Questions regarding the rules for the formation of sentences.
Questions tagged [syntax]
100 questions
7
votes
5 answers
How mobile are adverbs in a Chinese sentence?
In English, adverbs in -ly are often, not always, very mobile in a sentence.
In the sentence, "I ran to the station." if I add "quickly" there are 4 possible places where I can insert "quickly".
Quickly, I ran to the station.
I quickly ran to the…
Pedroski
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6
votes
4 answers
Use of 而 preceding verb
I have only been studying a short while in spare time but have seen quite a few simple sentences in which 而 precedes the verb. Are there any basic ideas about the structure of such sentences? Places where this is required, recommended? What really…
daniel
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4
votes
3 answers
What syntax is acceptable for classifier + noun + adjectival phrase
I am wondering what the acceptable combinations of classifier, noun, and adjectival phrase are? For example 一本 + 有意思的 + 书
Is it acceptable to say both of the following?:
一本有意思的书。
有意思的一本书。
Are there any other ways to produce the same…
jsj
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3
votes
3 answers
What's the Least Awkward Way To Say "I am Not A Native Chinese Speaker" In Chinese?
Usually I end up saying
我并非/不是以中文为母语的人,(...so please forgive my mistakes).
Is there any way to avoid the awkward-seeming "以中文为母语" construction here but still get this point across, without saying something totally different like "I'm a foreigner"…
Master Sparkles
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2
votes
2 answers
If 莫過於 doesn't start sentence, how it means "nothing can surpass ..."?
ABC Chinese–English Comprehensive Dictionary (2003), p 629.
Wiktionary also defines this "nothing can surpass ..." I thought 莫過於 must start sentence, because
... is at end
definition has just one ellipsis ...
But consider Wiktionary's two…
user11787
1
vote
3 answers
How to use 整 as in exactly
I"m trying to figure out the grammar/syntax behind using "整". I know that it means "Exactly" when used at the end of numbers, but I'm wondering does it come before or after the noun described by the answer? Example
1. 三百八整人
2. 三百八人整
Thank for…
Stephen
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1
vote
4 answers
Structure of 看電影可以學中文。
I'm trying to understand the structure behind the sentence.
(我)看電影可以學中文。
Does this sentence translate roughly to "I can learn Chinese while watching a movie". Shouldn't this use 一邊, or is there a structure here that implies 'while'?
EDIT:
I just…
Tosaku
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1
vote
3 answers
What is 新的伟大... in 党的建设新的伟大工程 and 改革开放新的伟大革命?
I'm Chinese and I can't understand
深入推进新时代党的建设新的伟大工程。
which parses into something like
党的建设，这一新的伟大工程 / 党的建设，这项新的伟大工程
The reason I think it should parse so is that that was how its origin in 1939 (claimed by Reference [1])…
magni
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1
vote
2 answers
Where to find more examples of Chinese short sentence rules vs. English long sentences?
Chinese is said to have "short sentences" relative to English "long sentences". Where can I learn more about this? I haven't found many journal articles or books on this topic, specifically ones that have literal English glosses of the Chinese (as…
Lance
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