9
votes
Accepted
How do you know when will the verb be paired with 对?
体贴 (to be considerate) is intransitive, it cannot take a direct object. So you can be "considerate towards your parents" but you cannot "considerate your parents". In a similar ...
- 1,482
7
votes
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When to use 住在 and when to use just 住?
I am a native Chinese speaker. We say "住这样的房子" or "住在这样的房子里". These two are both correct, and they mean the same thing.
"住在这样的房子" sounds wrong to me."住这样的房子里" may be correct but sounds weird.
As ...
- 161
6
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吃 Vs. 喝 in this sentence: 既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒
"Drink" is one possible meaning of 吃. From the Taiwan Ministry of Education dictionary definition for 吃
(emphasis added):
口中咀嚼食物後嚥下。有時吸、飲液體亦稱為「吃」。如：「吃飯」、「吃茶」、「吃藥」。
It also has an entry ...
- 505
6
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Can 你去吧 be considered rude and what are some alternatives?
The alternative will be “你快(點)回去吧”, or simply "快回去".
Depending on the situation, “你去吧” can be seen as cold, arrogant, or rude. Worst of all, it is a phrase frequently used during the funeral ...
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5
votes
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Do I have to include 是 in 你的生日(是)什么时候？
你的生日是什麼時候?
(When is your birthday?) is the proper way to propose a question.
你(的)生日什麼時候? is gramatically incorrect but seldom heard when speaking for shortness
Also,
你(的)生日是哪一天?
(What day is your ...
- 66
5
votes
Are these two form of "I live in..." both correct? 我在意大利住 and 我住在意大利
I actually think these two sentences are slightly different. The first sentence has its emphasis on "住", for example, in the context "我不在上海上学，我在上海住。”
The second sentence has its focus on the ...
- 899
5
votes
What is the phenomenon of putting a verb twice in a sentence called?
I think this apparent phenomenon is more the result of the Chinese propensity for brevity and omission, omission especially of pronouns. I would not say this is unique to Chinese. Both sentences can ...
- 16.3k
5
votes
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Why does 他没看书 use 没 and not 不 in this dialogue?
The opposite of "他没看书" (he did not/has not read books) is "他有看书" (he did/ has read books)- 没(has not) here replaces the adverb 有(has)- to indicate 'absent' of the action
The ...
- 74k
5
votes
Is the 有 in 你有想要买什么吗 some kind of auxiliary verb?
你有想要买什么吗. It sounds more like Taiwanese usage of 有 to my ear. I found they often put 有 between subject and verb. E.g. 我有去过；我有看过；where I often just say 我去过；我看过. In this case, I'll probably say 你想要买什么? ...
- 24k
5
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How do I determine whether a Chinese verb is transitive and/or intransitive?
I am not a linguist so I cannot give you a definitive answer, but the concept of "transitive/intransitive" is not native to Chinese language.
I think most of the verbs you encounter can take an ...
- 3,091
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votes
What is the purpose of 是 in "我应该是感冒了"?
I do not agree that 是 is acting as the copula in the sentence. Because even without 是, the following sentences contain the same meaning and only differ in tone:
我应该是感冒了
我应该感冒了
This answer comes ...
- 1,163
5
votes
Differences between 记得 and 记住
The biggest help to clarify the difference is that 记住 has the result complement 住, which is used to express halt (e.g. 站住 stand still), and, by extension, firmness of the action (e.g. 忍住 withstand).
...
- 5,432
5
votes
Accepted
"食人" in Classical Chinese of the 先秦 period
in the book of mencius 孟子, chapter 梁惠王上:
此率獸而食人也
roughly means
This is leading on beasts to devour men.
https://ctext.org/dictionary.pl?if=gb&id=12876#s10026702
in the same book, chapter 滕文公上:
...
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5
votes
Why is 指 repeated twice in 他指了指墙上的画?
I'm surprised this hasn't been covered before here, I'm sure there must be a link somewhere that I was unable to find.
This is the V + 了 + V structure.
#Grammar 2. 动词的重叠 Reduplication of Verbs (II): ...
Mou某♦
- 35.4k
5
votes
Accepted
What are the parts of speech of the words in 车外的阳光格外的刺眼, and why is this 的 correct?
车外： Object + related location/position = place term, n.
的： Aux. term to turn n. into descriptive, usually in possession/belonging relation; or habitually added after multi-character adj. (single ...
- 677
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votes
Accepted
Can 同学 really be used as a separable verb?
To say "no" is rather prescriptive. The phrase "同过 X 年学" or simply "同过学" is not so uncommon in real life.
Pro-tip for advanced learners of Chinese: nouns can sometimes be ...
- 3,823
5
votes
Accepted
Talking about habits and the present time using 会
Instead of viewing 会 as a future time marker, we can take it as a modal marker for irrealis and strong possibility. (会 has other modal usages, but they’re irrelevant to your examples) Some linguists ...
- 4,063
5
votes
Use of 要...(了) to indicate future
It's because of omissions. "我要喝一杯茶" can be short for both "我想要喝一杯茶" and "我将要喝一杯茶". When we say "我要喝一杯茶" it can mean "I want a cup of tea" or "I'm ...
- 51
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votes
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What is the meaning of 背会?
背会 and 会背 are not the same.
背会 verb + result, memorize/recite it until you know it (by heart)
会背 auxiliary verb + verb, able to recite from memory
我还没背会这篇文章。
I still have not learned this essay by ...
- 5,882
4
votes
When 了 has the same verb before and after it, is it reduplication combined with 了1?
Quote from the "Verb" page of the Chinese Grammar Wiki:
Reduplication
In Chinese, verb reduplication is a common phenomenon. Reduplication indicates one or more of the following:
A short, ...
- 8,695
4
votes
Accepted
Why is 的 used in 你想要什么喝的吗?
Here, you could think that "的" converts a verb (i.e. "喝"/drink) into a noun, i.e. something for drinking.
But notice the "的" after "是" is different, it is more of an interjection, and does not have ...
- 156
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votes
How to use 弄 in a sentence?
My impression as a learner is that 弄 functions as a unspecified verb. Basically, we take a sentence and replace a specific verb (or multiple verbs) by the unspecific 弄.
弄 is typically used within a ...
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votes
Accepted
Is there a way to respond to 你做什么工作？starting with 我做...？
Because 医生 is what you are, not what you do.
You can respond with 我教英语, 我卖面包, 我开出租车, if you want.
In most cases, 我是XX sounds more natural if your job has a simple and direct name, such as 医生, 教师, 司机,...
- 1,755
4
votes
Which online resources (preferably open source / cc) does contain info on which Chinese verbs is separable?
The Pleco app contains this information. It was actually confusing me for a while, but the //'s in the pinyin indicate verb separability. Pleco includes some free dictionaries, but it also allows you ...
- 6,735
4
votes
Accepted
If you can use Chinese nouns as verbs, or vice versa
If you can use Chinese nouns as verbs, or vice versa
Many Chinese nouns can also be verbs; and many Chinese verbs can also be nouns-- but not all of them, just like in English
Please go into more ...
- 74k
4
votes
Accepted
Using Dual-Character Verbs When Not Necessary
Some two-character verbs or verbal phrases are constructed as verb-object phrases (seperable verbs), e.g. 吃饭 (eat a meal) and 说话 (speak words). As they already have an object, you usually cannot have ...
- 582
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What is the difference between 是 and 在?
是 is used when a piece of information always holds true for the subject.
我是美国人。
I am an American.
Even though the person’s nationality might change, at the time of speaking, he wants to say that his ...
- 1,638
4
votes
What is the purpose of 是 in "我应该是感冒了"?
Let's simplify the sentence to make it easier to identify the role of 是
他死了 -- he died
他(是)死了 -- he (indeed) died
我输了 -- I lost
我(是)输了 -- I (indeed) lost
~
Adding 应该 make it complicated
应该 in 我应该 ...
- 74k
4
votes
吃 Vs. 喝 in this sentence: 既然敬酒不吃那就吃罚酒
The character 吃 is also a variant of 喫 (same pronunciation), where it retains the meaning of both "to eat" and "to drink".
This usage is preserved for example in Shanghainese, ...
- 5,432
4
votes
Accepted
In classical Chinese, does 從 always imply the follower is lower in rank?
in the book “殷周金文集成”, the entry 04030,
my best understanding of 从 in the 5th column:
engaged in (从) the commanding (司) [of] the royal court (王家), outside and inside (外內)
the structure of “从司” is ...
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