Questions about verbs, their characteristics and their specific use.
1
vote
1answer
186 views
Poetic two-character words of the form: Verb + Natural Noun?
I was looking for examples in Mandarin of poetic two-character words. What words have the following form...
Verb + Noun
...where the noun is something that occurs in nature?
The first examples ...
5
votes
1answer
90 views
How can I express 'having' in an intimate sense?
In English, given a conversation between P1 and P2, it's possible to say:
P1: My wife died. Now I feel like I've got nothing. I'm so sad.
P2: Don't say that. You've still got your son. You have ...
7
votes
5answers
294 views
What's the difference between 学 and 学习?
I know both mean "to study" and I also know that while 学 (xué) is transitive, 学习 (xué xí) can be both intransitive and transitive, for example:
我学中文。 (I study «what?» Chinese) = transitive;
我在大学学习。 ...
6
votes
2answers
193 views
Are these two form of “I live in…” both correct?
When studying I came across a useful expression to say "I live in..." which is "...在...住" such as in this sentence:
我在意大利住。= I live in Italy.
Wǒ zài Yìdàlì zhù.
But then I saw a different one ...
2
votes
1answer
66 views
How is 住 used as a suffix in a verb phrase
What meaning does 住 have when used as part of a verb phrase?
她把花盆送到他面前。
哈利愣住了，大家都看着他。
It's clear from the meaning of 愣 that Harry didn't know what to do with the flower pot and was staring off ...
5
votes
2answers
196 views
Answering yes/no questions
I was a bit surprised at first when I discovered that Chinese doesn't have single words or expressions for "yes" or "no", and that instead we must use the verb from the question to either confirm or ...
9
votes
5answers
184 views
Why isn't 到 (dào) used in this sentence?
Earlier while chatting, I wrote a sentence and a native speaker told me it was correct. The sentence was:
某天我去北京。= Someday I'll go to Beijing.
(mǒu tiān wǒ qù Běi jīng)
I noticed that no ...
18
votes
7answers
532 views
Why is 有 (yǒu) the only verb that requires 没 while other verbs can use 不?
To negate something, we use 不 (bù) before the verb, such as in this short dialogue:
A: 你是老师吗？ = Are you a teacher?
B: 不是。 = I'm not.
However, the verb 有 (yǒu) is the only one that requires 没 ...
