Questions tagged [sentence-structure]

Questions concerning the types of words and phrases which are grouped and ordered meaningfully to express a statement, question, or another type of sentence

364 questions
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Is 再过[时间] the most common way of expressing "in [amount of time], something will happen"?

I ask after encountering the following sentence in Tatoeba: 再过两、三个月,你就能说得一口流利的英语了。
Benjameno
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我也住在這裡 or 我也住這裡

I'm quite confused with using 在 in a sentence. I learned that it usually indicates a place or a location. I'm trying to say "I also live here". I thought that since I'm referring to a place, maybe I will need to use 在. But when I remove it, the…
Daphne
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How do Chinese people say it when they are proud of someone?

This is not a question about the literal translation of the sentence: "I'm proud that you are my dad." The question itself is more like: what do Chinese people say when they want to express their feelings to someone that they are proud of? Like,…
Snowflake
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What does the second "幅” mean in the following sentence?

...真是一幅"幅"美丽的山水画... VS ...真是一幅美丽的山水画... I am having some problems figuring out why there is a second ”幅” in the sentence and what it means? If I took out the second "幅” what would the meaning then be in comparison?
Belphegor
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How can I explain each word in 「想過過過兒過過的生活」

I know it's just a meme, but how to explain the structure of this setence: 小龍女深情的對楊過說:「我好想過過過兒過過的生活啊!」
Clay Hsu
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Is “商店里也没有一个面包” wrong?

大家好, I have two sentences. 商店里也没有一个面包。 商店里一个面包也没有。 My friend says that both are right, but their meaning may be different. In writing, only the second sentence is used. Please explain to me why is the first sentence is grammatically incorrect,…
Jenny
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4
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Combining sentences: use of conjunctions, omission of subject and verb

In some languages, like English, sometimes, it is possible to combine sentences by using commas, conjunctions and omitting subjects and verbs to avoid repetitions. In some languages, avoiding repetitions is considered a good practice. Is it also a…
Starnuto di topo
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4
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"Topic-comment" structure

Can someone help me with these? I don't quite understand the topic-comment structure, and I have been trying to look it up but I can't find any good explanation with examples. I have to change the following sentences so that they reflect the…
Tobias
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3
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Sentence structure: V 还 V 不来 呢

I have come across this 还-based sentence structure and don't know what it implies. Here is an example: 中文:有人请你玩儿你还不去? 这样的好事我盼还盼不来呢 英语:Somebody invited you over and you're not going?! Such a good offer, I... wouldn't imagine hoping for? Not sure what…
Hashamyim
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3
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2 answers

Does chinese songs have a natural word order?

In English, it is hard to rhyme. So writers sometimes resort to rather awkward sentence structures, just to get the song to rhyme. Recent example from Maroon Five: I'm at a payphone trying to call home All of my change, I spent on you Where have the…
3
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3 answers

Does 现在 make 就 redundant in "你现在就去做。"?

I'm trying to find 就 used as "at once" in a sentence so that I can add it to my flashcards but the only sentence I've found like that would be "你现在就去做". Issue is, 现在 already means "now" so that makes 就 redundant in the sentence doesn't it? Can…
小奥利奥
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Why is 丢的东西 placed in the middle of 孩子们丢的东西都找到了?

I saw this sentence : 孩子们丢的东西都找到了 Why is the object (丢的东西) placed between the subject and the verb here???
Agnes
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在。。。中 / 在。。。下 / 在。。。上

It is probably quite likely that someone has asked this question before, however the search function doesn't throw anything up and it is actually quite difficult to search for! Simply put, I have noticed the sentence structures 在...中 / 在...下 / 在...上…
Hashamyim
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3
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Understanding a line from a song: ‘沾染魔法的乖张气息 却又在爱里曲折’

The below is the partial lyrics of <童话镇>. 总有一条蜿蜒在童话镇里七彩的河 沾染魔法的乖张气息 却又在爱里曲折 川流不息扬起水花 又卷入一帘时光入水 让所有很久很久以前 都走到幸福结局的时刻 The problematic line is this one: 沾染魔法的乖张气息 却又在爱里曲折 It's difficult for me to parse…
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Should the temporal indicators be in a certain order?

To translate “what did you eat today at lunch?” in Chinese, I have 午饭 to translate lunch, and 今天 for today. Do they have to be located at the beginning of the sentence? 今天午饭你吃了什么? or can I put them in other locations, such as 你午饭今天吃了什么? Are…
qdii
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