Verb duplication
alexlexilu
June 14, 2010, 04:05 PM posted in Grammar Questions
alexlexilu
Thank that helps. One more question... The grammar guide says...
" 5.Many can reduplicate in the form AA, AAB, or ABAB, indicating brief duration, an attempt, or repetition. (See also reduplication of verbs.) "
How do I know if it is used for "brief duration, an attempt, or repetition"?
Only from the context??? Is there some lesson about it... thats one aspect of Chinese I would like to comprehend more.
John
Alex,
I'm afraid I don't have good news for you here. Context is key.
Aside from that, though, the nature of the verb itself can narrow down the possibilities. For example, the verb 等 (děng), meaning "to wait," would be reduplicated in the AA form, which is 等等. In most cases, "an attempt, or repetition" isn't going to make sense with a verb meaning "to wait." So in almost every case, 等等 is going to mean "to wait (brief duration)."
alexlexilu
谢谢！It helps a bit... I will keep it in mind when I hear it.
As for trying to use duplicate verbs... I guess I need to progress more to be able to grasp the whole flavour of this very Chinese concept of repeating a verb!!!
Maybe you guys could send my request to the QingWen crew to have a lesson on it. Hearing more examples in different context will help engraving the concept in my brain!!! Thanks for your great work the whole gang!
I paticularly luv QIngWEns!!!
John
June 17, 2010, 09:50 AMAlex,
The reduplication pattern used is determined by the verb itself:
1. If it's a simple one-character verb (A), the pattern is "AA."
2. If it's a simple one-character verb with a one-character object (AB), you get "AAB."
3. If it's a two-character verb (AB), you get "ABAB."
Take a look at the examples again and you'll get it.