CLO_185: Fun With Grammar

Vocabulary: Numbers
Wen2fa3
Ming2ci2
Dong4ci2
Xing2rong2ci2
Liang4ci2

Vocabulary: Tone Marks
Wénfǎ
Míngcí
Dòngcí
Xíngróngcí
Liàngcí

Premium Online Content: Please log in or subscribe to view the content below.

PDF Notes: Vocabulary Complete Pinyin Transcript Complete Simplified Transcript Complete Traditional Transcript Complete English translated Transcript New simplified characters All simplified characters New traditional characters All traditional characters

 
icon for podpress  CLO_185 [6:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

14 Responses to “CLO_185: Fun With Grammar”

  1. Anthony Blum Says:

    There’s something wrong with the first sentence builder. I can’t get it right, but can get it to say everything is right but one word, which doesn’t make sense.

    I was thinking it should maybe be: Jùzi tōngcháng huì yǒu yīge míngcí gēn yīge dòngcí.

    This however doesn’t come up correct, though I can’t seem to get any combination to work.

    Thanks.

  2. Adam Says:

    Hi Anthony - you’re right - I’ve fixed it, so it should be working now. You may also notice a new exercise - Fill in the Blanks - featured every few lessons to help in your learning. Keep the comments coming!

  3. Daniel Tynan Says:

    An unrelated grammar question.. . When asking questions in Chinese we end the first question with 吗 and can end all the following questions with 呢 as long as they are pertaining to the same subject??

    And so if I decide to change subjects and ask about something else I should revert back to 吗? If this is right. . does it apply to both written and spoken Chinese?

  4. Adam Says:

    Hi Daniel,

    In general yes. So a sample conversation might look like this:

    A: 你最近好吗?
    B: 很好,谢谢。
    A: 那你的太太呢?
    B: 她也很好。
    A: 你知道明天的天气怎么样吗?
    B: 应该会下雨吧。
    A: 那星期五呢?
    B: 星期五我不知道。

  5. Daniel Tynan Says:

    OK thanks for clearing that up Adam.

  6. Matthew McAuley Says:

    I have a small grammar question about 量詞。 Can the measure word be more than one character? For instance, when I go to the coffee shop and order should I say “我要一大杯咖啡” or “我要一杯咖啡,大杯的”?

  7. Adam Says:

    Hi Matthew,

    These are the two sentences that could be said:

    1. 我要一杯大杯的咖啡
    2. 我要一杯咖啡,大杯的 (same as yours)

    Additionally, the second measure word could also be omitted to give:
    我要一杯大(杯)的咖啡

  8. Matthew McAuley Says:

    Okay, thanks Adam! That makes sense to me.

  9. Ruide Says:

    Adam, grammar ?

    >when is it necessary and what does it do to the meaning of a verb when adding ‘dao’

    >meaning of passive verb?
    >what is direct translation of ‘dei’ ? when is it use and what it’s place in an sentence structure.
    cannot see easy examples in word bank for me to understand usage of ‘dao’ and ‘dei’
    can you 1 or 2 e.g. thanks

  10. Adam Says:

    Hi Ruide,

    dào​ signifies the completion of an action. It is often paired with a “le” to signify this change in situation. Compare the following:

    zhǎo - to look for
    zhǎodào​ le - to have found.

    xiǎng - to think
    xiǎngdào​ le - to have found an answer

    zuò​ - to do
    zuò​dào​ le - to have finished doing

    etc.

    děi​ - simply means “to have to do” something. Eg.

    Wǒ děi zǒu le. - I have to go.
    Tā děi dào​qiàn​. - He needs to apologize.

    Hope that helps!

  11. Ruide Says:

    being only an occasional learner and not being able to write “hanzi” my grammar questions can sometimes be ambiguous but i keep coming back to your site where i’m most comfortable. thanks for your reply Adam.

    if i want to say - i have finish my exercises - zuodao le wode jianshen
    it’s a completed action but adding ‘dao’ can also change the meaning of the verb - correct?

    sorry, i meant ‘bei’ 4th tone in 2nd above question. my mistake.

  12. Ruide Says:

    Adam,
    > what about ‘bei’ 4th tone can you help me understand it’s meaning and how it’s used in a few sentences.
    > is my use of ‘zuodao’ in above sentence correct?

    thanks

  13. Adam Says:

    Hi Ruide,

    For “I have finished my exercises” it would be better to use zuowan.
    “Wode jianshen yundong, dou zuo wan le”.

    Zuodao would be used to define how much of a task has been completed. Eg.
    “Zhege gongzuo, zhi zuodao yiban, haimei zuo wan.” (I’ve only done half the work, haven’t finished it yet”.

  14. Adam Says:

    Ruide,

    Bei is used to describe the passive voice. I think it is pretty simple to figure out. Compare the following sentences:

    Wo da ta le. (I hit him)
    Wo bei ta da le. (I was hit by him)

    Wo ma ta le. (I scolded him)
    Wo bei ta ma le. (I was scolded by him).

    Let me know if that helps.

Leave a Reply


Site/Theme by Voloer Group - www.voloer.com