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Wednesday Grammar Review

Chinese Word Order

Subject-Predicate Structure
Subject
Please

section + Predicate section

identify the predicate section in each sentence below

Q A
Q: A: Q: A:

Introducing Chinese Adverbial

Definition A word or phrase modifying or restricting the predicate is called an adverbial and the word it modifies is the head wordpredicate). For example:
What does an adverbial do in Chinese? The adverbial is the pre-modifying element denoting the time, frequency, place, degree, manner, negation, etc. of the head word. Thus adverbials could be time, frequency, place, degree, or negation words.

What can serve as adverbials (in lesson 4)

The order of adverbs used in succession

Two

or more adverbs are often used in succession as adverbial adjunct.

thus used, attention should be paid to their order: the modifying one always precedes the modified one and this order can not be reversed. translate the following sentences into Chinese:
1.

When

Please

They are all students. We are all students, too.

2.

We eat Chinese food very oftentoo. (hint: adverbials MUST precede the head predicate.)

General Word Order in Chinese

Time, place, degree, negation, etc.

Subject + Adverbial + Verb + Object

1. 2.

/ / / / / /

3.
4.

/ /
/ / / /

+ Affirmative + negative (A-not-A ) questions

A-not-A questions Review

Change the statements below into A-not-A questions

1. 2.

3.

A-not-A question

Use A-not-A question to ask your partner Q: ? A: .(create your own answer).

A-not-A questions Grammatical features

If there is an adverbial (such as , , or ) before the predicate and you want to keep it in the sentence, question must be used instead of A-not-A structure. If there is more than one verb, the A-not-A form applies to the first verb.

Please change the following statements into questions:

1.
2. 3. 4.

+ Sentences with verbal

constructions in series

Verbal constructions in series

A sentence, in which two or more verbs are used as the predicates of the same subject, is called a sentence with verbal constructions in series.
Basic pattern:

Sub. + predicate 1 (Object 1) + predicate 2 (Object 2)

Verbal constructions in series Grammatical features 1: time adverb

An adverbial (if there is any) is normally placed before the first predicate verb.

Verbal constructions in series Grammatical features 2: negation

The negative form is generally made by placing the negative adverb or before the first predicate.

Verbal constructions in series Grammatical features 3: A-not-A

A-not-A question structure only applies on the first predicate.

(statement)
not-A question)

(A-

Exercise
Step 1: How do you say she wants to play ball in Chinese?
Step 2: practice the negative form for the sentence Step 3: Apply the A-not-A rule to turn the statement (She wants to play ball) into a question (Does she want to play ball or not?).

(word order & subject-predicate structures)

Exercises

Workbook Dialogue Translation P.74 #5

Differentiate Similar terms

to like
would like; want to do something (desire)

feel, think (give opinions or physical feelings, hungry, hot, cold, etc.)

__________

__________ __________
__________

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Grammar in conversation
Workbook exercise p. 73 D4