6
votes
Accepted
Phrase structure for "餐厅是在周边一个靠海的小城市。"
(1) Here 是 is NOT a copula, but a marker for the cleft sentence, equivalent to the English it-cleft. It emphasizes what comes after.
Historically, the evolution of copula in Chinese started from ...
- 3,922
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 ...
- 778
4
votes
Accepted
How to do basic similes (comparisons) in Chinese?
[adj] 如 [n] / 其 [adj] 如 [n] (more idiomatic, usually contains four characters)
有如 [n] 般 [adj] / 如 [n] 般 [adj] (more literary)
跟 [n] 一般 [adj] / 像 [n] 一樣 [adj] (more colloquial)
[adj] 得跟 [n] 一般 / [...
- 73.2k
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
How to do basic similes (comparisons) in Chinese?
"as...as" is comparing two comparable objects:
"you are as tall as a tree" - 你"如/就像"(as)樹"一般"(as)高
"she is as smart as him" - 她"如/就像"(as)他&...
- 9,691
2
votes
Accepted
What is the subject of the verb 组成?
The subject is 四合院
而有钱人家的，通常是由好几座四合院并列组成的
If the above sentence confuses you, changing it to the following might help make things clear
而有钱人家的(四合院)，通常是由好几座四合院并列组成的 --> 而有钱人家的四合院，通常是由好几个(院子)并列组成的
...
- 73.2k
2
votes
Why is this sentence 「我沒來以前那個事你說給他了嗎？」 grammatically correct?
"Did you tell him what happened before I came?"
「你說給他我沒來以前那個事嗎？」
「我沒來以前那個事你說給他了嗎？」
Both are technically correct
#1. followed the original [SVO] sentence structure - 「你(s)說給(v)他(direct ...
- 73.2k
2
votes
How mobile are adverbs in a Chinese sentence?
A general rule of thumb is to modify directly before what you want. This is least likely to make mistakes.
Also, 的地得 words bind "tighter", and is nearly always used directly before what it ...
- 769
2
votes
How to do basic similes (comparisons) in Chinese?
一朵血红的玫瑰 Rabby Bairns
哦，我的爱人就像一朵红玫瑰
O my Luve is like a red, red rose
这是六月新出现的；
That’s newly sprung in June;
哦，我的爱人就像旋律
O my Luve is like the melody
这首曲子弹得很好。
That’s sweetly played in tune.
You're as ...
- 16.1k
2
votes
扣里：里 as verbal complement?
in the context of having to tip some ingredients into a
previously-mentioned pan.
I think you have typo, you mean 锅
Chinese likes to wrap things at both ends, so you get something like:
在 ... 里
入 ... ...
- 16.1k
2
votes
Phrase structure for "餐厅是在周边一个靠海的小城市。"
From a native speaker's perspective, there are many interpretations of this sentence to me.
First, this can be just a syntactically wrong sentence. It's a mix of "餐厅在..." and "餐厅的位置是...&...
- 141
2
votes
Accepted
How to use 欢迎 in a sentence?
欢迎您"到"(arrive)北京"来"(come). = 欢迎您"来到"(to come to and arrive in)北京. - Welcome you to come to (and arrive in) Bejing.
The above sentence is the more formal way of greeting. ...
- 9,691
2
votes
Accepted
What is 新的伟大... in 党的建设新的伟大工程 and 改革开放新的伟大革命?
Honestly it reads unnatural to me. Yet the Chinese language has so many varieties, the standard mandarin is so young and the written language had been separated from the oral for so long, the ...
- 3,922
1
vote
How to use 欢迎 in a sentence?
歡迎 often means "welcome/greet (a guest etc.)" or a related meaning "someone/something has a good reception"
Example of the first use in a standard way is saying "歡迎您到北京來！(we) ...
- 1,164
1
vote
How to use 欢迎 in a sentence?
歡迎你到我家。
Wellcome you to my home.
You are welcome to visit our house.
歡迎你來拜訪我們家。
- 11
1
vote
Phrase structure for "餐厅是在周边一个靠海的小城市。"
餐厅是在周边一个靠海的小城市。
(1) I don't know what to make of the presence of 是 in the above sentence, which is obviously not saying that the restaurant is a small town in the periphery.
(2) I don't understand the ...
- 136
1
vote
Phrase structure for "餐厅是在周边一个靠海的小城市。"
Re-read the article. It seems to describe the touring places of a local (city) and its vicinity (satellite towns). With that knowledge, you can construct the sentence as:
"餐厅是在(XX城)周边一个靠海的小城市&...
- 9,691
1
vote
How mobile are adverbs in a Chinese sentence?
In your particular example, only 我快速跑向车站 is used and can be understood without some spiritual raising of eyebrows.
Before everything: I want to comment on 快速地，我跑向车站 vs Quickly, I ran to the station ...
- 261
1
vote
How mobile are adverbs in a Chinese sentence?
Structurally, they're pretty much just as mobile.
Mutatis mutandis, adverbs with "ly" in English are comparable to adverbs with "de" in Chinese (variously spelled 的, 得 or 地 ...
- 687
1
vote
How to say complex adjective/noun phrase in Chinese
Using 的 when the word is an adjective. For example, a red book => 一本紅色「的」書. Here we use 的 since red is an adjective, and it is used to describe the book.
Using 得 when the word is a verb but with an ...
- 66
1
vote
Accepted
Examples of more complex sentences using Topic-Comment structure in Chinese?
Such topic-comment (主题与评论) constructions are very common in Chinese, but it is important to understand what can be construed as a topic in Mandarin.
One of the key features to note is that the topic ...
- 6,063
1
vote
有认真地考虑过 or 有认真的考虑过?
[的] is a [adjectival] marker that is always followed by a [noun]
[地] is a [adverbial] marker that is always followed by a [verb]
Since 考虑 is a verb, "有认真地考虑过" is the correct answer.
The ...
- 73.2k
1
vote
How mobile are adverbs in a Chinese sentence?
I think 快速地我跑向车站 is acceptable, but sounds a bit weird and even hilarious, since it reminds me of a famous poem《再别康桥》. It might be common in literature. 我跑向快速地车站 is absolutely wrong. 我跑向车站，快速地 is sort ...
- 131
1
vote
How mobile are adverbs in a Chinese sentence?
When you say, 我快速跑向车站, the complete sentence is 我快速地跑向车站。
Whenever there is a 什么什么地 used as an adverb, the only correct place is in front of the verb.
You have options to use other kinds of sentences ...
- 2,118
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