Tag: grammar
These conversation post have all been tagged with "grammar"
What determines the placement of the tone mark? Why is it over certain letters and not over others?? does it have something to do with pronounciation of the word?
can someone please clarify for me?
This was explained to me a long time ago but i dont remember.
Thanks in advance.
1
我买了三张票。（完成）
他睡了一个小时。（完成）
我学了两个小时中文了。（了1表示完成， 了2表示继续）
2
下雨了。（变化。以前不下雨，现在下雨了。）
我不去中国了。（变化。以前想去，现在不去了。）
A colleague of mine had this question and I really don't know the answer either. Why is it we can say ‘我头疼了' but we say '我发烧'. For instance, if asked why you didn't come to work, you would answer '我发烧' and not '我发烧了'. The 了 seems appropriate since it is a change of status... you previously did not have a fever, but now you do.
Why is this? I have some theories, but wanna get y'alls opinion. Thanks!
I'd love to see something similiar from you guys to explain when & how to use e.g. 了，过 ;-)
Hey. Just came across this sentence:
Nĭ shénme shíhou lái Zhōngguó de?
So if that means when did you come to China? how come the sentence ends with de and not le?
I thought le was the particle which conveyed the past, like
Wŏ chīfanle.
Or are de and le both interchangeable in this way?
Could I also say
Nĭ shénme shíhou lái Zhōngguó le?
Or
Nĭ shénme shíhou láile Zhōngguó?
?
Thanks in advance, people.
I'm trying to figure out how these two sentences differ gramatically, if at all.
1. 把书放在桌子上。 (Put the book on the table).
2. 把书从书包里拿出来。(Remove the book from your book bag).
It seems to me that their structure is as follows:
1. 把(direct object)(verb)(prepositional phrase)
2. 把(direct object)(prepositional phrase)(verb)
So, why aren't the two sentences arranged in the same manner? Did I get the grammatical structure wrong? Or can they be rearranged? Any insights would be appreciated.
Perhaps this is the dullest topic ever, but this is a small something that no Chinese has been able to give me a clear answer.
Q: When do I know when to place a comma; when do I know when to place a period?
I often read a string a phrases that are strung together by commas and then are finally ended with a period, but I can't see if there is rhyme or reason to it. I have pointed this out to some Chinese, and they say these phrases have a relationship so they are connected by a comma. This seems pretty willy-nilly. Are there firm rules?
What is this about?
I sometimes lack confidence in my grammar when trying to translate English tenses into Chinese. I hope to somewhat clear up this problem here. I am aware that it is probably futile to make solid rules for translating English tenses into Chinese. Well, I’m not looking for rules. I’m looking for rules of thumbs. If you feel you know something about grammar, help a pathetic laowai out and look at my simple examples below.
Regarding my examples, I’m especially curious about the following:
· Are my translations grammatically correct?
· Do my translations convey the original English meaning?
· Are my translations relatively natural (or at least not unbearably awkward)?
· Do you know an easier way?
Thanks to anyone who can help me out.
Present Tense
I read books.
我看书。
Present Continuous Tense
I am reading a book.
我在看书。
I am reading a book tomorrow.
我明天会看着书。(I’m really suspicious of using 着 in this sentence)
Present Perfect Tense
I have read that book.
我看过那本书。(Is it okay to add 了 and say 我看过了那本书?)
Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been reading that book.
我最近在看着那本书。
Past Tense
I read that book.
我看了那本书。
Past Continuous Tense
I was reading that book.
我以前看那本书。
Past Perfect Tense
I had read that book.
我已经看了那本书了。
Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been reading that book.
我以前看着那本书了。
Future Tense
I will read that book.
我会看那本书。
Future Continuous Tense
I will be reading a book.
我会看着书。(Again, I’m not so sure about the 着 in this sentence.)
Future Perfect Tense
I will have finished reading that book by 10 pm.
我十点会看完那本书了。
Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been reading that book for 2 weeks.
到那个时候我已经看了那本书两个星期。(Should there be a 了 at the end of this sentence?)
What is this about?
This is a continuation of my grammar post that can be found here. The reason for this update is to consolidate and update what has been advised so far in order to easier facilitate further instruction. Anybody who knows something about the nitty-gritty details of grammar is encouraged to give input on the accuracy of the examples below. But of course, those who just got a good sense are also encouraged to contribute.
I especially hope to have these questions answered about the examples below:
- Is the translation grammatically correct?
- Does the translation convey the original English meaning?
- Is the translation relatively natural (or at least not unbearably awkward)?
- Do you know an easier way?
(Note: I changed many examples using 看because 看 seems to present a unique problem in the present continuous.)
Thanks to anyone who can help me out. If I made an error or missed one of your suggestions, a thousand apologies, and please let me know!
1) Present Tense (No comments thus far)
I read books.
我看书。
2) Present Continuous Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)
I am eating food.
我吃着饭。
I am eating at 6 o'clock.
我六点会吃着饭。（我六点打算吃着饭。）
Question: I personally think that I am trying too hard to force English grammar into Chinese grammar, and that it would be good enough to say 我六点吃饭. Am I right?
3) Present Perfect Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)
I have read that book.
我看过那本书了。
- (It isokay to add 了 . But there is no need to add "了"since "过" and "完" both mean something has been done!) In fact, to add "了"at the end of this sentence just emphasizes加强语气.
- (Is it okay to add 了 and say 我看过了那本书?) no need to add 了since 过 is an experiential marker.
- (Is it okay to add 了 and say 我看过了那本书?) if you add 了，maybe you could say it 那本书我看过了
4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense (No comments thus far)
I have been watching a lot of TV.
我最近在看着很多电视。
5) Past Tense (No comments thus far)
I read that book.我看了那本书。
6) Past Continuous Tense (No comments thus far)
I was reading a letter.我以前写着一封信。
Question: I am never sure if 以前 carries the same exact meaning of ‘before' in English. In English, ‘before' implies a significant amount of time has passed. Is it the same with 以前? If ‘before' and 以前 are the same, how would I rewrite this sentence if I meant I was writing a letter three hours ago?
7) Past Perfect Tense (No comments thus far)
I had read that book.
我已经看了那本书了。
8) Past Perfect Continuous Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)
I had been reading that book.
我之前一直看/读那本书。
- ‘had been doing'表示这个状态一直持续。
9) Future Tense (No comments thus far)
I will read that book.
我会看那本书。
10) Future Continuous Tense (No comments thus far)
I will be listening to my MP3 player.
我会听着我的MP3。
Question: Again, is that 着 necessary or even wanted?
11) Future Perfect Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)
I will have finished reading that book by 10 pm.
我十点会看完那本书了。
- No need to add "了" here since the sentence already uses "完" to mean "finish"
12) Future Perfect Continuous Tense (Received comments, but the more the merrier)
When the clock strikes 7, I will have been listening to that man for two hours.
到起点，我就会听着那位男人两个小时了。
Question: Again, is that 着 necessary or even wanted?
Again, thanks a billion to everyone who has contributed so far!
To all who have been following my Please give grammar help!!! and (REVISED) Please give grammar help!!! posts, here is the final result. Below I have consolidated the input of lujiaojie, aaaaz and diwaien. Many thanks to them and all the others who have advised. Rest assured I have read and profited by all those who have commented even if some aren't directly included in the final edit (i.e. please don't feel bad if you aren't mentioned by name).
Keep in mind that these are just guidelines. Don't be bothered if you see a translation that has a slightly different meaning than the original English sentence. The goal here is to capture the gist of the meaning as it is probably counterproductive and futile to precisely translate English tenses into Mandarin. That said, if you see any big errors, please say so.
Assuming everything is A-okay, I suggest that if this post is informative for you, make a few of your own examples in the comment section below.
1) Present Tense
I read books.
我看书。
In addition: 汉语里常用：我经常(often)......；我总是(always)......；
2) Present Continuous Tense
I am reading a book.
我在看书。
I am reading a book tomorrow.
我明天会看书。
I am eating food.
我正在吃饭。or 我在吃饭。
In addition: 可以译成：我正在......；我在......
Only use 着 in the present continuous tense.
3) Present Perfect Tense
I have read that book.
我看过那本书。Or我看过了那本书。
4) Present Perfect Continuous Tense
I have been reading that book.
我最近在看那本书。Or我已近在看那本书了。
I have been watching a lot of TV.
我最近在看很多电视。
5) Past Tense
I read that book.
我看了那本书。or 我看过那本书。
I read that book.
我看了那本书。
6) Past Continuous Tense
I was reading that book.
那时我正在看那本书。
I was reading a letter.
我那时正在读一封信。
In addition: 一般使用的时间如下：在那时；昨天X点。时间一定要具体
7) Past Perfect Tense
I had read that book.
我已经看了那本书了。or 我已经看过那本书了。
8) Past Perfect Continuous Tense
I had been reading that book.
那时我一直在看那本书。( here 那时 can be several days.)
9) Future Tense
I will read that book.
我会看那本书。or 我会看那本书的。的 can be used at the end of a statement that not happened to indicate certainty.
In addition: 你只要用这种句型：我将会......；我马上去......；我将会去......
10) Future Continuous Tense
I will be reading a book.
我会看书。
11) Future Perfect Tense
I will have finished reading that book by 10 pm.
我10点会看完那本书。
12) Future Perfect Continuous Tense
I will have been reading that book for 2 weeks.
到那个时候我已经看了两个星期那本书了。or 到那个时候，那本书我已经看了两个星期了。(There should be a "le" at the end of sentence to indicate Continuous.)
When the clock strikes 7, I will have been listening to that man (sing) for two hours.
到7点的时候，我就听了两个小时那个男人的歌了。
Upper Intermediate - Saved by the Gong: Music Class
ID: 1135
- 我不知道这首歌的歌词，但我可以哼给你听。
I don't know the words of the song but I can hum it to you.
把毛主席的诗词谱成歌曲
set Chairman Mao's poems to music
发泄不满情绪
express one's discontent; air one's grievances
欢快的曲调
a lively melody
他挡着道，可又偏不让开。
He was blocking the road and wouldn't make way.
有节奏地鼓掌
clap hands rhythmically
这项政策加剧了贫富差距。
This policy exacerbates the gap between rich and poor.
昆曲的旋律很柔软。
Kunqu has a soft and tender melody.
我顶喜欢贝多芬的音乐。
I'm very fond of Beethoven's music.
你给大家弹肖邦的曲子。
Please play Chopin for us.
no music in his soul
他没有音乐欣赏力(或他没有音乐细胞)
鉴赏艺术作品
appreciate artworks
中国古代戏曲伴奏需要文场和武场。
The orchestra of traditional opera consists of percussion, stringed and wind instruments.
用心听讲
listen attentively to a lecture
你们预备好了吗？
Are you all ready?
an even tempo
均匀的节拍
He's never been able to read music.
他一向不识乐谱。
这几个音符都是低音。
These notes are all bass.
那一组用和声演唱得很出色。
That group harmonizes well.
孔夫子是儒家学派的创始人。
Confucius is the originator of Confucianism.
他工作勤苦，老板很欣赏他。
He is hard-working and appreciated by his boss.
ID: 1224
少给我装蒜！
Stop pretending!
禀报军情
report the military situation
为使上学不迟到，约翰费了九牛二虎之力。
John nearly broke his neck trying not to be late to school.
get beheaded
证据确凿，不容狡赖。
It's no use denying it; the evidence is conclusive
你还是给他留点情面吧，为什么非要把他置于死地呢？
You'd better spare his feelings to some extent; why must you destroy him?
扪心自问，我从来没有亏待过你。
I have searched my conscience, and believe I have never mistreated you.
民间艺术的宝藏真是无穷无尽。
Folk art is a truly inexhaustible treasure trove.
医生的药方中有芦根这味中药。
The doctor writes reed rhizome in the prescription.
昏庸老朽
old and stupid
他在账目上做了手脚。
He's used sleight of hand on the accounts.
她说话爱卖关子。
When she talks she likes to keep people guessing.
义父对我比对自己的亲生儿子还要好。
My adoptive father is nicer to me than to his own son.
当作眼中钉
regard something as an eyesore
在帝王的后宫中，六宫争宠的事并不罕见。
In imperial harems, it was a common thing that the empress and concubines fought for the love of the emperor.
丑行败露后，她畏罪自杀了。
When the scandal was disclosed, she committed suicide dreading her punishment.
保持警觉
do harm to somebody through the hands of another
Can someone explain to me the difference between 之 and 的? Is it the same? Is 之's role in time words (之后) related or completely a seperate meaning? Thanks for your help!
Upper Intermediate - Funny Business 4 -- Farewell, Xiao Zhao
ID: 1229
今天这顿饭算作给你饯行，祝你一路顺风！
Just take this meal as a farewell party, we wish you a smooth journey!
在这儿吃午饭吧，家常便饭。
How about staying for lunch? Just potluck.
惯扒经常在人多的地方下手。
Hardened thieves usually steal in places that are crowded with people.
避免轻率行动
refrain from any rash action
制造不和
sow discord
他惨死于车祸。
He died a tragic death in a traffic accident
to use a friend badly
亏待朋友
她自己创业开了一家刻印店。
She started an engraving seal store.
他很有拼劲儿。
他冀图夺取政权的野心已经路人皆知了。
His ambition to seize power is known to all.
时代变了，不能再靠金饭碗过日子。
Times have changed, one can no longer expect a secure and well-paid job forever.
你要我做的事情我都做了，我总算对得起你了。
I've done everything you asked me to do. I didn't let you down in the least
你白润的皮肤真让人羡慕。
Your white skin is really enviable!
一辈子也忘不了。
I won't forget as long as I live.
图私利
pursue private ends; seek personal gain
历史地位
在他这个岁数，不应该再干重体力活了。
He shouldn't be doing heavy manual work at his age.
你工作很踏实，就是缺少创造性。
He is a steady worker with a lack of creativity.
他怨怪我多嘴。
He blamed me for not keeping my mouth shut when I should.
敌人已经退了。
The enemy has retreated.
汽车陷在烂泥里了。
The car is stuck in the mud.
I don't know if this is the right place for this type of question. I would like to see if some of my fellow poddies can help me understand the pattern found in the following sentence: 你想怎么过就怎么过！ Does anyone know of a lesson that covers this pattern? 谢谢!
I'd really like to hear a QW podcast on the various ways to express the English word 'ONLY' in Mandarin.
Hi, folks,
I'm not sure if this has been asked before, but I wonder if it might be possible to have Qing Wen related exercises somewhere down the line. The new lesson-linked exercises are absolutely fantastic, but I can also envisage that exercises linked to QW episodes that help explore and cement grammatical patterns, would be hugely useful to users, and (if technically possible from your side) would do a slightly different job from the exercises linked to individual lessons. The lesson-based exercises are more focused on listening and vocabulary, but exercises relating to QW episodes could explore more systematically the patterns of the language.
All the best,
Will
Okay, let's see if this works. Here's the idea:
1: Bookmark this discussion. This way you can be sure to be able to find it again. This is important for this to work.
2: When you see a discussion, either an old or a new one, on ChinesePod that you think illuminates some feature of Chinese or otherwise contains gems of wisdom on Chinese grammar, post a link to it here.
3: Please don't make any posts whatsoever in this discussion that do not contain links to great grammar discussions. Let's try to keep this list clean. It's not really supposed to be a discussion, but more of an archive.
The idea is that this will let people find the good grammar discussions easier by simply going to this topic and searchin on the page. And since we have it bookmarked, we can always find this page. Also, whenever we post to it, it will get bumped and thus show clearly on the discussions page.
Please write the name of the discussion and a short description of what's so great about it, and provide a link. Note that it doesn't have to be discussions solely about grammar. If there's something very interesting said about grammar in a lesson discussion, do post a link. But the interesting thing has to be in the discussion, not the lesson.
I'm not sure if this'll work, but it's worth a try.
Okay, let's try this thread in the Grammar Discussions group, instead.
1: Bookmark this discussion. This way you can be sure to be able to find it again. This is important for this to work.
2: When you see a discussion, either an old or a new one, on ChinesePod that you think illuminates some feature of Chinese or otherwise contains gems of wisdom on Chinese grammar, post a link to it here.
3: Please don't make any posts whatsoever in this discussion that do not contain links to great grammar discussions. Let's try to keep this list clean. It's not really supposed to be a discussion, but more of an archive.
The idea is that this will let people find the good grammar discussions easier by simply going to this topic and searchin on the page. And since we have it bookmarked, we can always find this page. Also, whenever we post to it, it will get bumped and thus show clearly on the discussions page.
Please write the name of the discussion and a short description of what's so great about it, and provide a link. Note that it doesn't have to be discussions solely about grammar. If there's something very interesting said about grammar in a lesson discussion, do post a link. But the interesting thing has to be in the discussion, not the lesson.
I'm not sure if this'll work, but it's worth a try.
她的脸红得像苹果一样
tāde liǎn hóng de xiàng píngguǒ yīyàng
Her face is red like an apple.
It's in the expansion for the candy lesson at intermediate level. What I'm not getting is the "红得". What's that "得" doing there, grammatically speaking? Is this a pattern? Can I say "她的脸小得像苹果一样" for "Her face is small like an apple"? Or "我可爱得像小狗一样" for "I'm cute as a puppy"?
Hello,
I was given a grammar test and instructed fill in the blank of each sentence with one of the following words; 了，过， or 着。I was completely lost. Can anyone offer a very preschoolish explanation of what sets these characters apart? I have used dictionary definitions, but am still not clear.
Thank you,
Matt Chesebrough
I'm confused about the following minimal pairs:
go to sleep 睡觉去 OR 去睡觉
go to line up 排队去 OR 去排队
go to eat a meal 吃饭去 OR 去吃饭
I've heard both versions for each sentence, but is there a difference in meaning? Is something being emphasized that I'm missing?
These five little words: 由，与， 而，为，则. I'm having some trouble understanding how to use them. Is there a QW on any of them? Does anyone have some tips or explanations?
To be clear: I'm only talking about when they're used as words on their own, not when they're used as parts of compounds.
When I first started studying Chinese, I thought it was very exhotic and contained all sorts of language features that English doesn't. I have since come to the view that both languages draw from the same set of techniques, just some techniques are a lot more used in one language than the other.
Take measure words, for example. My first impression was that English doesn't have these, but then what is "school" in "a school of fish"? Ok, but we don't have to think about the shape of something to find its measure word, right? How about "a wad of dirt", or my favorite "a tangle of snakes"?
One feature that English has and Chinese uses sparingly is inflection; words change their sound according to grammatical context. However, it seems to me the 们 for plurals, 上 and 地 for adverbs are examples of inflection.
English also has tones as in "right" in the second tone conveys extreme disbelief.
English even has pictograms, like the ones that often appear on bathroom doors.
My question is can anyone think of a language feature that is present in one language and is not used at all in the other?
When I first started studying Chinese, I thought it was very exhotic and contained all sorts of language features that English doesn't. I have since come to the view that both languages draw from the same set of techniques, just some techniques are a lot more used in one language than the other.
Take measure words, for example. My first impression was that English doesn't have these, but then what is "school" in "a school of fish"? Ok, but we don't have to think about the shape of something to find its measure word, right? How about "a wad of dirt", or my favorite "a tangle of snakes"?
One feature that English has and Chinese uses sparingly is inflection; words change their sound according to grammatical context. However, it seems to me the 们 for plurals, 上 and 地 for adverbs are examples of inflection.
English also has tones as in "right" in the second tone conveys extreme disbelief.
English even has pictograms, like the ones that often appear on bathroom doors.
My question is can anyone think of a language feature that is present in one language and is not used at all in the other?
Sorry, I couldn't think of a suitable existing discussion to lodge this under. I was moaning (a little dramatically) last night about being a terrible artist in an IM conversation, and said, "我不好画家", but I was corrected to "我是个不好的画家" to make the sentence smoother.
I'm a bit confused as to when we miss out the joining words like 是 and 的 and when we don't. Is it just down to experience, knowing which sentences require them?
Here's a couple of dialogue lines:
A: 我的眼镜找不到了。wǒ de yǎnjìng zhǎobudào le.
B: You were just wearing them!
Put on your East Brain hat now and see if you could figure out how to say "You were just wearing them" in Chinese.
Hmmmm.....
Not easy for me..hopefully easier for you, even though this sentence is in an Elementary Cpod lesson.
Ready?
刚才你还戴着呢。
gāngcái nǐ hái dài zhe ne.
literally: just a moment ago, you still wearing.
刚才gāngcái - just a moment ago
戴 dài - to put on
着呢 zhe ne - continuous tense (emphasized)
着呢 added at the end of a sentence could be puzzling for West Brainers. Why is it necessary to add 呢 at the end of a sentence for emphasis?
Other examples on the use of 着呢 :
风大着呢。
(There is heavy wind.)
门开着呢。
(The door is open.)
雨下着呢。
(It is raining.)
