intermediate chinese a grammar and workbook

Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Intermediate Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Chinese: An Essential Grammar by

INTERMEDIATE CHINESE:

A GRAMMAR AND WORKBOOK

‘No existing book of its kind can compete with this one.”

(Dr Qian Kan, Cambridge University)

Intermediate Chinese is designed for students wha have some knowledge of

the language Each of the 25 units deals with a particular grammatical point

and provides associated exercises Features include:

+ clear, accessible format

* many useful language examples

+ jargon-free grammar explanations

* ample dritls and exercises

+ full key to exercises

All Chinese entries are presented in both pinyin romanisation and Chinese characters They are accompanied, in most cases, by English translations to

facilitate seif-tuition in both the spoken and written language Intermediate Chinese is also ideal for classroom use

Inermediate Chinese, together with its sister volume, Basic Chinese, forms

a compendium of the essentials of Chinese syntax The two books form an

integrated set but both may be regarded as self-contained

Yip Po-Ching is Lecturer in Chinese Studies at the University of Leeds and Don Rimmington is Emeritus Professor of East Asian Studies and former

head of the East Asian Studies Department at the University of Leeds

They are the authors of Chinese: An Essential Grammar (1996), and Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook (1998)

Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook

by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Intermediate Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook

by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Chinese: An Essential Grammar

by Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington Colloquial Chinese: A Complete Language Course

by Kan Qian

Colfoquial Chinese CD-ROM

by Kan Qian

Colloquiat Chinese (Reprint of the first edition}

by Ping-Cheng T'ung and David E Pollard The Chinese Lexicon

by Yip Po-Ching

Basic Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook

by Virginia Yip and Stephen Matihews intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook

by Virginia Yip and Stephen Matthews Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar

by Stephen Matihews and Virginia Yip Colloquial Cantonese: A Complete Language Course

by Keith S T Tong and Gregory James

INTERMEDIATE CHINESE:

A GRAMMAR AND

WORKBOOK

Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington

with Zhang Xiaoming and Rachel Henson

TLE

#1 New Fetter Lane, London ECAP 4EE

Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada

by Routledge

29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001

Reprinted in 1999, 2000

Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group

© 1998 Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmington

Typeset in Times by Graphicraft Limited, Hong Kong

Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall Alt rights reserved No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter

invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers

British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data

A calalogue record for this book is avaitable from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloguing in Publication Data

1 Chinese language—Grammar 2 Chinese language—Syntax

3 Chinese lunguage—Textbooks for foreign speakers—English

I Rimmington, Don 1) Title 111 Series

PLI1II V564 1998

CIP ISBN 0-415-16038-3 (hbk)

The lý bèi structurc

Dative constructions with direct and indirect objects

I7 ‘Every’, 'each' — & méi, % gé and indefinite pronouns 11

18 Comparisons with tt bi and 4 méiyou (summary) 118

22 The aspect markers % zhe, (IZ) fe (zhéng)zai and it guo

23 The idiomatic uses of K# lai zhe, Ol] bei, # ma, 27 ba le,

INTRODUCTION

This book is a sequel to its companion volume Basic Chinese: A Grammar and

Workbook and is likewise designed to assist learners of Mandarin or Modern

Standard Chinese, which is the language spoken by close on 70 per cent of the people in China It presents the more complex features of Chinese syntax in

to students of the Chinese language at intermediate and advanced levels, and independent study, as well as for reference purposes

The book is divided into 25 units Firstly it introduces a number of intricate linguistic structures, which are characteristic elements in the Chinese language,

and then it goes on to provide in-depth reviews and analyses of basic grammatical

patterns in variant and more complex forms

Each unit deals with an individual language category or structure, and pro-

vides follow-up exercises for immediate reinforcement A key to the exercises is

given at the end of the book Readers may wish to consult the units separately or

work progressively through the book, but we suggest that, when going through a

particular unit, they attempt all the exercises in it, before consulting the key Practical, functional vocabulary is used in the grammatical explanations and exercises, and overall provides an extensive range of frequently oceurring terms

Chinese script and pinyin romanisation* with English translations Students looking for guidance on more elementary grammatical structures should refer to Basic Chinese: A Grammar and Workbook

The preparation of the book received financial assistance from the University

of Leeds Academic Development Fund Two Research Assistants, Ms Zhang Xiaoming and Ms Rachel Henson carried out much of the important work of

assembling the illustrative material The project could also not have been com-

the vocabulary progression and proof-read the text Any errors or omissions are,

of course, the fauit of the authors

UNIT ONE

The #8 ba structure

A The {8 ba structure, which is unique to the Chinese language, has the effect

of shifting the object of the verb in the sentence to a pre-verbal position It is

used most often with action verbs The sentence: (iiTiK TUL THE > ta dd pd

le na/néi gé béizi ‘He broke that cup.’, for cxample, may also be expressed as: HUER-METITHT ° ta bà nà/nèi gề bẽlzi đã pò le There are two important cules concerning the use of #2 ba:

(1) The object must be of definite reference In our example, the object JB 4F

¥ na/néi gé béizi is of definite reference

One cannot say:

HE — MEFITRT > ta ba yi ge béizi dd po le

because: -4T- yi gé béizi is of indefinite reference

(2) The verb mnst incorporate a complement In our example, the verb #] da is

complemented by pd, without which the sentence would sound incomplete One cannot say:

* IEEE ME TAT © ta ba na/néi gé beizi dã

B There are yarious kinds of complements In the examples given below, the complement in each case is shown in round brackets:

(1) Resnlt complements These are either adjectives or verbs, which indicate the

outcome of an action i pd above is an example of a verbal result comple- ment (See also Basic Chinese, Unit 22.)

AIVUBYUEIGHFT © siji ba qiché xia hio le (3 hao)

The driver repaired his car.

SEIS TT © xuésheng ba héibdn ca ganjing le (+-/ ganjing)

‘The student cleaned the blackboard

HULU ES eT °

ta ba na/néi pian wénzhang xié wan le (sc wan)

He has finished writing that essay

frltfTP" M‡fTTTT © ta ba chuanghu dou da kai le (2† kãi) She opened all the windows

#:1P:82M(fPHMT © didi ba dianshiji nòng huai fe (17 huai)

My younger brother broke the television set

ASAE MWERFEET ¢ xido mao ba ditdn ndng zang le (Jt zang)

The kitten has made the carpet dirty

Note: Ht can be seen from the above examples that the particle le, which uswally signifies a changed state, is naturally associated with these result complements, If the verb used in the 1!

Đã structure, apart from indicating an action, also possesses an inherent notion of result, Je

by itself may be sufficient to function as the complement:

Heal T° tba chuanghu dou kai le

She opened all the windows

AGIA f° timen ba mén guan le

They closed the door

{2) Location complements using 4: zai phrases (See Basic Chinese, Unit 21.)

#tem/Llttlã L +

wé ba huar gua zai qidng shang (7 L zai shang)

I hung the picture on the wall

wo bi yifu fàng huí yïguì li qù le (E| huí qù)

#&&f4XEHRfR T °

bàba bä gián cún jin yinhdng fi gi le Gi & jim qi) Father put the money in the bank

HUE ARE LEER T °

4 ba cha duan shang Iéu lai le (£ 5% shang lai) She carried the tea upstairs

(4) Duration and frequency complements (See Basic Chinese, Unit 14.)

'wö bă kèwén fùxí le liãng bin (#43 liang bian frequency complement)

I revised the text twice

wo ba toufa shi le yixia (—F yixia brief duration complement)

I gave my hair a brush

Note: Brief duration may also be expressed by repeating the verb:

#k15+#MT từ = wõ bà tôufa shũ le shú

I gave my hair a brush

(5) pe chéng/{F zu6 ‘treat as’, ‘regard as’ as complements HIBS MRA CBE °

4 ba xuésheng dang chéng ziji de hdizi (5k chéng .)

He treated his students as his own children

fuf[1fB3AffIHfE ART ©

tamen ba zhé/zhéi zhong jit jiao 20d mdotai jid ({E zuồ )

They call this kind of liquor ‘Maotai’

q”ng nï bã zhè/zhèi feng xin jião gẽi ni baba (45 gti } Please pass this letter to your father

(7) The mannerfresuitam state #$ de phrase/clause as a complement (See also

Basic Chinese, Unit 22.)

ta ba zhé/zhéi g@ wenti jiéshi de qingqingchiichu (44 de )

He explained this problem extremely clearly

HERBIE T © ging ba dangao chile

Please finish the cake,

ICKY ARES ° qing bà wö de dayi ná zhe

Please hold my coat

D When the negators i (44) méi(yéu) ‘did not’, thave not’ (used in statc-

ments) and 8! bié or 7° bi yao ‘do not’ (used in imperatives) occur with

+ ba, they are always placed before {2 ba in the sentence:

(OA IUG-EmL bo ta méiydu ba maozi dai shang

He didn’t put his hat on

SIIP#4I97EPifESLT © bié bd wo de dongxi gio ludn le

Don’t mess up my things

The {@ ba structure nsually expresses an action which has already been realised,

be used with it, where a condition is stated:

SERRE | (AME ASE E+ BU BTIL

mũqïn duì háizi shuö: ni bd ba jidké chuan shang, bié chi qi wanr

Mother said to her child: ‘If you don’t put on your jacket, you mustn’t (lit don’t) go out and play.”

E Modal verbs always precede the {# ba structure:

tA E FS WATS > ni bixi ba wizi shoushi ganjing

You must tidy up the room

lEfũWRfi2/8/H + mèimei bù kẽn bà wánjù huán gẽi jišjie

The younger sister was not willing to return the toy to the elder sister

F Coverbal phrases and adverbials of manner generally precede {& ba They may, however, follow the #2 ba phrase, where emphasis is on them:

*hữfl21TIEWWUIR—HH +

1ã yòng đãozi bá níngméng qie chéng yï pian pian

She cut the lemon into slices with a knifc

less usual:

HORT RA IF

ta ba ningméng yong daozi qié chéng yi pian pian

She cut the lemon into slices with a knife

Similarly:

f42EHbf#EERMCT © ta qingging de ba dongxi fang xia

He put the things down quietly

less usual:

{HIER Phi Fo ta ba déngxi gingging de fang xia

He put the things down quietly

G = Generally speaking, {& ba constructions indicate ‘intentional manipulation’ as

most of the above examples show Occasionally, however, a #@ bA construction

may also indicate ‘unintentional intervention’ or the result of it, For example: REBT IRET ° mèimei bã qúnzi nòng zâng le

My younger sister dirtied her skirt

#3618 CR) 1E,BI4ĐE ° dìdi méi(yéu) bắ diànnão găo huài

My younger brother did not break the computer

Note: tế gÃo and 7' nồng both meaning ‘handle’ are often used in association with complements

Exercise 1.1

Rewrite the following sentences using the /# ba structure:

1 Ð#JUTtt ¡ š& © xidohdir da pd te bélichuang

The child broke the window

2 (LRT — PAR xido hdng sho le yixià túuFa

Xiao Hong gave his hair a brush

3 35jx#zZ5 - qing chỉ zhè/zhèi xiẽ yao

Please take this medicine

4 HARRIS INH 7 ARS RK ° (4 cong yínháng li qũ chủ le nà/nèi bï qián lái She took the money out of the bank

5 3X? HH IIRE(SiRIE zhe/zhei ge wenti Moshi jiéshi de hén qingchu The teacher explained the problem very clearly

6 PRASZRIRA EZR T > vide yifu wé fang zai yigui li le

T put your clothes in the wardrobe

3 9+ hashi 28 di gi 2H ydopiin WA bingrén

4 EKA T Hú mài jịã lì le #% wd $2: yaoshi

5 Avg xiotou "sx jingchd SET zhoa zhi le

6 HET xla hie Je AlN, siji HAF qìché

Exercise 1.3

The following Chinese sentences all contain errors Make the necessary correction

in each case:

1 '4IEH-TTT ‹ xidohdi bã bêizi đã

The child broke the cup

2 2/7442 Fb © Loshi bd sha 241 zhudzi sbang

4 MEE AEHG RAT > ta bk shitou dao hai li qa réng le

She threw the stone into the sea

5 EIRWE2S#47 ° chúshi ba ji shii/shdu le

The cook roasted the chicken

6 THESES > qing bă ná hão budchepiao

Please keep your train ticket safe, ({iz Please hold on to your train ticket.)

7 /x#i—2#8W.7 s xião lĩ bä yi gè píngguö chi le

Xiao Li bas eaten an apple

8 WADA TICT ta ba shengei ji le

She remembered all the new words

9 ‡*+iB[ I&X.E s hùshi bà mén mếi guãn shàng

The nurse didn’t shut the door

10 HOARSE e qing bã zhè/zhèi jiần shì bù yào gàosu 1ã

Please don’t tell him about this

huajiang ba huar jíão le

The gardener watered the flowers twice

3 BARRE ' + lãođàyé bã chá đồu hẽ

The old man drank all the tea

xidohudzi G péngyou ba cai mai — _ le (direction)

The young man came back with the food he had bought for his friend

nánháir bá xiăo didi bẽi _ —— bèi

The boy carried his little brother on his back

lăodàniáng bã xião gũniang dàng —

The old woman treated the little girl as her own daughter

(result)

(brief duration)

kuaiji ba qián shủ le —_ /

The cashier counted the money

chúshï bã cài zhũ le _—— ( ) (duration)

It took the chef half an hour to prepare the dish

Exercise 1.5

Translate the following into Chinese, using the #£ ba construction:

1 Don’t forget (your) keys

2 He put the book back on the sheif

3 T don’t want to mix up my things with yours

4 He also looked on me as a friend

5 They made (3 nòng) mẹ furious

6 Tread her application five times

7 He wrote the letter very long

8 Would you like to leave your bag here?

Exercise 1.6

Rewrite the following Chinese sentences as #£ b& constructions, adding an appro-

priate adjective or verb complement (together with T le in each case) to match the English:

EXAMPLE:

Wii_RGP > qingjiégeng mai chuanghu

The cleaners wiped the windows (clean)

Answer: Sia LLB PREM T © qingjiégong ba chudnghu ma ganjing le

1 BBM © haba xi giché

Father washed the car

2 #213 s mâma làng yifu

Mother hung out the clothes to dry

3 REA yishéng yi bingrén

The doctor cured the patient

4 DBIMEEB > xiÃo mão zhuä/dãi lãoshủ

The kitten caught the mouse

5 HARA © wé péngyou zhi fan

My friend cooked the meal

6 #k‡f§*f mtimei jie shi

(My) younger sister borrowed the books

7 @ SHE > misha ji xin

The secretary posted the letter

8 BRR - xiào nánhái ca píxié

The little boy brushed (his) leather shoes

UNIT TWO

The # béi structure

A The # bai structure in Chinese is similar to the passive voice in English However, English passive voice sentences are commonly rendered in Chinese

tures, see Unit 7.}:

#t3%T - cài chi wan le

The food has been eaten

#*EITHTIT › jiàoshì dãsăo ganjing le

The classroom has been swept clean

Note: As a general mle, verbs followed by complements of result (¢.g 1 chĩ ‘eat’ + 2 wim ‘toa particle T le (See Units 1 and 8.)

‘The #% béi structure comes into play (1) when an ‘agent’ is introduced into the

sentence or (2) the speaker adopts a narrative stance and describes how some- thing has happened:

(1) # béi with an agent:

SMMC T + cai bei wo chi wan le

The food was finished by me (#£ w6 - the ‘agent’)

RERLACITHTFAT © jiàoshì bei xuéshengmen dasio ganjing le The classroom was swept clean by the students (“4 xuésheng — the

“‘agent’)

(2) bèi in a narrative sentence:

SRMESET ° cai béi chi wan le

The food was eaten (by someone).

PWEWITAFST ¢ jizoshi bei dasdo ganjing le

The classroom was swept clean (by someone)

Note: in the sentence #136 7 cài chi wan le, the speaker takes a commentative stance, observing

that the food has been finished and there is none lefl By contrast, in the sentence RHE T chi bel

chỉ wán le, the speeker adopts a narrative stance, and is saying what has happened wo the food ie

it has been eaten by somebody

B_ The verb in a # bei sentence, as in a #2 ba’ sentence (sec Unit 1), should

always be fottowed by a complement:

RDB A IPE sf

dianshiji bei didi nong huai le (27 huai result complement)

The TV set was damaged by (my) younger brother

@P MRT HT © chuanghu dou bei da kãi le (Z† kâi result complement)

All the windows had been opencd

qian béi cdng zai chéuti bi (# # zai li location complement)

The moncy was kept in a drawer

|S EAU EIT RB °

xido m4o béi baba bao zai hudi li (7c # zai li location complement) Father held the kitten in his arms (dit The kitten was held in his arms by Father.)

liwù bèi zhuäng jin yi gé piaoliang de hézi li qi: le (#t & jin qi

fanrén béi guan le san nidn (=4¢ sdn nidn duration complement)

The criminal was imprisoned for three years

SARL LA PEAR ©

zhé/zhéi zhong huar bai jiao zué xiandai hua ({f zud as complement}

This style of painting is called Modem Art

tä bèi yu lin de yïfu đõu shi tòu le (@ đe clause as complcmcnt)

She was soaked to the skin by the rain

(lit She was drenched so much by the rain that her clothes were all soaked.) Note: It can be seen from the last two examples that adjectival complements modified by degree use of sentence particle 1 le

C In spoken Chinese or in colloquial writing, # bèi is often replaced by iL ràng or fl| jiào, bụt only if an agent is involved In these cases 44 géi may also

be used directly before the verb:

2XfRì\LXTZ (tà) #HF7 + yifu ràng háizÍ (géi) nong zing le The child made his/her clothes dirty

i88MJ8SE GS) MEET - qidngdao jido jingchd (géi) zhua zhi le

The robber was arrested by the police

Note that #% bai does not usually go with if g&i:

One does not say:

SOND AERR (88) ME T =

qiángdào bèi jingehs (géi) zhua zhi le to translate ‘The robber was arrested by the police’

In addition, in colloquial speech, #4 gối itself may be used to replace # bai in sentences where the agent is not specified:

RAINE T - qidmgdao géi zhua zhù le

The robber was caught

D_ it should also be noted that the ¥% béi structure is often used to narrate an unpleasant event;

tbit'f4@45 7 —Hl › tả bèi bàba mà le yi din

#hìkIHENWfSST #03 © tã ràng lãoshi pipíng de kil le qilái

She was criticised so much by the teacher that she began to cry

TERE btA (28) †TRR 7 › huãpíng jiào xião wú (géi) đã pd le

The vase was broken by Xiao Wu

E The }g béi construction, being a narrative sentence about something that has

happencd, is always negated by # (#4) méi(ydu), which is placed immediately the complement:

ft ({¡ #NjJtB e yifu mềi(yöu) bèi yú lín shí

The clothes were not (made) wet by the rain

ASRS (8) BABE > xido niihdi méi(you) bei hud sho shang The little girl was not burnt by the fire

F Adverbials of manner or location in 3 bei sentences may precede either # bai or the verb In the latter case, the adverbial becomes more emphatic:

yueliang maoman de bai yi pian wũyún zhẽ zhù le

The moon was slowly covered by a patch of black clouds

384i%Xf9f2TìHEE: (#4) IE)HHHELIW 7 —- s

nà/nèi xiẽ tiáopí de háizi ràng xiàozhăng (gẽi) hénhén de piping le yi dim Those navghty children were severely criticised by the head teacher

AVERT DADA UES F BURT ESR ©

xião nhhái hèi xiãofáng đuìyuán cóng wũ¿i li jiù le chữlái The little girl was rescued from the house by the firemen,

shing x11 de fncai dou bei (chúch?) đào diào le

All the food that was left over was thrown away (by the cook)

Note 2: A number of examples given inthis unil show that complements of direction, frequency and duration can in a narrative tone follow verbs marked by the aspect marker Te (e.g 92.745: kil le gilái ‘starved to cry'/*weep’, iW fb ji le chGlAl “be rescued from (the house)’, mà le yt diun ‘old (somehody) off severely’, HIF JL piping le ck ‘reprimanded several times" % 7” :# xuân le săn niền ‘imprisoned for three years"), However, verbs taking complements of result cannot

it therefore often coincides with the sentence particle 7 le at the end of the sentence (e.g 1108

di pd le “be broken’, #27 dio dido le “be thrown away’, etc.)

Exercise 2.1

Rewrite the following Chinese sentences using the #% béi structure:

1 RULER PERE ° xiãoháir bà chuãnghu dã pò le

The child broke the window

2 RUAMETT SURREY THLE © tả cúng yinhdng li ba qiin qit le chalai She took the money out of the bank

3 eee Mae T © jingcha dangchang ba xidotou zhua zhi le

The police caught the thief on the spot

4 AQUEREBET © siji ba qiché xia hao le

The driver mended the car

5 EGA T > chuishi ba ji kio shii/shéu le

The cook roasted the chicken

6 BRAIDS RSA T © lifishi ba tã de tóufa jiän de tai duan le

The barber cut his hair too short

Exercise 2.2

Form # bai sentences using the words and phrases given below und then trans-

late the sentences into English:

1 # tã n7 chỉ le #Ê2T:# nà/nèi gè píngguö

2 #š wõ 95t yàoshi ‡+#J7 zhăo dào le

3 #t7FT pipíng le #tzZJL wö nữ*ér #@ï lãoshỉ “z7 yi don

4 fi ta RIT zhuàng đào le E# kăchẽ

5 4% Boban #7 cba le zhi TA gongrén

6 J›Íf xiãotũu 12ñ# jiãnyù <3 guan jin

Exercise 2.3

There are mistakes in all the Chinese sentences below Supply the correct ver-

sion in each case:

1 589: A{l s wo yao de shi bei rén jie

The book I wanted has been borrowed by someone else

2 #iRgMUl:#1#.s dàngão jiào xido lí chỉ

The cake was eaten by Xiao Li

3 KARMINIGR> dajia bei ta shuo de xiao

She made everybody laugh with what she said

4 2 bse › lăoshủ ràng mão gẽi dai

5 WOM EfTTF2AIE - tạ jiào zixingché gẽi zhuàng

She was knocked over by a bike

6 KTURARAMINT › zhè/zhèi gé jihud dajia géi qiixiae le

Everyone decided we should cancel this plan (dit This plan was cancelled

by everyone.)

HTD BIS COIL © i bei sim lãoshi đàng zàjï de nd’ér

She was treated by Sun the teacher as his/her own daughter

TE MAAR E VRRRE © zhé/zhei ge wenti bei Moshi ji

The problem was explained very clearly by the teacher

?EJL3&ff†Gf.E T + huãr bèi cba huaping li le

The flowers were put in a vase

SAMAR © xingli dou rang hudché géi yan

The luggage was ail taken by train

Translate the following into Chinese, using the #£ béi structure:

1 Our supper was eaten by the cat

2 The keys were forgotten by the driver

3 LE was told off by the teacher

4 The child was knocked down by a bus

5 I was treated by him like his own son

6 The door was kicked open by the police

7 The bicycle was damaged by the thief

8 Her book was hidden behind the cupboard

9 The fence was blown over by the wind

10 [ was made so angry by him that I could not speak (“% qi ‘make angry’)

UNIT THREE

Dative constructions with direct and indirect objects

A In Chinese, verbs like # géi ‘give’, i sdng ‘give as a present’, # ji®

‘borrow’ /‘lend’, + huan ‘give back’/‘retum’ and § péi ‘compensate’/‘pay for’

entail the use of a direct and an indirect object, thereby forming a dative sentence:

fth#ãth— HŒE ‹ tã gếi tã yi sho hua

(RIE yï shù huã đirect object, #h ta indirect object)

He gave her a bunch of flowers

H434 —HA © péngyou sdng wo yi ping jit

(488 yi ping jid direct object, §% wo indirect object)

My friend gave me a bowle of wine as a present

{HST BIR > tA jié le tishiguan yi pi sha

(— 44s yi pi shai direct object, BỊ 15? tuishiiguan indirect object)

He borrowed a number of books from the library

thi 1 #fÌ—5Kdf# ° 4 hudn le women yi zhang youpiao (—3Kdf?Z yï zhãng yóupiào đirect object, #{{] women indirect object) She retumed a stamp to us

48I@/ARIRET fbl[]—S#/8 ? bãoxiän gongsi péi le tamen yi bi qidn ma (— 88 yi bi gián direct object, fti{1] tamen indirect object) Did the insurance company give them a sum of money in compensation?

Sok (A) Kt ZIRE wo méi(ydu) qian ta shénme dongxi

I did not owe him anything

Note: The verbs it song if hudn and % péi may be suffixed by % géi without any change in meaning:

CRRA» pengyou sing gi wé yl ping jit

My friend gave me a bottle of wine as a present

#83EfAftf1—-3GHES7 : tả hướn gši women yi zhãng yóupiào

She retumed a stamp to us.

FG 2 WR HLT “EWS? bhexisin gongsl péi gẽi tâmen yĩ bỉ qián ma

Tid the insurance company give them a sum of money in compensation?

Note: The verb (& jlé usually means ‘to borrow’, but when suffixed with # gd, il means ‘to lend’:

MARE UB j wo [ing bang gián

He borrowed two pounds from me,

(IMfM##ftÐi®Wf - tả jiè gẽi wö liàng bàng qián

He lent me twa pounds

B Many verbs may be suffixed by 28 géi to produce dative (two-object) constructions:

RŠš#£ ñ3##ãf—#l(5 s yáuđìyuán di géi wo yi feng xin

The post(wo)man handed me a letter

tu3†#21£—-3KHHfãH s tã jÌ gếi ni yi zhang mingxinpian

She sent you a postcard

RRA ABM: fngdong 20 gti wo yi tao fangjian The landlady let a flat to me

ANAS BE EF © xidofan mai géi wo ban jin lizi

The pediar sold me half a catty of plums

DHEA EAR F © ta Jiao géi li laoshi yi zhang tidozi

She handed a note to teacher Li

SHAKE LARMRH ¢ yéye mai géi hdizimen ji hé lùxiàngdài

Grandfather bought the children several video tapes

AMEE OUT LAGS Hi > zhang xidojie zhuiin gẽi wõ hão jï hể lùyimdài

Miss Zhang passed quite a few cassette tapes on to me

PARA AR AY 28 FR 8 A A EE

chén shiishu dai géi wé didi yi bin rhongwén zidian

Uncle Chen brought my younger brother a Chinese dictionary

C A dative construction with #3 géi may be expressed as a serial construction (see Unit 5), with the first verb governing the direct object, and the second verb,

44 géi, relating to the indirect object:

WRT RTE © guanzhdng xian fe yi shi hud géi yanyudn The audience presented a bouquet of flowers to the actor.

WHORL AL A th lingshigudn fa qiinzhéng edi tä

The consulate issued him with a visa

O Dative constructions generally involve verbs of physical action, like #3 gẽi

“give to’, 2 di ‘hand to’, 2 jiao ‘hand to’/‘submit to’, # huén ‘retum to’, etc

However, verbs like if gaosu ‘tell’, 2181 tongzhi ‘inform’/‘notify’, #% jiao munication, can also form dative sentences:

RBAERR-—MEE > wd péngyou gaosu wé yi gt mimi (2% mimi direct object, wd indirect object)

My friend told me a secret

##-ÖJ#Ifb—fFlf > mish tongzht ta yt jiam shi

(—fF yi jin shi dircct object, ftt, ta indirect object)

The secretary notified him about something

tb#thhác JL243ã © ta jido té nu’ér yingya

GiB yingya direct object, #2 /L ta nU’ér indirect object)

She taught her daughter Engtish

%”## + s dàjiã jiào wö lão wáng

(EE Ko wáng đirect object, ‡¿ wŠ índirect object)}

Everybody calls me Lao Wang

Note: This kind of dative construction cannot incorporate # gềi:

One cannot say:

SUITE — “M+ ghosu géi wé yi ge mimi

HIG — TPES: ta gaosu yi ge mimi géi wo

(dit in both sentences: She told me a secret.)

Dative constructions may be used in both #£ b& and # béi sentences: BRE AT (AAS > yOudiyudn ba na/nti feng xin đì gši wo

‘The post(wo)man gave me the letter

BEIT RE Sith bié ba na/néi ge mimi gaosu ti

Don’t tell him that secret,

na/néi ping jiũ bèi tâ sòng géi yi ge péngyou le

That bottle of wine was given by her to a friend

Exercise 3.1

Identify the direct and indirect objects in the sentences below:

1 #£MK—H## ‹ wö sòng péngyou yi zhi shéubido

I gave my friend a watch

2 HBAS EAE © ta di géi téngxué yi bai nidndi

He passed his coursemate a gtass of milk

3 BERS X > jingli jido gti mishi yi pi wé

The manager gave the secretary a stack of documents

4 BAT RA—AARE Dingrén jié le yishéng yi bén zázhì The patient borrowed a magazine from the doctor

5 fe ABIE (RS) EEA HAE © ta ba MA/néi ba (yÚ)sản hudn géi ta de linja

He returned the umbrella te his neighbour

6 SARA Moshi jie péi wi yt bén shi,

The teacher lent me a book

7 RH-—TBRE RR MEE > wi de yi ge péngyou gaosu wo yi ge mimi Qne of my friends told me a secret

8 44 fale FIR > xuésheng wen Moshi yixié wénti

The student asked the teacher some questions

Exercise 3.2

Form dative sentences with the Chinese words and phrases given below:

1 The consulate issued me with a visa

‘W008 lingshiguin —KZic yi zhang qianzhéng 2244 géi wo & fa issue

2 My friend lent me a video tape

HEA péngyou (44 jis gti —HKRKH yi piu loxiangdai %K wo

3 I borrowed an umbrella from him

—#f()* yï hã (yú)săn ‡¿ wö {b tả {# 7 jiè le

4 She brought a pair of sboes for her friend

HHA péngyou #43 dai géi —XUHE yi shuang xié Ht ta

5 The driver handed me a ticket

4k wo RE] siji 3624 dì gši —2X5f yÏ zhang piao

6 The children gave the queen a bouquet of flowers

= niwang &F(1 hdizimen —R7E yi shd hua ss xian gẽi

Exercise 3.3

Complete the Chinese sentences below with ‘verb + 44 géi’ as appropriate in each case:

T sent my friend a Christmas card

baba háizi yĩ gè wánjù

The father bought a toy for his child

The neighbour gave us a puppy

xiăo ñ — — tã de tóngxué yï bến zázhì

Xiao Li passed a magazine to her classmate,

The pedlar sold me a bottle of wine

6 Wi — ——— #Á—-WS% ° jijie kèrén yï bẽi chá

My elder sister poured out a cup of tea for the guest

Miss Wang let an office to us

jidjie mèimei lăng bàng gián

(The) elder sister lent two pounds to (the) younger sister

Exercise 3.4

Translate the following into Chinese:

1 Please lend me two yuan/dollars

2 My friend borrowed a sweater from me

3 The students gave a present to the teacher

4 Don’t call me Old Zhang

5 I'll give that pen back to you tomorrow

6 What shall we buy him?

7 Did you pass the dictionary on to him?

8 I didn’t tell them that secret

UNIT FOUR

Causative constructions

A In Chinese, verbs such as ‘& shi ‘cause’/‘make’ and it ràng 'let`/'permit

are used to form causative constructions, in which the object of the first verb

(e.g { shi or iL rang) becomes the notional subject of a second verb:

IRL © ta rang wé xi jï tiần jià

( wo is the object of if ràng and the subject of (K(f xi

She let me have a few days off

RE AG) + Gatti 7 ~-Be° péng de yi sheng | shi (4 xia le yi tido (it is the object of f# shi and the subject of UF xia)

A crashing noise made her jump

B As well as (# shi and if: rang, other verbs, ranging in meaning from request

to coercion, also produce causative constructions:

48 qing ‘ask someone to do something’:

SUN MAE © wo qing td kan didnying

I asked her to go to the cinema with me

AY jide ‘tell’/‘get someone to do something’:

HEF) WILE M BAS - ta méi(you) jiao wd qi zhaokan haizi

She didn’t tell me to look after the child(ren)/babysit for her

# yao ‘want’/‘require someone to do something’:

PLRRAH > hashi yao bingrén chi yao

The nurse required the patient to take some medicine

3] quan ‘try to persuade’:

AR witha © dajia quần ta jie yan

Everybody tried to persuade him to give up smoking

f# cui ‘urge’:

00-0 tot TJ LER? mama cui ta kuai diãnr qichuáng mã

Did mother urge her to get up quickly?

#4 mingling ‘order’:

HEX SLAM pdizhdng mingling shibing chongféng

The platoon leader ordered the soldiers/troops to charge

34 bi ‘force’:

ZRWiR®ffT#4FP7XH{ÿHEt © qidngdao bi yinhdng jingli jiao chi yaoshi

The robber forced the bank manager to hand over the keys

Stik jinzhi ‘forbid’:

BPE EIT › xuéxiào jinzhi xuésheng dajia

The school forbids the pupils to fight (with one another)

#rÌf yùnxù 'permit':

RSA BF RAB tl fimd yiinxti háizi zhöumò kàn diànshì

The parents gave the children permission to watch tclevision at weekends

C The verb {# shi or if rang (and sometimes more colloquially, 1 jiao or its variant # jiào) may also be used with a second verb which is derived from an

adjective:

EMA BR > zhé/zhei gé xidoxi shi wé hén gaoxing

This piece of news made me very happy

SHED ORIN Heit ta de hua shi ta hén ndngud

Her words made him sad

JLFHAALRLES > érzi de xingwéi rang figin zhaoji The son’s behaviour made the father worried

1x(#ffI (or H) NRF ° zhè/zhèi jiàn shì jiào wõ bù an

This matter made me feel uneasy/anxious

Note: 4 fing may be used in a similar way but has a more formal tone, particularly when used with

A réat ‘people/one’:

BPO MS ARG > zhè/shời g xidoxi Ting rén gaoxing

‘This news was encouraging (it, This news made people/one happy.)

SOES ARG tả de huà lìng rén shiwàng

Her words were disappointng (ii Her words caused pcople/one ta be disappointed.)

D To negate a causative construction one may make either the first or the second verb negative, depending on the meaning required:

(1) Negating the first verb:

4i3901Jf22#Ðk © ta méi jido nl qi yuyong

He didn’t tell you to go swimming.

AEA ERE SMOG ©

xião lí bù zhũn wð qù cănjiã zhè/zhèi ci huddong

Xiao Li will not allow me to take part in these activities

#h\LfRIB[ 17T + tá bù ràng wõ bà mén đã kai

She didn’t let me open the door

(2) Negating the second verb:

{HOU CRUSH s tả jiào nĩ bié qù yóuyöng

He told you not to go swimming

ABERA SMITA °

xião Ti zhiin wd bu canjia zbé/zhéi ci huddong

Xiao Li allowed me not to take part in these activities

#bìE#èðllfr[ 1fT7f: tả ràng wð biế bà mén dã kãi

She told me not to open the door

E_ # yóu (see Basic Chinese, Unit 11) is often used in a pattern similar to the causative structure Sentences of this type begin either with @ ydu or with a time or location phrase followed by 4 you:

8 Adie you rén zhao ni

There is someone looking for you

BILAL +> zhèr yöu huöchẽ qù lúndũn

There are trains to London from here

PLA TARAI TT Bis ° zăo0shang yöu gé péngyou géi ni dã diànhuà

A friend phoned you this moming

Exercise 4.1

Complete the Chinese sentences below selecting an appropriate verb from the list given:

ìL rằng ti shi ?# qing a jiào

Suk jinzhi fit yimxd = fenfù # vào

1Ù ——— #⁄“#(bZ3!!e ta — — Wö zuò zài tà pángbiân

He told me to sit beside him

2 REMK — #2908 - w6 nil péngyou

My girlfriend won't allow me to smoke

4 Ra —_ RASA ARE © yishéng bìngrén hăohão xiũxí The doctor advised the patient to have a good rest

5 4m B77 —Hia > jingli misha da yi féng xin

The manager requested the secretary to type a letter

6 BUT HH RRAARAE ©

zhèngfù busha da xiéngmao

The govemment forbids the capture and killing of giant pandas

7 EAB, ——— Beak TBA AN RETIN HA ©

lão péngyou wö wàng le nà/nèi xiš bù yúkuài dc shíjiãn

My old friend persuaded me to forget those sad times

wáng lãoshï . wömen gănkuài jião zuòyè

‘Wang the teacher urged us to hurry up and hand in our homework

jăngchá qidngdao fang xia qiang

The police ordered the robber to put down the gun

qing _ wé shiio yixia wé de yijian

Please allow me to state my opinion,

12 T##l _—_—— ###ữ—FJLIL°

gongchéngshi wé bang (4 yixiar máng

The engineer wanted me to give her a hand

His grandfather's illness worried him a Sot

She instructed her younger sister to wash her hands

1S (hei #ÈflšR5%7 + ta dehuà wömen đũu xiào le What he said made ns all langh

Rewrite the Chinese sentences below in the negative to match the second Eng-

lish translation or translations:

The parents allow their children to eat chocolate

The parents don’t allow their children to eat chocolate

2 2PAS RE > zhé/zhéi gé xiaoxi shi wd hén néngud This piece of news made me very sad

This piece of news didn’t make me sad at all

ARSE © ta quan wd mai zhè/zhèi shudng xié

He urged me to buy this pair of shoes

He urged me not to buy this pair of shoes

SDE BE OKAY © jingli zhin wo chixi zhé/zhéi c) huiyi The manager allowed me to attend the meeting

The manager allowed me not to attend the meeting

and

The manager didn’t allow me to attend the meeting

HUMYERATAT © £2 jido wo kai deng

She told me to tum the light on

She didn’t tell me to tum the light on

and

She told me not to tum the light on

#®\LJL#-#ÿ1ã > wo rang érzi xué hanyd

I got my son to learn Chinese

I didn’t let my son leam Chinese

Translate the sentences below into Chinese using A yéu

1 There was once a child who lost her way in the forest

(#4 céngjing ‘once’, 223 mili ‘lose one’s way’)

2 Who knows you here?

3 Some friends are coming to my place tonight

4 There is a bus to London going at six o'clock,

5 Somcone is waiting for you outside

6 Is there anyone here who can speak Chinese?

Exercise 4.4

Translate the following sentences into Chinesc using an appropriate causative verb in each case:

1 The mother told her child to tidy his clothes

2 My elder sister urged me to get out of bed quickly

3 My younger brother wanted me to help him repair his computer

4 T didn’t dare to persuade her not to smoke

5 She is unwilling to let me go with her

6 The teacher would not allow the pupils to climb the trees,

7 The coach ordered the players to assembie on the playing field

UNIT FIVE

Serial constructions

A_ A serial construction consists of two or more verbs used in a series, often

without any conjunctional devices The second verb may follow the first verb directly, or the first verb may take an intervening object: `

HES © wo qh mai baozhi

I'm going to buy a ncwspaper,

RHE ? ni zhao ta yao shénme

Why are you looking for him? (fit You Jook for him want what.)

‘There are various kinds of serial construction, some of which are discusscd below

B Sequence One action is completed before the next one takes place: RPT RARKT ¢ héizi chi te fan hui jia qi le

After eating, the child went home

(The actions °%%% chifan ‘eat’ and {5} bui jia ‘go home’ happen one after the other.)

ThfÐiE‡Hfể + Mi LH + EAB AT ©

& ba xin féng hao | tié shang yéupiao | tóu jìn yóutöng

He sealed the envelope, stuck a stamp on (it) and dropped (it) into the leer box

C Purpose The sccond action explains the purpose of the first action The verb expressing the first action is usually either 3K lái ‘come’ or #& gis ‘go’ (as

in the first cxampte under A):

AZURE > pếngyoumen lái wũ jiã kànwàng wö

My friends came to my house to visit me

(The second action, #9! kanwing ‘visit’, explains the purpose of the first action: ##2R lai w6 jia ‘came to my place’.)

ROSRABWARs women quan jiã qù hài biãn dùjià

More colloquially, 3 li ‘come’ and & qi ‘go’ may be placed at the end of the sentence:

fib aia 7 © ta shàng jiẽ qù mãi cài le

tu ELfi3##3& 7 › tả shàng jiê mãi cài qi le

He has gone out to buy some food

HEI AMIE T + tâ dao tishiguan qi huan sho le

h8) PR-RIHXEEBST ° tả đào túshũguăn huán shũ qù le

‘She has gone to the library to return her books

TAMEEBAAAT © gOngrén lái xiũlï shuïlóngtóu le

The plumber has come to mend the tap

Note: 0339 (mếi)yöu + noun may bé used 4s the frst action in a serial construction where the

second action expresses purpose:

RAV SLs» wd ydu fthui xuế hàny0

have the opportunity to learn Chinese

frf[IMIMIIFEEYV? nĩ yêu shijian jido wd kalché ma

Have you got time to teach me to drive?

fri (JB.0115 2⁄58 < nĩ mếi yêu liyou zhéme shud

You have no reason to say that/talk like that

BALE AMG > wb mal you qián mãi xiãngyăn

Thave no money to buy cigarettes

D_ Instrument or vehicle The first action exptains the means (the instrument

oO r vehicle) by which the second action is carried out:

ple] APR FOEIR © zhOnggué rén yong kuaizi chifan (instrument)

Chinese people eat with chopsticks

{The first action, FASE yong kuaizi ‘using chopsticks’, indicates the instru-

ment with which the second action, 2% i chifan ‘eat’, is carried out.) fRAS AA: LHEs th zud hudché shangban (vehicle)

He goes to work by train

(The first action, 4#;K£ zuò huặchẽ “hy train’ (Jif sit on train), indicates the

Note: This construction is similar to the coverb structure

Ina {d ba construction (see Unit 1), the verbal phrase expressing the instrument or vebicle should come before the {f bd phrase

4JH1:IWIMIĐEĐB-TIA 7 = wố yòng xichéng) bá đrấn xĩ gãnlng le

One does not usually say:

“SEALER 080% EAT + wb ba ditdn yong xichéngi xi ganjing le

to translate, ‘I cleaned the carpet with the ¥acuum cleaner’

E Accompanying circumstances The first action is marked with ? zhe indi-

cating that it takes place at the same time as the second action (see Basic

Chinese, Unit 15}:

SRE RIG Fak | WH’ tA wo zhe wo de shéu shud xiexie

Holding my hand, she said, ‘Thank you.’

(The first action, 2% 4244-F wo zhe w6 de shou ‘holding my hand’, takes place at the same time as the second action, i shué ‘said’.) {ASE Cel ARIEL › ta wẽixiào zhe huidd wo de wenti

He smiled as he answered my questions (fit He smiling answered )

FF TA HUANG T › háizi bào zhe wánjùxióng shuì zháo le

The child went to sleep holding the teddy bear in his/her arms

F Negative reinforcement The second action is a negative expression re-

inforcing the meaning expressed by the first action, which is usually marked

with % zhe:

Bee Ris: yéye zué zhe bi dong

Grandpa sat completely still/motionless, (dit, Grandpa was sitting aud did not move.)

(The first action, 4 zud zhe ‘sat’/‘sitting’, is reinforced by the second action, ## bù đồng “not moving`.)

#Đ4SIBEÍ1XITTVM ° nàinai wò zhe wö de shöu bù fàng Grandma held my hand firmly in hers (it Grandma was holding my hand and did not let go.)

Exercise 5.1

Form serial construction sentences in Chinese with the words and phrases given

in each case below and then translate the sentences into English:

1 (th ta 4 gti ib nd chi #77 da kai RUE yigui %K wo —fP Hie yi jian chénshan

2 1 qù ## kànwàng %Y mãi le Zš yiyuàn & wo HATATA wo de péngyou -†E yï shù huã

4 7 mén A bingrén {J}? dazhén #*+ hishi 5 bingféng zE‡† zöu jìn

44 gti HEH tui kai

5 IiRñ wèntí f=] wen lj lsoshi #4 xuésheng 4 you /L7+ ji gé

6 HB xoyao 2 fángzù {t wö —#2#3 yixiẽ gián í† fù

Exercise 5.2

Complete the following Chinese sentences to match the English translations:

1 4g —_ & £7 jingli — qi shanghai kaihui

The manager went to Shanghai by plane to attend a meeting

2 ttf] — 3⁄3Z- tầmen _—————— tấnhuà

They chatted in Chinese

3 di ———— W8 >_ xido mao — xi lian The kitten washcd its face with its paws (IF zhuizi)

4 #0 — _ Hit > women — ds gud hudnghé

We crossed the Yellow River by boat

5 & Ft) — _ #4 > héizimen — _ shuohua

The children stood talking

My younger sister goes to school by bicycle

Exercise 5.3

Translate the following sentences into Chinese using the colloquial format with 3€ lai or & qu at the end of the scntencc (in some cases followed by 7 le):

1 He goes to work by train

2 We returned home to see our grandma

3 He will set out for Spain tomorrow

4 All my friends came to my birthday party

5 She went off to work

6 Xiao Liu has come to baby-sit for me

Exercise 5.4

Complete the Chinese sentences below with * bù + verb, to match the English

translation:

The soldiers stood completely still

2 REBAR ° héizi zheng zhe yanjing

The child kept his eyes wide open and refused to go to sleep

3 ARBAB —— —._ xido gdu yéo zhe gétou ——— ————

The puppy gripped the bone firmly i in its mouth

tả liú zbe yi shuang xin xié

He keeps a pair of new shoes he never wears

ta zhi gi shuohua nd zhe yi béi kafei

She was so involved in what she was saying that she didn’t drink any of the holding a cup of coffee without drinking.)

The invalid lay there without getting up

Exercise 5.5

The Chinese sentences below ail contain errors Rewrite each one to make it a

correct translation of the English:

1 RAMEE LURE T > we bad ditdn yong xichénqi xi ganjing le

I vacuumed the carpet (lit | vacuumed the carpet with a vacuum cleaner.)

RELA > wo shud yingyi méi you jihui

Thave no opportunity to speak English

hélzimen kan diànyïng qi: dianyingyudn mdi pido

The children went to the cinema to buy tickets for the film

FUE aise T—F © wo ba mén yong bái youqi qi le yixia

I gave the door a coat of white paint

ItijIfZ#S3k © chuấn xiềbuò kào mătóu

The ship docked to unload its cargo

shũshu lái bàinián đào wö jiã dài zhe tä de haizi

Bringing his children with him, uncle came to our place to wish us a happy new year

UNIT SIX

Existence sentences

A Sentences expressing existence normally begin with a time or location word (or expression) The most common involve the verb # yOu (see Basic Chinese, Unit 11), which follows the time/location word (or expression) and is then itself

followed by the relevant noun:

RAHEEM ° zuótiăn yöu yï chăng zúqiúsài

There was a football match yesterday./Yesterday, there was a football match

%#xIiñIR—#Pl4 ° dàxué duìmiàn yếu yï jia shũdiàn

There is a bookshop opposite the university./Opposite the university there is

a bookshop

BULA? zhér méi you rén

There is no one here (/it Here there are no people.)

6B Existence is also conveyed: (1) by verbs marked with # zhe to express an

observable or describable situation or (2) by verbs (usually followed by direction

indicators} marked by T le to indicate a completed action which has brought

of existence) of something or somebody These sentences follow the pattern of

time or location word (or expression) + verb + noun (see A above), though loca- (1) Verbs with # zhe:

TE FF ESE > huayudn li kai zhe méiguihua

There are roses blooming/flowering in the garden

(Ht In the garden are blooming/flowering roses.)

dg E+ — UWE > qidng shang gua zhe yi zhang dita

There is a map hanging on the wall

PRE eas — WEE © chudng xia Fang zhe yi shuang tudxié There is a pair of slippers under the bed

«lit, Under the bed is placed a pair of slippers.)

#XXIBfñHf#M- TOSS › lãotàitai miàngián gê zhe yi lan jidan

‘There is a basket of eggs in front of the old lady

(it In front of the old lady is placed a basket of eggs.)

EBML@—2S > widing shang ting zhe yi zhi nido

‘There is a bird on the roof (fit On the toof is resting a bird.) (2) Verbs indicating direction or incorporating direction markers followed by

The

TERRTM TAA: zuétian lái le liăng gè péngyou

'Two friends came yesterday (/ Yesterday came two friends.)

REETH PHA» jia li zbu le sân gè kèren

Three visitots/guests left my house (fiz House left three visitors/guests.)

th ERT BES, ¢ kongzhong Fei lai le yi qun nido

A flock of birds came flying over (lit In the sky flew over a flock of birds.) + k‡##£7—H%#8 › shuÍmiàn shang yóu Idi le yi zhi tian’é

A swan came gliding over the water (Ji n water came swimming a swan.)

LESSEE 7 PARA © shang gé xingqi bin zou le lidng jia rén Two families moved away last week (lif, Last week moved away two families.)

ASABE TAH > tishdgudn jié 26n le yi wan cé sha

Ten thousand volumes have been borrowed from the library

(it, Library have been borrowed ten thousand volumes.)

$088 Fât.H TR ROR e shùlí xià zuân chữ le yĩ zbï sõngshù lái

A squirrel emerged from under the hedge (Jit, (From) under the hedge

came/burrowed out a squirrel.)

PLR TATA © gudngchang shang jaji le sha qian rén

A few thousand people gathered at the square

RAK T ASE © tirdn kai Lai le yi liang da tamkéché Suddenly there came a big tank

(3) A common complement for verbs marked by 7 le ¡s ## man “full of", ‘filled

with’, ‘packed with’:

AT BRK TAG xiangzi li sai man Je yifu

The box was (packed) full of clothes

#7 LHEHST chudzi shang dui man le sho

The table was piled high with books

WE SPAT Ao liting li ji man le rén

The hall was packed with people

HH FOR TALM © shéngdanshi xia fang man le liwd There were lots of presents under the Christmas tree

(4) Verbs such as 4 shéng ‘to be born’, 3€ si ‘to die’, 3⁄#JJI zẽngjiã 'to ìn- crease’, $k) jiãnshäo ‘to decrease’, etc which have the inherent meaning

of coming into or going out of existence also follow this pattern:

fh RAT ESE: © tamen jia shéng le gé pang wáwa

Their family has a new baby (lit In their family has been bom a chubby baby.)

RST —KAR> dongwoyudn li si le yi tou daxiang

An elephant died in the zoo, (it In the zoo died an elephant.)

BRA MUT MTA °c déngshihui zéngjia le liang gé chéngyudn

There were two new directors on the board (of directors)

(lit On the board of directors were added two members.) Liab T 238i shanghai jidnshao le jiãotõng shìgù

There has been a reduction of waffic accidents in Shanghai (lit Shanghai reduced traffic accidents.)

PAID S(DRMT A women bangongshi (fi) edijidn le rényudn

There has been a reduction of staff in our office (dit (In) our office

reduced staff.)

(5) Similarly the adjectives dud ‘many’ and “) shao ‘few’ can be used as verbs in this construction:

SẾP/PT—R'# - gudpan li shao le yi zhi pinggué

An apple was missing from the fruit bowl

REST RH o jia bi đưô le yï tiáo gồu

The family got a new dog (Jit (In) the family was increased (by) a dog.}