meiyou vs bu

brambostic
 February 03, 2011, 08:32 AM posted in General Discussion

Hi. Can someone give me a clue about when to use one or the other. At first I thought meiyou was present tense, bu past. Not really. Then i thought meiyou was for passive verbs, bu for active ones. Not really.

Or, is there a lesson about this. Thanks.

PS - Sorry for the lack of accenting, not sure how to do that here.

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toianw
 February 03, 2011, 08:56 AM

Hi brambostic,

This lesson may be useful:

Qing Wen - Negating Verbs: When to Use 没有 (méiyǒu), When to Use 不 (bù)

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brambostic
 February 03, 2011, 09:42 AM

Thanks, toianw.. looks like just what the doctor ordered.

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brambostic
 February 03, 2011, 09:53 AM

Ahh, so it turns out it IS related to past/present, but I had it reversed. meiyou is for past, bu is for "non-past". And never put bu before the verb "you". That seems to be the low down.

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bababardwan

没错 【mei cuo...not wrong....; you're right]