5
votes
Does omitting pronouns change the relationship between sentences?
妈妈昨天喝茶，今天喝咖啡。 = 妈妈昨天喝茶，她今天喝咖啡。 ≠ 妈妈昨天喝茶，所以今天喝咖啡。
妈妈不喝茶，喝咖啡。 = 妈妈不喝茶，她喝咖啡。 ≠ 妈妈如果不喝茶，就喝咖啡。
Here omitting the pronoun 她 will not change the meaning of the sentence. Normally we omit the repeating ...
- 798
5
votes
Accepted
What is the semantic extension of 成？
This is a very historical character originating from as early as 1600 BC. The initial meaning of 成 has always been in arguments, it's just too old.
So, I'm afraid that neither of the two semantics is &...
- 84
4
votes
Why does 是 not go with 会 when talking about the future?
Why does 是 not go with 会 when talking about the future?
It does because 会是 can be short for 將会是 (will be) or 可能会是 (would/could be)
Example:
如果拜登当选连任，他(将)会是史上最年老的美国总统 -- If Biden is re-elected, he (...
- 74k
4
votes
Accepted
What is the history of 要？Did it first mean "to want" and then get extended to mean "to be gong to"? Or was it the other way around?
My question is: did 要 originally mean "to want to" and then get extended to mean "going to"? This would be similar to the history of "will" in English.
Yes. In the The ...
- 6,218
3
votes
Accepted
Does omitting pronouns change the relationship between sentences?
These sentences may be logically compatible with a conditional, causal or any other subordinative reading, but only by contextual inference.
When a sentence leaves out something that is grammatically ...
- 687
3
votes
”我只会说汉语“ — Would this come off more as “I can only speak Mandarin” or “I will only speak Mandarin”?
The problem with 会 is it can mean either "would" or "know" (e.g. a skill) depending on the context, so you need to add more context to disambiguate.
"我[沒學過外語，]只会说汉语" ...
- 74k
2
votes
Accepted
Is there a difference in word stress between 会 as a time marker and 会 as an auxiliary verb meaning "to know how to"?
In my opinion, the tone indeed gives hint to the meaning, but I doubt it has a strong correspondence. As to your intuition, namely, the stressed tone corresponds to "know how" and the ...
- 106
1
vote
Is there a difference in word stress between 会 as a time marker and 会 as an auxiliary verb meaning "to know how to"?
I think context is the key, instead of tone. Tone is just for emphasis, not affecting the meaning per se.
E.g. 他会唱歌 could mean either.
A: 他都会些什么？
B: 他会唱歌。// he knows how to sing.
A1: 他在晚会上要表演什么？
B1: ...
- 24k
1
vote
Why does 是 not go with 会 when talking about the future?
No, the Chinese do not avoid using ”会是“ when condition entails.
”会是“ means "be possible to be" or simply - "will..be"
明年，这个地方就不是我的家了 = 明年，这个地方就不会是我的家了 (Next year, this place will ...
- 10.4k
1
vote
Why does 是 not go with 会 when talking about the future?
This is purely based on a native speaker's sense and is not backed by any formal linguistic reasoning, but:
I don't think 会是 cannot be used in your examples. 明年我不会是学生(了) is at least as natural as ...
- 907
1
vote
Why does 是 not go with 会 when talking about the future?
I find many many examples of 会是。 Who told you you Chinese "avoids" it?
Next year this place will no longer be my home.
明年，这个地方将不再（会）是我的家。
Next year I will no longer be a student.
明年我将不再（会）...
- 16.3k
1
vote
”我只会说汉语“ — Would this come off more as “I can only speak Mandarin” or “I will only speak Mandarin”?
只 has the meaning of "just", "merely", "nothing but", "only".
会 has the meaning of "be possible", "be able to", or "can".
Combined,...
- 10.4k
1
vote
What does 肯 mean, in the word 肯定？
肯 = meat on the bone.
Modern people, do not know this word '肯' meaning
Usually expressed in words, '肯定' and '中肯'
肯定 meaning is sure, definite.
中肯 meaning is middle level definite or Fair determine
中肯 ...
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