syntax

First off, I would like to know if each of the sentences in (1-2) sound acceptable to you. In case they do, does the focused phrase in each case (ham, ham selv, seg, seg selv, sin) refer to (i) just Jon, (ii) just Karl, (iii) either Jon or Karl, (iv) a third dude, or (iv) all of the above? (The...

I was reading a book on Norwegian syntax and it said that in (1a) modal vil has an epistemic reading: 'a messenger will fall down from the tree'. However, it is ambiguous in (1b) because it also has a nonepistemic reading: 'a messenger wants (or is planning to) fall down from the tree'. (1a)...

Hello, guys! I've have a few problems with this phrase. I understand a little when the subject isn't named in passive sentences, like 「ex. 財布を盗まれた」(My wallet was stolen), and its negative feeling (ex. Oh, no! My wallet was stolen). But I don't get how this sentence works: is "He rejected people...

Hi,guys. The sentence 你汉语说得很好 has the structure S-O P and means 'you speak Chinese very well', but I heard today '你的汉语说得很好' meaning 'your Chinese speaks very well'. Is that how this sentence translates literally? Thanks.

The following questions were raised in this thread (http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=2983382), and I would like to know the answers.

大家好， In this sentence: 他要往美国寄, where should I collocate 这些书? at the beginning after 他 or at the end of the sentence? 多谢

你好 ! As far I know verbs as 给 and some others with a similar meaning can be followed by two direct objects without using any preposition as in : 我要送她一件礼物 . The only examples I've read use a pronoun for the first object ( the person who is given a gift ) . So I wonder if the same structure is...

Moderator's Note: the following posts are split from this thread to create a new thread for discussing the theoretical aspects of using the 把 structure. Hi rydell, I would like to give you some explanations. "把" is a very useful, but it's also a very tricky and hard Chinese verb. Don't be...

如果下面的三个 趋向补语，比如“来” 表示处所宾语，比如“这里” (不表示处)一般宾语，比如“手机” 放在一起的话，怎样组合在一句？ “他带手机这里来”可以吗？ If the three items below: directional complement place object ordinary object are composed together in a sentence, how to order them? Is “他带手机这里来” correct?

Some examples: “商店里，人们买礼物的买礼物，办年货的办年货。” “大年三十晚上，他们放鞭炮的放鞭炮，看电视的看电视，高兴极了。” What does this construction of repeating predicates with 的 mean? Does it mean they do something a lot, or something else? I have no idea and curiously it's not a use of 的 I could find in Yip and Rimmington's Chinese...

大家好! There is a sentence in my textbook that says "我眼见有点花。" <<Later added: 对不起。我眼睛有点花.>> I think 有点儿means "a little" and can only be used for adjectives and adverbs. So, I think 我是有点老花眼 is incorrect. How you say "a little" in "我是老花眼"? Thank you!

Does the next sentence 我们 工作 都 很 忙 mean "we are very busy? Thank you.

All Chinese textbooks and grammars I have seen carefully warn beginners that 和“he2” can coordinate noun phrases, but not sentences. Yet, none, to my knowledge, offers an explanation for that peculiar fact, and it IS a peculiar fact. Since Mandarin "he2" supports the logical "&" reading in...

Moderator's Note: this following discussion is split from this thread. Your quoted sentence was "那个医生用药很特别" -> 用药 is a verb. Generic statement. "那个医生的用药很特别" -> 用药 is a noun. Generic statement. "那个医生的用药是很特别." -> This is a affirmative statement. It answers to question like "那个医生的用药很特别吗?" So...

Hello/大家好， I have a grammar question about "的" in a sentence I heard/saw today on TV: "你们俩都是在国外读的管理?" I'm pretty sure that this was the full sentence (with nothing after). 我想问一下: Does anyone know why is “的” being used here if there is no possession? Is this a special structure? Thanks in...

我死了一匹马 院里开了一朵花 How would you explain the above sentence structures to a Chinese learner by using grammatical terms like intransitive/transitive verb, object, subject, topic, or whatever?

“花瓶打破了”是正确的说法吗？ 因为就英文来说，这里应该要用被动式，华文也是这样的，“花瓶被打破了”是绝对正确的。 但是“花瓶打破了”如何呢？正确吗？

I was taught that in Archaic Chinese 也 as a modal particle in the middle of a sentence (句中语气助词) is attached to the preceding element. For instance, 形之龐也，類有德; 聲之宏也，類有能. 地之相去也，千有餘里； 世之相後也，夭有餘歲. 师道之不传也, 久矣; 欲人之无惑也, 难矣. Although 也 gradually adopted the meanings of 亦 during Late Middle Chinese, its...

[今天很晚才吃的午饭] 上面這句話出現於另一個thread裡面。因沒遇到過這種講法，所以以為是人家打錯了。居然不是! 嗯，沒錯。我詢問了幾位native speakers, 果然他們的感想跟我差不多：在台灣人們很少會運用此字眼。 那麼我的問題是：習慣用這個結構的地區，會把它當成較為口語的說法，還是已經可以列為正式語言範圍之內? 這句句子我會解釋為廢話，因為對我來說是 I am the ticket that was bought yesterday 的意思 :eek:!

Hi all, 1. 他打高尔夫求打了十年了。 2. 他学音乐学了十五年了。 3. 他们在澳洲住了五年了。 The verb is repeated in (1) and (2) but not in (3). Why? There are a couple of other examples in which the verb is transitive and repeated. Can I make up a rule such as "repeat the transitive verb, don't repeat the intransitive one?" How...

Hi everyone! :) I have a question about たら again. Here's the context: I bought some origami paper from a store. The next thing I want to say is, "When I got home, I looked up how to fold a paper crane and tried to make it." I wrote this: 家に帰ったら、鶴の折り方を調べて作ろうとした。 But it got changed to...

Dear Colleagues, I am translating the General Law on State Education in Mexico. I am struggling with Article 8. My source text is attached above, and is also online here: http://www.lingopro.com/art8.png Here is my attempt at a translation: "Article 8 – The criteria informing...

I am having difficulty with the use of 下去 (as well as the word order) in situations where the verb “continue” has a direct object. For example, instead of « 我想继续看电视 » can I also say: 电视我想看下去 (use 下去 instead of 继续 ) 我想继续看下去电视 (use 下去 as well as 继续) In other words, if I replace 继续 with下去...

what does this mean? i couldnt understand the use of this structure, can u analyse this?

大家好! I just have a small question. In the following sentence: I come from America, are these two sentences both possible? 我是從美國來的. 我從美國來. Im not totally sure what the 是-的 construciton adds to the sentence and would like some help in explaining this! 謝謝! :D

Hello all, this time, I have a little trouble with a complete sentence: Original sentence: 他们这对欢喜鸳鸯，什么时候都是唧唧喳喳的 My best try: They form a very happy couple, they are unweary chaters (or they never put their mouth at ease) Mainly what troubles me is the grammar of the first part, featuring a...

Ciao a tutti. Vorrei sapere cos'è poliptoto. Sono venuta attraverso esso mentre leggevo un altro forum. Vi ringrazio in anticipo per il vostro aiuto.

I was trying to explain my students the uses of without in Spanish and run into a question about English syntax. Would you say, they did it without his knowing, or They did it without him knowing. I think when I checked in the past, I heard that the proper way is "his knowing" but most...

大 家 好 ！ I saw the two sentences using the 是 。。。。 的 structure like this: 1。我 们 是 去 年 九 月 来 上 海 的 。 2。 你 什 么时 候 去 的 上 海 ？ I wonder why both of the above sentences include a noun functioning as a object, but in the first one, 的 is put behind the object;whereas, 的 precedes it. Please...

是張医生給我看的病 Do you agree this is the Chinese version of the English "emphasize form (It is ... that SV)"? If so, the word order doesn't look right to me. I don't understand why it is not 是張医生給我看病的.