sealed with 嘅 (ge3). The same 嘅 also marks possession and general modification — it is the all-purpose modification particle.

Cantonese chains verbs directly in sequence with no conjunction — earlier verbs express intent, manner, or transitive action, and later verbs add path or direction. Directional complements 入/出/上/落 follow the main verb to specify the path, and often combine with 嚟 (towards speaker) or 去 (away from speaker) to round out the trajectory.

All the building blocks fit together: aspect markers slot after verbs, 嘅 seals relative clauses before their nouns, 唔 negates predicates, and sentence-final particles close the whole utterance with tone and attitude.