New answers tagged grammar
0
All of them might be correct.
But in the sense of properness, we say:
他们是我[的]老师。
他们是我[的]朋友。
-- no 们
-- you can choose to use 的 or not, doesn't matter, both proper.
but, 们 is proper in subject.
我老师们都怎么怎么样。
some may say
我老师都怎么怎么样。
They both sound normal, but I think the former if more proper.
0
你给我打个电话 correct
你给我打电话 also means YOU ARE ASKING ME TO CALL SOMEONE. 你给我打电话(給)(某人、某公司,etc). Use first one is better if you are talking about "GIVE ME A CALL".
你给我电话 Hmm...you can use this to ask someone's phone number. (电話 could have 3 meanings. 1.telephone or cell phone 2.phone number. 3. Phone Call)
你打给我个电话 It sounds more like a past event. (昨天)...
5
It's called topic-comment structure and it's ubiquitous in Chinese. It's one of its distinctive grammatical traits.
What is called topic, or theme, is the focus of the sentence and is extracted at the beginning of the sentence, regardless of its grammatical function. This last remark is especially important. The topic isn't necessarily also the grammatical ...
1
Maybe I could answer the second question. Native users use these kind of sentences everyday.
It's simple and straightforward but a little impolite to elders, your boss, strangers, etc. Please add 請問 to show your polite.
Make sure the person you are talking to is the person should/could/may know the situation.
e.g.
1
A:車停在哪？
B:在停車場。
2
A:車站怎麼走？
B:直走就到。
3
A:...
-1
It's an omitted version of 把字句. We may call it 省略句(elliptical sentence).
我把证件带来了。
我: 主语(subject)
把证件: 状语(adverbial)
带来了: 谓语(predicate)
So, 证件带来了 omits subject and 把.
Similar examples: (你把)(你的)作业完成了吗？(你把)(你的)话说完了吗？
P. S. As indicated by another answer, they take 证件带来了吗 as a topic comment structure. However, I just simply take it as 你把证件带来了吗？你 and 把 are ...
2
老师们和朋友们是泛指，他们是特指，所以"他们是老师们/朋友们"不正确。你可以说"他们是两名老师"。"两名老师"在这里限定了范围，而"老师们"没有限定范围。
"他们是我的老师/朋友"代表特定的人群"他们"是属于同一属性"老师"。
如果你想强调特定的人群整体，你可以说"他们都是我的老师"。
在口语中，我们可以省略'的'。 "他们都是我老师"听起来好像比"他们都是我的老师"多了一点点感情色彩，好像更亲切了一点。
2
Because you could insert more in your sentence is not proof that it was omitted.
The sentence is fine as is.
除了没有电梯，其他的都很满意。
Apart from not having a lift, everything else is very satisfactory.
除了没有电梯，都很满意。
Apart from not having a lift, all is good.
What you are talking about is 'everything' = 都 = all'
除了价格以外，其他都很满意。
Apart from the price, everything else is ...
5
These four are all authentic expression while the first one is the best choice if you are introducing your teachers to someone.
他们是我的老师
他们是我老师
他们是我的朋友
他们是我朋友
1.老师 or 朋友
Both are acceptable. But it's usually more natural to call your teachers 老师 instead of 朋友 because it sounds more polite and formal.
2.我的老师 or 我的老师们
It's more natural in the Chinese language ...
-1
2 4 6 8 are right.
1 3 5 7 are a little bit weird.
1
你给我打个电话 - good, colloquial
你给我打电话 - good, slightly more formal
你给我电话 - what, as a birthday present?
你打给我个电话 - weird
你打给我电话 - weird
你打电话给我 - OK (a little more emphasis on 打电话, seems like 给我 is almost an afterthought)
6
I am glad to see this interesting question. The omission is really one of the most confusing but fascinating parts of the Chinese language. My explanation would be almost similar to your first one.
There are two omissions in this example. One is the omission of the subject. The other is the omission of the verb.
除了价格以外，（我）（对）其他的都（感觉）很满意。
Except for the price,...
2
I just realized my interpretation 1 is correct. An example from Expressing "except" and "in addition" with "chule… yiwai":
除了价格以外，其他方面我们都很满意。
Chúle jiàgé yǐwài, qítā fāngmiàn wǒmen dōu hěn mǎnyì.
We're satisfied with all aspects except for the price
where the subject 我们 is explicit, 其他方面...都 (all other aspects) is the topic ...
0
Which one is correct depends on the meaning you want to emphasize. To me, if the sentence is too long, I separate it into sub sentences. And if you still want to use the word my in the sentence. Thus, I would say:
很多的话 我对我的妈妈说了
But this can have another meaning than you wanted to emphasize. You can edit your question with your meaning what you wanted to say.
-1
Why don't you just think of 一次 as 'once' and 再一次 as 'once again'?
三年以前我去过一次上海，
I went to Shanghai once 3 years ago,
去年我又去了一次，
last year I went there once again,
明年我想再去一次。
and next year I'm going another time. (didn't want to repeat once again again)
三年前我去过上海一次，但是不喜欢。
Hace tres años me fui una vez a Shanghai, pero no me gustó en nada.
I went to Shanghai once ...
0
I think it's not anything but convention here. You can say 我明年还想再去 in Chinese if you don't want to specify one time.
我明年还想再去一次 means I want to go there one more time.
2
In my opinion, the sentence means the same thing with/without 从.
Look at this sentence for comparison: 我下周从周一至周三要会考。 Vs. 我下周周一至周三要会考。Both means that you will take exams from Monday to Wednesday. There isn't any difference.
The reason why your sentence (我 明年五月底 至 六月初 要 会考。) can lead different interpretations with/without 从 is that 五月底 and 六月初 are vague, ...
4
Grammatically, 次 is a verbal classifier (a classifier proper), which expresses how many times the action indicated by the verb occurs. The origin of your confusion comes because classifiers are not used in English but they are natural in Chinese.
Classifiers (verbal or nominal) must come with a numeral phrase. In this sense, the numeral 一 (one) might be ...
-2
Because we lack of adverb that describes "again". So we have to specifically use "once more" to describe "again". 再一次 function as again.
2
[从 X 至 Y] = [from X to Y] (describes a continuous time)
[X 至 Y] = [ between X and Y] (describes a range of time)
Example:
"He visited me from Mondays to Saturday" means he visited me every day from Mondays to Saturday
"He visited me between Mondays and Saturday" means he visited me some days between Mondays and Saturday
五月底 (至) 六月初
(...
5
I think the document has simply not been well proofread. The usage of 地 is not consistent though. We can see the examples like:
没错，唐三的父亲唐昊，就是一个铁匠。村子里唯一地铁匠。
So, I don't believe it's anything relevant to any dialects or stylistics. Those are simply the errors that need to be corrected.
1
To express QUESTION type sentence:
你认为如何 is correct.
e.g.
你認為如何才能維持身體健康？
如何你认为, use 為何 instead of 如何 would be better.
e.g.
为何你认为維持身體健康很重要？ (correct.)
If you talk to me with 如何你认为, as a native user, I know you are asking a question without any problem.
e.g.
如何你认为他是對的？
如何你认为這個結果沒問題？
1
In formal text, the first one is correct and the second one is wrong.
But 我认为/你认为 is similar to the 'I think' in English. It can be put anywhere as the speaker feels like it in casual setup.
1
你认为如何
如何你认为
The first is correct but the second is wrong.
However, even with this said, you may hear the second sentence from native speakers in casual conversations. As I mentioned in this answer, some people tend to reverse orders while speaking. For example "山东人我是". But don't get me wrong: this sentence is not correct and you should not say the ...
1
Is this because 大声 is originally an adverb (loudly) instead of an adjective (loud)?
Yes, you are correct.
In that case, if a word can act as either an ADJ or ADV, should I generally drop the 地?
If the word is primarily an adverb, you can drop the 地. For example, words composed with the typical adverbial suffix 然 don't require 地:
我们欣然欢迎朱大军同事加入我们公司 We ...
4
A 是 B C 的
“A 是 B C 的” is an emphasized version of "B C A".
A: object
B: subject
C: verb
The emphasis is on B, that subject B is responsible for action C. It very likely that action C is complete and has some visible effect. A can be omitted sometimes if not important.
It can usually be translated into "It is B that Ced A."
这饭是我做的.
It ...
1
Oh the mysteries of 了！
What is 了 doing in ‘这个表快了五分钟。’？
Not much, you can leave it out: "这个表快五分钟。" just like 芸香科橙子同学 above said.
I wouldn't even notice a difference in the mood of the sentence with or without 了。I'd get that from the tone of voice.
1
General discussion of the perfective 了
I think I managed to understand this use of 了 in Charles N. Li, Sandra A. Thompson. Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar. There, they argue the perfective 了 signals an event with a perfective action, which is regarded as completely "bounded" (i.e. with an end point) either temporally, spatially or ...
1
I don't think the sentence is correct.
技术 and 原理 took the same position. You can say either 电泳显示技术 or 电泳原理, but not 技术原理。Either tech or theory but not both.
Also 是利用～发明的 is also a little weird to me. The order is correct but twisted. More straightforward version should be 电子纸的发明利用了～.
而成 should be combined with 制作 instead of 发明, because you can say 制作成～的样子 ...
1
The context of 我说的 in this sentence could be orders(命令), instructions(指示), teaching(教導), advices(建議), etc. It should go back to previous diaglog to know exactly what 我说的 is.
說 is a verb. It refers to an ACTION. Similar to SAY, SPEAK, TALK, TELL etc.
"你要按照我说的做并且要做好" means I have told you the orders(命令) or instructions(指示) or teaching(教導) or advices(...
2
In Chinese, noun phrases in the form:
nominal modifier + 的 + noun
may drop the noun when:
it's clear enough from the context
it's a term very generic in meaning
Clear from the context
This is the case where a noun is dropped to avoid unnecessary repetition.
这本书很有意思，谁写的（书）
This book is very interesting, who wrote it? (Who wrote the book)
Very generic in ...
1
In the examples mentioned above, 了 functions as an aspect marker.
The aspect marker 了 indicates that:
an occurrence Pi of a process P (an action or an event) is located on the time line.
Pi is a distinguished/distinguishable value of P (not just any occurrence of P).
By default, the time line where Pi is located is adjacent to the moment of speech (i.e. &...
2
Both sentences are absolutely correct. However, they slightly differ in what the speaker wants to emphasize:
With 我们去了维多利亚海港看烟花, the speaker is emphasizing on 去维多利亚海港. They went to 维多利亚海港 rather than any other places.
With 我们去维多利亚海港看了烟花, the speaker is emphasizing on 看烟花. They watched fireworks rather than doing anything else.
This difference is actually ...
2
One of the functions of 了 is acting as a verb particle to indicate the verb is completed
年初二晚上他们一家人[去看]烟花 - [go to watch]
年初二晚上他们一家人[去看了]烟花 - [went and watched]
What is the difference between the two sentences above? The first one doesn't firmly state the action is completed. It indicates the family 'attempt' to go watch the firework but doesn't confirm ...
0
吃完晚饭后，我们去了维多利亚海港看烟花。 correct.
吃完晚饭后，我们去维多利亚海港看了烟花。 correct.
吃完了晚饭后，我们去维多利亚海港看烟花。 correct.
吃完了晚饭后，我们去了维多利亚海港看烟花。 correct.
吃完了晚饭后，我们去维多利亚海港看了烟花。 correct.
吃完了晚饭后，我们去了维多利亚海港看了烟花。 (understandable, but not so fluent, it sounds like you are talking about 3 events individually)
吃完晚饭后，我们去维多利亚海港看烟花。 correct
吃完晚饭后，我们去维多利亚海港看烟花""？"" correct. (After ...
1
I can see your difficulty. The reason why 下午我去了超级市场买一些水果和面包。is incorrect is that 买一些水果和面包 is a specific action, not a purpose. You can simply remove 一些 to correct the sentence: 下午我去了超级市场买水果和面包. It's also correct to say 下午我去超级市场买了一些水果和面包。
By the same token, 吃完晚饭后，我们去了维多利亚海港看一场烟花 doesn't sound quite right. 看烟花 can be a purpose, while 看一场烟花 is not because it ...
2
It's an exception.
With verbs in series, when the object of the first verb is a proper noun, the aspectual 了 is placed after the first verb.
So the construction becomes: "Subj. + V1 + ASP 了 + proper noun + V2"
In your example, you indeed have a proper noun after the first verb:
吃完晚饭后，我们去了维多利亚海港 (Victoria Harbor) 看烟花
Another example:
我去了北京找我的朋友 ——...
1
EDIT: As mentioned by @dan and others, now I believe the correct answer is we need 是 in the sentence to change the meaning of 应该:
应该 should (requirement) → 应该是 should be ~ might be (possibility).
Discussion for the role of 是 in the sentence without 应该:
After consulting with the book Charles N. Li, Sandra A. Thompson, Mandarin Chinese: A Functional ...
0
I don't think there's much ambiguity here.
Consider this scenario: you had a hard week at work and it's Friday morning. You have one day left before you're done for the week. You want to express your eagerness to get this over with so you say "This week is finally about to be over. / 这周终于快结束了。"
I would say the simultaneous usage of "终于" ...
1
Both 给我钱 and 把钱给我 have the same meaning, you order(ask) somebody to give you the money. But I think 把钱给我 has a more emphasized feeling. Also they do have a little difference in different situations.
For example, if a thief stoled your money, you caught him, and say (还)给我钱, this is a normal order. But if you say 把钱(还)给我, he maybe a little more afraid.This is ...
3
Some one: 你今天怎么了？
Me sniffling: 我可能感冒了。
vs
Some one: 你是不是感冒了？
Me: 我应该是感冒了。
Add "是" when someone has referred to a specific state (catch a cold). You can also add "是" to emphasize the correct state if the answer is no.
e.g.
Some one: 你弟弟今天是不是发烧了？
Me: 不，但他应该是感冒了。
Note: it seems unnatural to me if the "是" in "我应该是感冒了" is ...
1
我终于快到中国了
I would translate this sentence as:
I eventually reached the time point that I would arrive in China soon.
Seems redundant, doesn't it? So most people would just say:
我终于到中国了 -> Finally, I arrived in China
or
我快到中国了 -> I will soon arrive in China
As you can see, the word "终于" tends to imply past tense while "快" ...
2
我终于快到中国了
I think this sentence is understandable, but it has a little difference with:
我快到中国了
and
我终于到中国了
Let me explain why. First start with the simple one.
我快到中国了 ----> I will arrive in China soon.
This means you are out of China, and will arrive soon. In this time, you are in a peace mode. But If you use 我快到中国啦!, this may indicate you are ...
0
Finally, I'm about to arrive at China.
There's nothing fundamentally wrong about this sentence, it's just the scenario that this sentence can fit perfectly into, rarely exists. I can think of one example, that you are on a plane to China, there's still some time till landing, say 2 hours, you're so excited that you want to share this excitement with people ...
-1
Depends on the the stress.
If the stress falls on "是", "是" could be translated as "do" for a double positive.
For example, I DO want a PS5.
If the stress falls on other words, the "是" could be transaled as "be" simply.
1
"是" here gives the reader a sense of "文绉绉", and has more literariness. We don't use it that way in spoken chinese. But It's very common in literature.
For a sentence, Shorter(without "是") means more efficient, like a soldier, and longer(with "是") means more emotional, like a literary writer.
On the other hand, our ...
-2
no grammar problem, but it would be making much sense with "我终于快到达中国了". Since you are expressing "I'm finally arriving in China". Use "到达-arrive" instead of "到-come".
1
给我钱 - usually used in casual situation like among youth friends, close relationship, or in a very demanding context.
把钱给我 - used in formal situation, more friendly, will add a "please" 请 to be more polite
1
“是” express that the speaker believe he is having a cold. The sentence translated into English should be "I must be having a cold" or "I believe I'm having a cold". If without “是”, it turns out to be expressing "I should catch a cold". It doesn't make sense since nobody wants to catch a cold.
1
it just depends on the emotion.
think about english, you have tons of ways to say something, but you only choose the best way to express your emotion, right?
do not over-thinking the difference, this might trap you.
2
the most common 2 cases:
我终于到中国了 i finally arrived to China.
我快到中国了 i will arrive china soon.
so the first one means the action is done, you arrived.
the second one means the action still going on, you still need to travel.
Usually we dont combine these 2 states together, and we usually seperate them in below's fashion:
我终于快到中国了 => 终于，我快到中国了 finally, I ...
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