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Chinese Language Stack Exchange

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

344 questions
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What is the difference in use between 以及, 和 and 与?

I have a book with the following lesson titles: 中文以及中国 聚会和饮食 交通与环境 Why are these terms connected with 以及 / 和 / 与, why not always use 和 for example? Are there any rules for proper use of these conjunctions? What are the differences?
dr Hannibal Lecter
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Why use 的 at the end of a sentence such as 我一定會去看他的?

I'm looking for confirmation of the way I'm parsing a sentence with 的 at the end, and I'd appreciate some background or other examples of this usage. I found this sentence on tatoeba.org: 我一定會去看他的。 I'll certainly go and see him. The sentence is…
Don Kirkby
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What is the difference in use between 完 and 了?

If I understood correctly, both 完 and 了 can be used to indicate a completed action, so what is the difference in use? How do we properly use 完 in a sentence? Which contexts would be valid?
dr Hannibal Lecter
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Is there a significant difference in meaning between "欢迎你到中国来" and "欢迎你来到中国"?

I've asked quite a lot of native speakers about this and the general consensus seems to be that there is no significant difference in meaning between "欢迎你到中国来" and "欢迎你来到中国" (and similar sentences), but "欢迎你到中国来" seems to be the more common and…
MHG
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Why is it possible to replace 都 with 也 in 什么都没有?

I know 也 only as "also", but I see it now and then used in ways difficult to understand, especially in some negative statements. Why is this so? Does 也 also have some meaning not mentioned in dictionaries which is used in these cases?
dr Hannibal Lecter
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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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When should 了 be after the verb and when should it be at the end of the sentence?

In a sentence such as "因为我去面试了，所以我刮了胡子", in one case, 了 is after the sentence, while in the other case it's after the verb, even though in both cases, 了 is used to express the past tense. So how to know where to put 了? Are there any rules to…
laurent
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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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Why can't 去 or 回来 be used with 在 or 正在 to become progressive

So first off, I feel I should specify I am a beginner at Chinese. In my Chinese class, we were asked to write down a progressive question, using the 在...(呢) format. My question was, 你们没在去吗？ which I interpreted as, "aren't you going?". Another…
N.D.H.
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What is 人 doing in 你现在人在哪里？

I got this sentence in my "daily exercise" newsletter, and I really don't understand what's 人 doing there? Doesn't it mean the same when 人 is removed? Could this simply be a typo?
dr Hannibal Lecter
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10
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What is an idiomatic way to say "This is not good" in Mandarin?

The title mostly covers the question, but some elaboration might help. In English, there is a common construction of ideas whereby the speaker makes a statement about an action or event, and follows this sentence with a comment about how it isn't…
brc
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What is the meaning of the sentence 字了一?

I ve found this sentence between two other sentences in an article about the scholar wang li: 中国语言学家、诗人。字了一。广西壮族自治区博白县人 I understand both sentences before and after 字了一, but i am clueless what this particular sentence mean and if it really is…
eugene_laserhair
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What is 和 used for in 和西方人过圣诞节差不多，这是一个全家团聚的节日?

I know how to use 和 to link one or more nouns or noun phrases, but in this sentence I don't understand what purpose does it serve at the beginning of the sentence? 和西方人过圣诞节差不多，这是一个全家团聚的节日。 (This sentence is from a text about 春节)
dr Hannibal Lecter
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Function of 开了 in 我开车开了半天了

I am currently studying Basic Mandarin Chinese by Cornelius C. Kubler and encountered the following sentence in Unit 8 Part 4: 我开车开了半天了，我们换个人开，行不行？ Without 开了 the first part of sentence makes sense to me - the person tells that he/she drove car…
brainkz
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Is there a difference in connotation between questions ending in 吗 vs. X 不 X

Is there any difference in connotation/region/modernity/etc. between questions ending in 吗 and affirmative/negative questions? For example, does: 你很累吗？ connote something different than: 你累不累？ And does the following have a third connotation?:…
Kang Ming
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