East Brain, West Brain - Word order in adverbial phrases (very sexy).
When at the Barbers shop you might say: "Liangbian jian duan yidian." (Cut the sides a little shorter), and this is a correct expression.
A chinese friend has told me that: "Liangbian duan yidian jian" is not quite correct; why is this ? I ask this because both: "Qing man yidian kai." ( Please drive a little slower) and "Qing kai man yidian." are both perfectly acceptable.
At the same Barbers shop you might also say:"Qing nin nong ganjing yidian." (Please clean it up a little) quite correctly, but my chinese buddy says, without being able to explain the difference, that: "Qing nin ganjing yidian nong." is incorrect, and makes no sense at all.
I'm a bit flummoxed.
Tags: grammar,
Posted by BEBC September 19, 2009 in the Group East Brain, West Brain.
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