89 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
89 lines
3.3 KiB
Markdown
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#preposition #construction
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In English, prepositional expressions provide extra information related to a sentence's main verb:
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- I study _in the library_.
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- I study _from morning until night_.
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- I study _with my friends_.
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These three phases specify, respectively, place, time and company (wrt. studying).
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To do this in Chinese, we use the "prepositional construction". These come **before the verb**.
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# Location #在 #locative
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The first type of preposition is _place_, which uses 在 + location/[[Locatives|locative]].
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```
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subject + (在 + location) + (verb + object)
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( Location )
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```
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For example:
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1. 他**在书店**买书。
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tā **zài shūdiàn** mǎi shū
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He is buying books **in the bookshop**.
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2. 你弟弟**在我这儿**看杂志。
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nǐ dìdi **zài wǒ zhèr** kàn zázhì
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Your brother is reading magazines **at mine.**
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(1) has a real world place as the location, but (2) has a derived locative from attaching 这儿 to 我 (since 我 is not a locative, thus 在 cannot take it as an object).
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# Origin #从 #locative
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Origin prepositions can be created with the preposition 从cóng, "from", + location/locative:
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```
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subject + (从 + location) + (verb + object)
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( Origin )
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```
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Examples:
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1. 她从中国来。
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tā cóng Zhōngguó lái
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She is coming from China.
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2. 我从家去。
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wǒ cóng jiā qù
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I'm going from my house.
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3. 你从我这儿去。
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nǐ cóng wǒ zhèr qù
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You're going from mine.
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4. 她从老师那儿去。
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tā cóng lǎoshī nàr qù
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She is going from the teacher's place.
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> [!warning] 从 is not a verb
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> Unlike 去 and 来, 从 is not a verb - it is a preposition. Thus, it cannot stand on it's own without another verb. You cannot say "他从中国".
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## Destination
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We can use 从 to describe an origin *and* destination - to (verb) *from* somewhere *to* somewhere:
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```
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(从 + location) + verb + location
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( Origin ) (Destination)
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```
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Examples:
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1. 她从中国去美国。
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tā cóng Zhōngguó qù Měiguó
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She goes from China to the US.
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2. 他从我这儿去书店。
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tā cóng wǒ zhèr qù shūdiàn
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He goes from mine to the bookshop.
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3. 他从宿舍去你去你那儿。
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tā cóng sùshè qù nǐ nàr
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He goes from the dormitory to your place.
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4. 他从我这儿去你那儿。
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tā cóng nǐ zhèr qù nǐ nàr
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He goes from mine to yours. (He goes from me to you.)
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5. 他从哪儿去王老师那儿？
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tā cóng nǎr qù Wáng lǎoshī nàr
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From where does he go to Teacher Wang's?
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# Benefactor #benefactor #给
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A benefactor preposition uses 给gěi, "on behalf of somebody"/"for someone's benefit". This is called the *benefactor* preposition. For example:
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1. 我**给弟弟**买画报。
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wǒ **gěi dìdì** mǎi huàbào
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I'm buying a pictorial **for my little brother**.
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2. 古波**不给爸爸**写信。
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Gūbǒ bù gěi bàba xiě xìn
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Gūbǒ doesn't write **his father**.
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3. 老**给我们**介绍中国吗？
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lǎoshī **gěi wǒmen** jiěshào Zhōngguó ma
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Is the teacher going to teach **us** about China?
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4. 我妈妈常**给我**介绍女朋友。
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wǒ māma cháng **gěi wǒ** jièshào nǚ péngyou
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My mother often introduces **me** to girls.
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Only some verbs can take this 给 pattern. Some key ones to remember are:
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1. `给 (someone) 买 (something)` #买
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2. `给 (someone) 写信` #写
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3. `给 (someone) 介绍 （something/someone)` #介绍
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