Cantonese grammar

One point at a time.

Cantonese is not Mandarin with different sounds. Comparison runs the other way round, the indirect object comes first, and a handful of characters — 係, 唔, 冇, 嘅, 咗 — carry most of the grammar and appear in no Mandarin course. These are those, one page each, in plain English.

A1 20 points

係 — saying what something is

A + 係 + B

Cantonese for “to be” is 係, not 是. And it still never goes with an adjective.
Adjectives take 好, and 好 is not “very”

Subject + 好 + Adjective

我好攰 is “I’m tired”, not “I’m very tired”.
唔 — saying no

Subject + 唔 + Verb / Adjective

唔 is Cantonese for 不, and it is a syllable with no vowel in it.
冇 — haven’t, didn’t, none

Subject + 冇 + Verb / Object · Subject + 未 + Verb

One character doing the work of Mandarin’s 没有.
Asking a yes/no question

Verb + 唔 + Verb · Statement + 呀？ · Statement + 咩？

Not 嗎. Cantonese ends with 呀, or lays both options out with 唔.
乜嘢, 邊個, 邊度 — the question words

Statement, with a question word in the answer’s place

Different words from Mandarin, and the same rule — they stay where the answer goes.
嘅 — whose it is

Owner + 嘅 + Thing

嘅 is Cantonese for 的, and it is everywhere.
有 — having, and there being

Subject + 有 + Object · Place + 有 + Thing

Same verb for “I have a car” and “there’s a car outside”. Its negative is 冇.
Classifiers, and the one Mandarin cannot copy

Number + Classifier + Noun · Classifier + Noun

本書 on its own means “the book”. No 呢, no 嗰, just the classifier.
呢 and 嗰 — this and that

呢 / 嗰 + Classifier + Noun

呢本書, 嗰個人. Different characters from Mandarin, same rule about classifiers.
Numbers

Tens + 十 + Units · 兩 / 零 / 百 / 千 / 萬

Built like Mandarin’s, said nothing like them, and 兩 does the same job.
喺 — where something is

Subject + 喺 + Place · Subject + 喺 + Place + Verb

喺 is not 係. One dot apart, two tones apart, and constantly confused.
Time and place come before the verb — except when they do not

Subject + Time + Place + Verb + Object

The Mandarin rule holds. Then Cantonese moves 先, 多 and the indirect object.
咗 — the action finished

Verb + 咗 (+ Object)

Cantonese for 了 after a verb. Not a past tense, and it vanishes under 冇.
緊 — happening now

Verb + 緊

A suffix on the verb, where Mandarin puts 在 in front of it.
過 — have you ever

Verb + 過

我去過中國 — at some point, I have been. Same character as Mandarin, same job.
想, 要, 識 and 可以

Subject + 想 / 要 / 識 / 會 / 可以 + Verb

識 is “know how to”. 會 is not — and that is the trap for Mandarin speakers.
Comparing with 過 — 我高過佢

A + Adjective + 過 + B · A + 冇 B 咁 + Adjective · A + 同 B + 一樣

The adjective comes first and the person second. The exact reverse of Mandarin.
都 — both “also” and “all”

Subject + 都 / 又 + Verb

Where Mandarin has 也 and 都, Cantonese has one word doing both jobs.
啦, 喇, 囉, 㗎 — the particles that carry the tone

Sentence + 啦 / 喇 / 囉 / 㗎 / 添

Cantonese has around thirty. These four will get you a long way.

A1 20 points

係 — saying what something is

Adjectives take 好, and 好 is not “very”

唔 — saying no

冇 — haven’t, didn’t, none

Asking a yes/no question

乜嘢, 邊個, 邊度 — the question words

嘅 — whose it is

有 — having, and there being

Classifiers, and the one Mandarin cannot copy

呢 and 嗰 — this and that

Numbers

喺 — where something is

Time and place come before the verb — except when they do not

咗 — the action finished

緊 — happening now

過 — have you ever

想, 要, 識 and 可以

Comparing with 過 — 我高過佢

都 — both “also” and “all”

啦, 喇, 囉, 㗎 — the particles that carry the tone

A2 20 points

住 — and it stayed that way

咁 — so, such, like this

Result complements — 睇完, 聽明, 搵到

嚟 and 去 — which way it went

返, 埋 and 晒 — the suffixes Mandarin has no answer for

Potential complements — 睇唔明, 搵得到

將 — and why you will hear it less than 把

畀 — give, and the passive

得 — how well you do it

至 — only then

定係 — or, in a question

因為…所以… and 雖然…但係…

如果…就… — if, then

一…就… — as soon as

係…嘅 — it was “then”, it was “there”

How long you did it for

睇下, 試下 — softening with 下

就嚟…喇 — about to happen

唔好 and 咪 — telling someone not to

之前 and 之後 — before and after