Times of Actions
次 (cì) is the measure word most frequently used to indicate that an action is performed a certain number of times. The “number + 次 (cì)” combination follows the verb.
1. 上午我打了两次电话。 (I made two phone calls in the morning.)
2. 昨天我吃了三次药。 (I took the medicine three times yesterday.)
If the object is not a person or a place, 次 (cì) should be placed between the verb and the object. If the object represents a person or a place, 次 can go either between the verb and the object or after the object.
3. A: 去年我去了一次中国。你呢？ (Last year I went to China once. How about you?)
B: 去年我去了中国两次。 (Last year I went to China twice.)
A: 昨天我找了三次王医生。 (I went looking for Dr. Wang three times yesterday.)
B : 是吗？昨天我也找了王医生三次。 (Is that right? I also went looking for Dr. Wang three times yesterday.)
If the object is a personal pronoun, however, 次 (cì) must follow the object.
我昨天找了他两次，他都不在。 (Yesterday I went looking for him twice, but he was not in either time.)
遍 (biàn) is another measure word for occurrences of actions, but it pertains to the entire course of the action from the beginning to the end.
请你念一遍课文。 (Please read the text [from the beginning to the end] once).
起来 Indicating the Beginning of an Action
起来 indicates the moment when something static becomes dynamic, that is, it signifies the beginning of an action or state.
1. 我们一见面就聊了起来。 (We began chatting as soon as we met.)
2. 他一回家就写起信来。 (He began to write a letter as soon as he got home.)
3. 下了课以后，学生们打起球来。 (The students started to play ball after the class was over.) Note that the object is placed between 起 (qi) and 来 (lai), rather than after 起来 (qi lai).
Grammar Complements (II)
The subject of a sentence can be described by a complement following 得 (de). Ex: get tired from doing......, very happy by doing......
1.我们玩儿得很高兴。 (We had a happy time playing.)[We played. We were very happy.]
2. 孩子笑得很可爱。 (The kid gave a very cute smile.)[The child smiled, and the child looked cute.]
3. 他打球打得很累。 (He was worn out from playing ball.)[He played ball, and he was worn out.]
4. 他高兴得又唱又跳。 (He was so happy that he ended up singing and dancing.)[He was happy, and he was singing and dancing.]
In the sentences above, the verbs 玩 (wán), 笑 (xiào), and 打球and the adjective 高兴 give the causes, while the complements 高兴, 可爱, 累 (lèi) and 又唱又跳 (yòu chàng yòu tiào) describe the effects on the subject.
As shown in (1), (2), and (3), when an adjective serves as a descriptive complement, it is often preceded by the adverb 很 , just like a predicate adjective.
A complement describing the subject seldom appears in the negative.
(4a) *他高兴得没有又唱又跳。
Potential Complements
得 (de) or 不 (bu) is placed between a verb and a resultative or directional complement to indicate whether a certain result can be realized or not.
1. 跳舞太难，我学不会。 (Dancing is too difficult. I can’t learn it.)
2. A: 你晚上六点半点能回来吗？我等你吃晚饭。 (Can you be back by 6:30 p.m.? I will wait for you for dinner.)
B : 我得开会，六点半回不来。 (I have a meeting, and can’t make it back by 6:30 p.m.)
3. 这张碟我今天看不完。 (I can’t finish watching this DVD today.)
4. 那个字怎么写，我想不起来了。 (I can’t remember how to write that character.)
[See Dialogue 2 for 想不起来 ]
5. 健康保险太贵，我买不起。 (Health insurance is too expensive. I can’t afford it.)
6. A: 这封中文信你看得懂吗？ (Can you understand this Chinese letter?)
B : 我看得懂。 (Yes, I can understand it.)
Potential complements usually appear in negative sentences. They are used in affirmative sentences much less often, mainly in answering questions that contain a potential complement, as in (6).
The affirmative form and the negative form of a potential complement can be put together to form a question.
7. 五十个饺子你吃得完吃不完？ (Can you eat fifty dumplings or not?)
Potential complements are an important feature of Chinese. They are often the only way to convey the idea that the absence of certain conditions prevents a result from being achieved. Potential complements have a unique function that cannot be fulfilled by the “不能 (bù néng) + verb + resultative/directional complement” construction. For example, 做不完 (zuò bu wán) means “not able to finish,”while 不能做完 (bù néng zuò wán) conveys the idea of “not allowed to finish.”
8. 老师说得太快，我听不清楚。 (The teacher speaks too fast. I can’t hear [him] clearly.)
(8a) *老师说得太快，我不能听清楚。
9 今天的功课太多，我做不完。 (There is too much homework today. I can’t finish it.)
(9a) *今天的功课太多，我不能做完。
A potential complement cannot be used in a 把 (bǎ) sentence, either.
(9b) *我把今天的功课做不完。
can /able to: Ac+得 +tion or 能+action ex. 看得到/能看到
cannot/unable to: verb+完/到/见/清楚/了/完/会......
ex. 吃不完/看不见/看不到/听不清楚/吃不了(完)/学不会......
就 (jiù), same as 只有
When used before a noun or pronoun, 就 (jiù) means “only.” Often the noun or pronoun is modified by a numeral-measure word combination.
1. 我们班人很少，就/只有 七个学生。 (Our class is small, with just seven students.)
2. 今天功课很少，就/只有 五个汉字。(There’s little homework today. Only five Chinese characters.)
3. 我们一家五口，就/只有 你对味精过敏。 (There are five people in our family. Only you are allergic to MSG.)
4. 三个房间我打扫了两个，就/只有 一个房间还没整理。 (I have cleaned two of the three rooms. Only one room hasn't been tidied up yet.)
记得 (jìde, to remember) vs. 想起来 (xiǎng qi lai, to remember; to recall): While 记得 (jìde) pertains to the continuous state of remembering, 想起来 refers to the mental act of retrieving information from one’s memory. Thus one can say: “我记 得他上过我的课，可是我想不起来他叫什么名字。” I do remember he took my class, but I can’t think of his name at the moment).
好好儿 +action (all out; to one’s heart’s content) is a colloquial expression that often precedes a verb to serve as an adverbial, e.g. 考试以后我要去纽约好好儿玩儿玩儿 (After the test I want to go to New York and have a great time).
Note the different tone for the reduplicated syllable 好. For the rules on the pronunciation of reduplicated monosyllabic adjectives.
Directional complements indicate the direction in which a person or object moves.
A directional verb such as 上 ( to go up), 下 ( to go down), 进 (jìn, to go in), 出 (chu, to go out), 回 (huí, to return), 过 (guò, to go over), 起 (qǐ, to rise), 开 (kāi, to part from), 到 (dào, to arrive), 来 (lái, to come) or 去 (qù, to go) can be placed after another verb to become what is known as a “simple directional complement.” When a simple directional complement such as 上, 下, 进, 出, 回, 过, 起, 开 or 到is combined with 来 or 去 , we have what is called a “compound directional complement.”
Simple directional Complements:
Pattern I: subject + verb + noun phrase + directional complement
A. Subject + Verb + Place Word / Noun (Phrase) + 来/去
1. 她 下 楼 来。(She is coming downstairs.)
2. 她上楼去。 (She is going upstairs.)
3. 请 你 买 一些水果 来。(Please buy some fruit [and bring it] here.)
4. 你给他送一点儿吃的东西去。 (Take some food to him.)
When a verb is followed by a location word, that verb can only be a directional verb such as 上, 下 , 进 , 出 , 回 , 过 , or到 , as shown in (1) and (2).
Subject + Verb +来/去+ Noun
5. 他买来了一些水果。 (He bought some fruit and brought it here.)
When the object of the verb is a location word, the sentence can only appear in Pattern A, as in (1) and (2). When the object is a regular noun and the action is not completed, the sentence often appears in Pattern A as well, as in (3) and (4). If the action is completed, the sentence can appear either in Pattern A or in Pattern B.
Pattern A should therefore be memorized as the essential form.
Subject + Verb + 上/下… + Place Word /Noun
6. 他走上楼。 (He walked upstairs.) [ The sentence doesn't indicate whether the speaker is upstairs or downstairs.]
7. 老师走进教室。 (The teacher walked into the classroom.)
[The sentence doesn't indicate whether the speaker is in the classroom or not.]
8. 他拿出一张纸。 (He took out a piece of paper.)
Compound Directional Complements
A. Subject + Verb + 上/下… + Place Word / Noun+ 来/去
9. 她走下楼来。 (She walked downstairs.)[The speaker is downstairs.]
10. 老师走进教室去/来。 (The teacher walked into the classroom.)[With 去, the speaker is not in the classroom; with 来, the speaker is in the classroom.]
11. 弟弟跳上床来/去。 (My little brother jumped onto the bed.)[With 来, the speaker is on the bed; with 去, the speaker is not on the bed.]
12. 我的同学走进书店来/去。 (My classmate walked into the bookstore.)[With 来, the speaker was in the bookstore; with 去, the speaker was not in the bookstore.]
13. 请你买回一些梨来。 (Please buy some pears and bring them back here.)
14. 他拿出一张纸来。 (He took out a piece of paper.)
15. 请大家都拿起笔来。 (Please pick up a pen, everyone.)
起 (qi), in the same way as 起来 (qi lai), signifies a movement from a lower point to a higher point. However, 起 compounds only with 来 , never with, in forming a directional complement combination.
The difference between 上and 起 is that 上 is followed by a location word which indicates the end point of the movement, while 起 never precedes a location word.
16. 走上楼 (to go upstairs) (16a) *走起楼 is incorrect.
B. Subject + Verb + 上/下… + 来/去 + Noun
他买回来了一些水果。 (He bought some fruit and brought it back here.)
As in the case of the simple directional compounds, when the object is a location word, the sentence appears only in Pattern A, as in (11) and (12). If the object is a regular noun and the action is not completed, the sentence often appears in Pattern A as well, as in (13), (14), and (15). If the action is completed, the sentence can appear either in Pattern A or in Pattern B. Again, Pattern A should be memorized as the essential form.
When the 把 (bǎ) construction is used with a directional complement, the sentence can appear in either of these two patterns:
I. Simple Directional Complement
Subject + 把 + Object + Verb + 来/去
18. 请把你的床搬来。 (Please move your bed here.)
19. 把这杯冰茶拿去。(Take this glass of iced tea [with you].)
II. Compound Directional Complement
Subject + 把 + Object +Verb + 上/下… (+ place word) + 来/去
20. 我把书拿起来了。 (I picked up the book.)
21. 快把车开回家去。 (Drive the car back home right away.)
Verb + potential complements with negative result不下（去）/不来/不起（来）
放不下（去）: unable to put it down
装(zhuāng)不进去: unable to put it in
想不起来: cannot think of
付不起（钱）: cannot pay for it
合(hé)不来: cannot get along
买不起: cannot to afford to buy
# For affirmative result, replace 不, with 得
放得下: able to put in down
买得起: able to afford to buy
合得来: able to get along
1. Verb + 了 (+ Numeral + Measure Word + Noun + 了)
usually implies that the action has been continuing for some time and is expected to last into the future.
他在学校的宿舍住了两个学期了。He has been living on campus for two semesters up to this moment.
The following two sentences are different in meaning:
他病了三天了。 (He has been sick for three days.)
[The illness has continued for three days and he currently remains sick.)
他病了三天。 (He was sick for three days.) [He recovered from the illness on the fourth day.]
Verb + 了 (+ Numeral + Measure Word + Noun + 了 structure is not limited to temporal expressions. It can also be used to indicate quantity:
我找房子找了一上午了，想休息一下。
(I’ve been looking for a house all morning. I’d like to take a break.)
沙发我已经买了三件了，够了。
(I have already bought three pieces of sofa. That’s plenty.)
这套公寓我已经看了两遍了，不想再看了。
(I’ve seen this apartment twice already and don’t want to see it again.)
连…都/也…
连 (lián) is an intensifier which is always used in conjunction with 都/也
1.我舅舅的孩子很聪明，连日本话都会说。(My Uncle’s child is really smart. She can even speak Japanese.)
2.我弟弟学中文学了一年了，可是连“天”字都不 会写。 (My younger brother has been studying Chinese for a year now, but can’t even write the character 天.)
你怎么连药都忘了吃？ (How could you forget even to take your medicine?)
As mentioned before, 又 (yòu) can indicate repetition of an action over the course of time, e.g., 我昨天看了一个电影，今天又看了一个 (I watched a movie yesterday, and watched another one today).
又 can also suggest augmentation or exacerbation of certain conditions or circumstances, as in the sentence 你平常吃 得那么多，又不运 动，当然越来越胖了。 (You usually eat so much, and on top of that you don’t exercise. No wonder you’re putting on more and more weight).
Duration of Non-Action
Time Expression + 没+ V + (了)
This structure indicates that an action has not been or was not performed for a certain period of time.
1. 他三天没上网了。 (He hasn’t gone online for three days.)
2. 我两年没检查身体了。 (I haven’t had a check-up in two years.)
3. 我的狗病了，一天没吃东西了。 (My dog is sick; she hasn’t eaten anything for a day.)
4. 妹妹上个月特别忙，三个星期没回家。 (My younger sister was especially busy last month, and she didn’t come home for three weeks.)
5. 去年寒假我去英国旅行，一个月没吃中国菜。 (I went on a trip to Britain during the winter break last year, and didn’t eat any Chinese food for a month.)
Please note the difference between this construction and the one that indicates the duration of an action in an affirmative sentence.
Compare:
6. A: 我学了两年中文了。 (I have been studying Chinese for two years.)
B: 是吗？我两年没学中文了。 (Really? I haven’t studied Chinese for two years.)
好/难 + V
Some verbs can be preceded by 好 or 难 (nán), and the resulting compounds become adjectives. In this case, 好usually means “easy” while难means “difficult,”
e.g.: 好受/难受 (easy to bear/hard to bear),
好写/难写 (easy to write/hard to write),
好走/难走 (easy to walk on/hard to walk on),
好说/难说 (easy to say/difficult to say),
好懂/难懂 (easy to understand/hard to understand),
好唱/难唱 (easy to sing/hard to sing).
In some other compounds, however, 好 suggests that the action represented by the verb is pleasant, while 难 means the opposite,
e.g., 好吃/难吃 (delicious/unappetizing),
好看/难看 (pretty/ugly),
好听/难听 (pleasant to the ear/unpleasant to the ear), etc.
Duration of Actions
When a sentence contains both a time expression that indicates the duration of an action and an object, it needs to be formed in one of these two patterns:
A. Repetition of the verb or B. Time expression placed before the object, often with 的
1. A. 她每天听录音听一个小时。
B. 她每天听一个小时(的)录音。
(She listens to recordings for an hour every day.)
2. A. 她每天下午游泳游四十分钟。
B. 她每天下午游四十分钟(的)泳。
(She swims for forty minutes every afternoon.)
3. A. 她每天看英文报纸看两个小时，所以英文越来越好了。
B. 她每天看两个小时(的)英文报纸，所以英文越来越好了。
(She reads English newspapers for two hours every day, so her English is getting better and better.)
The Particle 着 (zhe)
着 (zhe) signifies the continuation of an action or a state. Its function is descriptive. When 着 is used between two verbs, the one that precedes 着 signifies the accompanying action, while the second verb signifies the main action.
1.老师站着教课，学生坐着听课。 (While the teacher stood lecturing, the students sat listening.)
2. 我喜欢躺着听音乐。 (I like to listen to music while lying down.)
3. 美式足球可以抱着球跑。 (In American football, you can run with the ball in your hands.)
着 is normally used after a verb to indicate a continuing action or a state. 在is normally used before a verb to indicate an ongoing action.
4. A: 学生们在做什么呢？ (What are the students doing?)
B: 在运动。 (They’re exercising.)
在 in (4) above cannot be replaced with 着 . Likewise, 着 in the earlier sentences cannot be replaced with 在, either.
被/叫/让 (bèi/jiào/ràng) in Passive-Voice Sentences
A sentence in the passive voice can be constructed with 被 , 叫 , or 让. Its structure is as follows:
receiver of the action + 被 / 叫 / 让 + agent of the action + verb + other element (complement/了, etc.)
1. (我的作业被狗吃了)My homework was eaten by my dog.)
In Chinese, the passive voice is not used as often as it is in English. It often carries negative connotations and usually appears in situations that are unpleasant for the receiver of the action, or in situations where something is lost. As in the 把structure (see Lesson 13), the verb is usually followed by another element, such as a complement or 了.
In a passive-voice sentence with 被 /叫 /让 , the agent of the action does not always have to be specified. If the agent of the action is someone that is not identifiable or need not be identified, it can be referred to simply as 人 (someone; people).
5. 我的信用卡被/叫/让人拿走了。 (My credit card was taken away.)
With 被 , the agent of the action can be omitted from the sentence:
6. 同学们在教室里又唱又跳，他快被吵死了。 (His classmates are singing and dancing in the classroom. The noise is driving him to distraction/is killing him.)
被 sometimes can be used in a positive sense
不得了(bù déliǎo, extremely)
The expression 不得了, which often follows the structure“adjective + 得 (de),” indicates a high degree, in the speaker’s judgment, of the attribute signified by the adjective. For example, if one cannot stand the summer heat in a certain place, one can comment on it by saying:
1. 那个地方夏天热得不得了。 (Summer is unbearably hot in that place.)
If the Great Wall is extremely crowded, one can describe the scene by saying:
2. 长城上的人多得不得了 (There was an incredible number of people on the Great Wall.)