Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (Modern Grammars)

Cover
Half Title
Series
Title
Copyright
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
How to use this book
Glossary of grammatical terms
A note on Chinese characters
Part A Structures
	1 Overview of pronunciation and Pinyin romanization
		1.1 The Mandarin syllable
		1.2 Pinyin romanization
	2 Syllable, meaning, and word
		2.1 The special status of the Mandarin syllable
		2.2 Multi-syllable tendency in Mandarin words
		2.3 Word-specific tone changes
		2.4 Change to neutral tone
		2.5 Incorporating foreign words and naming foreign objects
	3 The Chinese writing system: an overview
		3.1 Traditional and simplified characters
		3.2 The structure of Chinese characters: component parts, radicals, and phonetics
		3.3 The traditional classification of characters
		3.4 Character stroke order: 笔顺/筆順 bǐshùn
	4 Phrase order in the Mandarin sentence
		4.1 Basic phrase order
		4.2 The position of direct and indirect objects
		4.3 The position of prepositional phrases
		4.4 The position of location phrases
		4.5 The position of ‘time when’ phrases
		4.6 The relative order of the ‘time when’ phrase and the location phrase
		4.7 The position of adverbs
		4.8 The position of negation
		4.9 The position of duration phrases
		4.10 Order within the noun phrase
		4.11 Phrase order in questions
		4.12 The position of aspect particles
	5 Nouns
		5.1 Common nouns
		5.2 Pronouns
		5.3 Proper nouns
	6 Numbers
		6.1 Mandarin numbers 0–99
		6.2 Number 100 and higher
		6.3 Formal characters for numbers
		6.4 Ordinal numbers
		6.5 Estimates and approximations
		6.6 Fractions, percentages, decimals, half, and multiples
		6.7 Lucky and unlucky numbers
		6.8 Numbers used in phrases and expressions
		6.9 一 yī as a marker of sequence
		6.10 Numbers that are used as words
	7 Specifiers and demonstratives
		7.1 这/這 zhè ‘this’ and 那 nà ‘that’ as demonstratives
		7.2 这/這 zhè, zhèi ‘this/these’ and 那 nà, nèi ‘that/those’ as specifiers
		7.3 这儿/這兒 zhèr and 这里/這裏 zhèlǐ ‘here,’ 那儿/那兒 nàr and 那里/那裏 nàlǐ ‘there’
		7.4 Question words that correspond to specifiers
	8 Classifiers
		8.1 The structure of phrases involving classifiers
		8.2 Choosing the classifier
		8.3 Omission of the head noun
		8.4 Classifiers that occur without a noun
		8.5 Money and prices
	9 Noun phrases
		9.1 Modifying a noun with a specifier and/or number
		9.2 Modifying a noun with all other modifiers: modification with 的 de
		9.3 Omission of the particle 的 de
		9.4 Noun modifiers in a series
		9.5 Omission of the head noun
		9.6 Modification with 之 zhī
	10 Adjectives and adjectival verbs
		10.1 Noun modification: adjective/adjectival verb 的 de noun and omission of 的 de
		10.2 Negation of adjectival verbs
		10.3 Yes–no questions with adjectival verbs
		10.4 Modification by intensifiers
		10.5 Two-syllable preference
		10.6 Comparative meaning
		10.7 Superlative meaning
		10.8 Adjectival verbs and comparison structures
		10.9 Linking adjectival verbs
		10.10 Adjectival verbs and expressions that indicate change over time
		10.11 Adjectival verbs and sentence final 了 le
	11 Stative verbs
		11.1 Negation of stative verbs
		11.2 Modification by intensifiers
		11.3 Indicating completion, past time, and change of state
		11.4 The equational verb 是 shì ‘be’
		11.5 The equational verb 姓 xìng ‘be family named’
		11.6 The verb of possession and existence: 有 yǒu ‘have,’ ‘exist’
		11.7 The location verb 在 zài ‘be located at’
	12 Modal verbs
		12.1 Expressing possibility: 会/會 huì
		12.2 Expressing ability
		12.3 Expressing permission: 可以 kěyǐ
		12.4 Expressing obligations
		12.5 Expressing prohibitions
		12.6 Grammatical properties of modal verbs
	13 Action verbs
		13.1 Indicating that an action is complete
		13.2 Indicating that an action has been experienced in the past
		13.3 Negating actions
		13.4 Asking about actions
		13.5 Open-ended action verbs
		13.6 Change-of-state action verbs
	14 Prepositions and prepositional phrases
		14.1 The grammar of the prepositional phrase in the Mandarin sentence
		14.2 Basic functions of prepositions
		14.3 Prepositions that also function as verbs
	15 Adverbs
		15.1 General properties of adverbs
		15.2 Adverbs with logical function: 也 yě, 都 dōu, 还/還 hái, 就 jiù, 只 zhǐ, and 才 cái
	16 Conjunctions
		16.1 Conjunctions that indicate an ‘additive’ or ‘and’ relationship
		16.2 Conjunctions that indicate a disjunctive or ‘or’ relationship
		16.3 Contrast conjunctions
	17 Aspect
		17.1 Perfective aspect
		17.2 Durative aspect
		17.3 Experiential aspect
		17.4 A comparison of aspectual distinctions
	18 Resultative verbs
		18.1 Structure of resultative verbs
		18.2 Action verb heads
		18.3 Resultative suffixes
		18.4 Resultative verbs in affirmative and negative sentences
		18.5 Asking yes–no questions with resultative verbs
		18.6 The potential form of resultative verbs
		18.7 Resultative suffixes with figurative or idiomatic meaning
	19 Directional verbs
		19.1 Structure of directional verbs
		19.2 Motion verbs
		19.3 Directional suffixes
		19.4 Sentences with directional verbs
		19.5 The potential form of directional verbs
		19.6 Asking yes–no questions with directional verbs
		19.7 Directional verbs and directional suffixes with figurative or idiomatic meaning
	20 把 bǎ sentences: The ‘disposal’ construction
		20.1 The structure of 把 bǎ sentences
		20.2 Properties of the subject and object in 把 bǎ sentences
		20.3 Properties of the verb in 把 bǎ sentences
		20.4 Negation in 把 bǎ sentences
		20.5 Adverbs and modal verbs in 把 bǎ sentences
	21 The passive
		21.1 The structure of the Mandarin passive
		21.2 The passive and negation
		21.3 Conditions for using the passive in Mandarin
		21.4 Differences between the passive markers 被 bèi, 叫 jiào, and 让/讓 ràng
		21.5 Additional functions of 让/讓 ràng, 叫 jiào, and 给/給 gěi
		21.6 Other Mandarin structures that highlight the affected object and de-emphasize the agent
Part B Situations and functions
	22 Names, kinship terms, titles, and terms of address
		22.1 Names: 姓名 xìngmíng
		22.2 Kinship terms
		22.3 Titles
		22.4 Addressing others
		22.5 Addressing new acquaintances and negotiating terms of address
		22.6 Name cards and business cards
		22.7 Addressing letters and envelopes
	23 Introductions
		23.1 The general format of introductions
		23.2 Sample introductions
		23.3 Common occupations and fields of study
	24 Greetings and goodbyes
		24.1 Greetings in conversations
		24.2 Saying goodbye in conversations
		24.3 Greetings and goodbyes in letters
	25 Basic strategies for communication
		25.1 Attracting someone’s attention
		25.2 Responding to a call for attention
		25.3 Checking whether people have understood you
		25.4 Indicating understanding or lack of understanding
		25.5 Requesting repetition or clarification of spoken language
		25.6 Asking for assistance in identifying a Chinese character
		25.7 Providing information about the identification of Chinese characters
		25.8 Signaling that you are following the speaker
		25.9 Interrupting a speaker
		25.10 Using fillers
		25.11 Formal development of a topic
	26 Telecommunications and e-communications: telephones, the internet, and social media
		26.1 Phone calls, email messages, and text messages
		26.2 Email, the internet, and social media
	27 Negating information
		27.1 Negation of verbs and verb phrases
		27.2 The relative order of negation and adverbs
		27.3 Words that occur with negation
		27.4 不 bu in resultative and directional verbs
		27.5 Literary markers of negation: 無 wú and 非 fēi
	28 Asking questions, answering questions, and reporting questions
		28.1 Yes–no questions
		28.2 Asking for agreement
		28.3 Choosing between alternatives with 还是/還是 háishi ‘either–or’ questions
		28.4 Rhetorical questions
		28.5 Follow-up questions with 呢 ne
		28.6 Content questions
		28.7 Reporting questions
	29 Expressing identification, possession, and existence
		29.1 Expressing identification
		29.2 Expressing possession
		29.3 Expressing existence
	30 Describing people, places, and things
		30.1 Equational sentences: identifying or describing the subject with a noun phrase in the predicate
		30.2 Describing the subject with a predicate that is an adjectival verb
		30.3 Identifying or describing a noun with a modifying phrase
		30.4 Asking questions about the attributes of a person, place, or thing
		30.5 Describing an item in terms of the material that it is made of
		30.6 Describing nouns in terms of attributes that imply comparison
		30.7 Describing people in terms of age
		30.8 Describing the weather
		30.9 Talking about illness and other medical conditions
	31 Describing how actions are performed
		31.1 Describing the general or past performance of an action with a manner adverbial phrase
		31.2 Asking about the performance of an action
		31.3 Describing the performance of an entire action with an adverbial modifier
	32 Indicating result, conclusion, potential, and extent
		32.1 Indicating the result or conclusion of an action with resultative verbs
		32.2 Indicating the ability to reach a conclusion or result: the potential infixes 得 de and 不 bu
		32.3 Summary of the functions of resultative verbs
		32.4 Indicating the ability to perform the verb: the potential suffixes 得了 deliǎo and 不了 buliǎo
		32.5 Resultative suffixes with special meanings or properties
		32.6 Indicating the extent or result of a situation
	33 Making comparisons
		33.1 More than
		33.2 Less than
		33.3 Similarity
		33.4 Difference
		33.5 Comparative degree: indicating ‘even more’
		33.6 Superlative degree: indicating ‘the most’
		33.7 Relative degree
	34 Talking about the present
		34.1 Time expressions that indicate present time
		34.2 Using 在 zài and 正在 zhèngzài to indicate ongoing actions in present time
		34.3 Using the final particle 呢 ne to indicate ongoing situations in present time
		34.4 Using 着/著 zhe to emphasize ongoing duration or an ongoing state in the present time
		34.5 Indicating present time by context
		34.6 Negation in present time situations
		34.7 Talking about actions that begin in the past and continue to the present
		34.8 Describing situations that are generally true
	35 Talking about habitual actions
		35.1 Expressing habitual time with the word 每 měi ‘every/each’
		35.2 Expressing habitual time with 天天 tiāntiān and 年年 niánnián
		35.3 Adverbs that describe habitual action
	36 Talking about the future
		36.1 Time words that refer to future time
		36.2 Adverbs that refer to future time
		36.3 Indicating future time with the modal verb 会/會 huì
		36.4 Verbs that refer to the future
	37 Indicating completion and talking about the past
		37.1 Marking an action as complete: perfective aspect 了 le
		37.2 Talking about sequence with perfective 了 le
		37.3 Indicating that an action did not occur in the past
		37.4 Asking whether an action has occurred
		37.5 Indicating that an action occurred again in the past: 又 yòu verb 了 le
		37.6 Talking about past experience: verb suffix 过/過 guo
		37.7 Comparing the aspect markers 过/過 guo and 了 le
		37.8 Time words and adverbs that refer to past time
		37.9 Focusing on a detail of a past event with 是 . . . 的 shì . . . de
	38 Talking about change, new situations, and changing situations
		38.1 Indicating that a situation represents a change
		38.2 Comparing sentences with and without sentence final 了 le
		38.3 Indicating change over time
		38.4 Nouns and verbs that express change
	39 Talking about duration and frequency
		39.1 Specifying the length of an action with a duration phrase
		39.2 Emphasizing ongoing duration
		39.3 Indicating the ongoing duration of a background event
		39.4 Indicating frequency
	40 Expressing additional information
		40.1 也 yě ‘also’
		40.2 还/還 hái ‘in addition, also’
		40.3 还有/還有 hái yǒu ‘in addition’
		40.4 并且/並且 bìngqiě ‘moreover’
		40.5 再说/再說 zài shuō ‘besides, moreover, to put it another way’
		40.6 而 ér ‘and, but’
		40.7 和 hé and 跟 gēn ‘and’
		40.8 不但 . . . 而且 . . . bùdàn . . . érqiě . . . ‘not only . . . but also . . .’
		40.9 又 . . . 又 . . . yòu . . . yòu . . . ‘both . . . and . . .’
		40.10 除了 . . . 以外 chúle . . . yǐwài ‘besides . . .’
		40.11 另外 lìngwài ‘in addition,’ ‘(an)other’
	41 Expressing contrast
		41.1 Expressing contrast with paired connecting words
		41.2 Expressing direct contrast with 而 ér
		41.3 Adverbs that indicate contrast
		41.4 Qualifying a statement with an adjectival verb or stative verb
	42 Expressing sequence
		42.1 Expressing the relationship ‘before’
		42.2 Expressing the relationship ‘after’ in a single sentence
		42.3 Indicating that one event happens first and another event happens afterwards
		42.4 Indicating ‘afterwards’ in a separate sentence
		42.5 Comparing 以前 yǐqián ‘before’ with 以后/以後 yǐhòu ‘after’
	43 Expressing simultaneous situations
		43.1 Indicating that one situation is the background for another situation
		43.2 Indicating that two actions occur at the same time
		43.3 Indicating that two actions occur in the same time frame
		43.4 Describing a subject in terms of two qualities that exist at the same time
		43.5 Indicating that a situation is reached at a specific point in time
		43.6 Presenting simultaneous situations
	44 Expressing cause and effect or reason and result
		44.1 Expressing cause and effect or reason and result in a single sentence
		44.2 Introducing the cause or reason
		44.3 Introducing the effect or result
		44.4 Inquiring about cause or reason
	45 Expressing conditions
		45.1 ‘If . . . then’ conditional sentences
		45.2 ‘even if’
		45.3 ‘as long as’
		45.4 ‘only if,’ ‘unless’
		45.5 ‘otherwise’
	46 Expressing ‘both,’ ‘all,’ ‘every,’ ‘any,’ ‘none,’ ‘not any,’ and‘ no matter how’
		46.1 Expressing ‘both’ and ‘all’
		46.2 Expressing ‘none’
		46.3 Expressing ‘every’
		46.4 Expressing ‘every,’ ‘any,’ ‘not any,’ and ‘no matter how’ with question words
	47 Expressing location and distance
		47.1 Location
		47.2 Indicating that an object exists or does not exist at a location
		47.3 Using location as a description
		47.4 Talking about distance
		47.5 Asking about distance
	48 Talking about movement, directions, and means of transportation
		48.1 Talking about ‘going’ and ‘coming’
		48.2 Talking about turning
		48.3 Talking about crossing
		48.4 Talking about arriving
		48.5 Talking about means of transportation
		48.6 Asking about locations and asking for directions
		48.7 Asking for and giving directions: sample conversations
		48.8 Talking about directional movement
	49 Talking about clock time and calendar time
		49.1 Clock time
		49.2 Calendar time
	50 Expressing obligations and prohibitions
		50.1 Expressing obligations
		50.2 Expressing prohibitions: must not, should not
	51 Expressing commands and permission
		51.1 Commands
		51.2 Permission
	52 Expressing ability and possibility
		52.1 Expressing ability
		52.2 Expressing possibility
	53 Expressing desires, needs, preferences, and willingness
		53.1 Expressing desires
		53.2 Expressing needs
		53.3 Expressing preferences
		53.4 Expressing willingness
	54 Expressing knowledge, advice, and opinions
		54.1 Expressing knowledge
		54.2 Advice and opinions
	55 Expressing fear, worry, and anxiety
		55.1 Expressing fear of something
		55.2 Expressing nervousness or anxiety
		55.3 Indicating that something is scary
		55.4 Indicating that something scares someone
	56 Expressing speaker attitudes and perspectives with interjections and final particles
		56.1 Interjections
		56.2 Sentence final particles
		56.3 Expressing speaker perspective with the adverbs 就 jiù and 才 cái
	57 Topic, focus, and emphasis
		57.1 Introducing a topic
		57.2 Focus
		57.3 Emphasis
	58 Guest and host
		58.1 Welcoming the guest
		58.2 Offering food and drink
		58.3 Inviting the guest to get comfortable
		58.4 Saying goodbye and seeing the guest off
		58.5 Additional expressions involving guest and host
	59 Giving and responding to compliments
		59.1 Cultural conventions regarding praise
		59.2 Expressions used in deflecting praise
		59.3 Compliments and appropriate responses
	60 Expressing satisfaction and dissatisfaction
		60.1 Expressing satisfaction
		60.2 Expressing dissatisfaction
	61 Expressing gratitude and responding to expressions of gratitude
		61.1 Expressing gratitude
		61.2 Replying to expressions of gratitude
	62 Invitations, requests, and refusals
		62.1 Invitations
		62.2 Requests
		62.3 Refusals
		62.4 Abandoning a request
	63 Expressing apologies, regrets, sympathy, and bad news
		63.1 Apologies and regrets
		63.2 Expressing sympathy
		63.3 Conveying bad news
	64 Expressing congratulations and good wishes
		64.1 General expressions of congratulations and good wishes
		64.2 Fixed phrases of congratulations and good wishes for special events
		64.3 Replying to expressions of congratulations and good wishes
Index