zhongwen-obsidian/Verb-Verb Series.md

#verb #construction

Series of verbal expressions can be strung together, with one acting as a predicate and the rest adding more information. In English, prepositional expressions provide extra information related to a sentence's main verb:

• I study in the library.
• I study from morning until night.
• I study with my friends. These three phases specify, respectively, place, time and company (wrt. studying).

To do this in Chinese, we use the "prepositional construction". These come before the verb.

Purpose #purpose

Verb-verb series can be used to express purpose.

subject + (verb + object) + (verb + object)
                            (   Purpose   )

Examples:

1. 你去商店买书。 nǐ qù shāngdiàn mǎi shū You're going to the shop to buy books.
2. 他来宿舍看朋友。 tā lái sùshè kàn péngyou He's coming to the dormitory to see a friend.
3. 老师来帮助我 lǎoshī lái bāngzhù wǒ The teacher is coming to help me.

Negative Form #不

This pattern can also be negated with 不, for example:

你不去商店买书。 nǐ bú qù shāngdiàn mǎi shū You're not going to the shop to buy books.

Interrogative Form #吗

It can also be made interrogative with 吗:

你去商店买书吗？ nǐ qù shāngdiàn mǎi shū ma?

Or with a yes-no construction:

你去不去商店买书？ nǐ qù bu qù shāngdiàn mǎi shū?

Location #在 #locative

The first type of preposition is place, which uses 在 + location/Locatives.

subject + (在 + location) + (verb + object)
          (  Location   )

For example:

1. 他在书店买书。 tā zài shūdiàn mǎi shū He is buying books in the bookshop.
2. 你弟弟在我这儿看杂志。 nǐ dìdi zài wǒ zhèr kàn zázhì Your brother is reading magazines at mine. (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).

Origin #从 #locative

Origin prepositions can be created with the preposition 从cóng, "from", + location/locative:

subject + (从 + location) + (verb + object)
          (    Origin   )

Examples:

1. 她从中国来。 tā cóng Zhōngguó lái She is coming from China.
2. 我从家去。 wǒ cóng jiā qù I'm going from my house.
3. 你从我这儿去。 nǐ cóng wǒ zhèr qù You're going from mine.
4. 她从老师那儿去。 tā cóng lǎoshī nàr qù She is going from the teacher's place.

[!warning] 从 is not a verb 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".

Destination

We can use 从 to describe an origin and destination - to (verb) from somewhere to somewhere:

(从 + location) + verb + location
(    Origin   )          (Destination)

Examples:

1. 她从中国去美国。 tā cóng Zhōngguó qù Měiguó She goes from China to the US.
2. 他从我这儿去书店。 tā cóng wǒ zhèr qù shūdiàn He goes from mine to the bookshop.
3. 他从宿舍去你去你那儿。 tā cóng sùshè qù nǐ nàr He goes from the dormitory to your place.
4. 他从我这儿去你那儿。 tā cóng nǐ zhèr qù nǐ nàr He goes from mine to yours. (He goes from me to you.)
5. 他从哪儿去王老师那儿？ tā cóng nǎr qù Wáng lǎoshī nàr From where does he go to Teacher Wang's?

Benefactor #benefactor #给

A benefactor preposition uses 给gěi, "on behalf of somebody"/"for someone's benefit". This is called the benefactor preposition:

subject + (给 + person) + verb + object
          (Benefactor )

For example:

1. 我给弟弟买画报。 wǒ gěi dìdì mǎi huàbào I'm buying a pictorial for my little brother.
2. 古波不给爸爸写信。 Gūbǒ bù gěi bàba xiě xìn Gūbǒ doesn't write his father.
3. 老给我们介绍中国吗？ lǎoshī gěi wǒmen jiěshào Zhōngguó ma Is the teacher going to teach us about China?
4. 我妈妈常给我介绍女朋友。 wǒ māma cháng gěi wǒ jièshào nǚ péngyou My mother often introduces me to girls.

Only some verbs can take this 给 pattern. Some key ones to remember are:

1. 给 (someone) 买 (something) mǎi (buy) #买
2. 给 (someone) 写信 xiě (write) #写
3. 给 (someone) 介绍 （something/someone) jièshào (introduce) #介绍

Accompaniment #accompaniment #跟 #一起

The company expression uses the verb 跟gēn "to follow, with", the object referring to the company, and the adverb 一起yìqǐ:

(跟 + person + 一起) + verb
(      Company     )

Examples:

1. 我们跟老师一起去图书馆。 wǒmen gēn lǎoshī yìqǐ qù túshūguǎn We go to the library together with the teacher.
2. 我跟我弟弟一起去看电影。 wǒ gēn wǒ dìdi yìqǐ qù kàn diànyǐng I'll go to see a movie with my younger brother.
3. 你在他那儿等一下人，我去阅览室找张先生。我们跟他一起去买词典。 nǐ zài tā nàr děng yíxiàr, wǒ qù yuèlǎnshì zhǎo Zhāng xiānsheng. wǒmen gēn tā yìqǐ qù mǎi cídiǎn Please wait at his place, I will go to the reading room to look for Mr. Zhang. We'll go together with him to buy a dictionary.

Conveyance #conveyance

Conveyance can be used to express the method of transporting/travelling somewhere - in most cases a means of transportation (e.g. a car):

(Conveyance) + verb

Some common phrases are 坐车zuò chē (literally: sit car - by car), 走路zǒu lù (literally: walk road - on foot). 坐 can take many different types of vehicle, but one walks (走) on road (路). Examples:

1. 我们坐车去邮局。 wǒmen zuò chē qù yóujú We go to the post office by car.
2. 他们走(路)来这儿。 tāmen zǒu (lù) lái zhèr They come here on foot.
3. 下班以后，我和爸爸在书店等妈妈。我们一起坐车回家。 xiàbān yǐhòu, wǒ hé bàba zài shūdiàn děng māma. wǒmen yìqǐ zuò chē huí jiā. After work, Dad and I will wait for Mum in the bookshop. We'll go home together in the car.

Instrument #instrument #用

The instrumental expression is another verb-object construction. The verb is 用yòng (to use), and the object refers to the instrument/means:

(用 + instrument) + verb

Examples:

1. 我们用笔写字。 wǒmen yòng bǐ xiě zì We write using a pen.
2. 老师用汉语介绍语法。 lǎoshī yòng Hànyǔ jièshào yǔfǎ The teacher introduces grammar, in Chinese.
3. 晚上七点以后，他在教师用英语介绍汉语语法。 wǎnshang qīdiǎn yǐhòu, tā zài jiàoshì yòng Yīngyǔ jièshào Hànyǔ yǔfǎ After 7pm, he'll be in the classroom explaining, in English, Chinese grammar.

Ordering of Verbal Constructions #order

Verbal constructions usually have a preferred order. Here are some examples:

1. Subject 》Time 》Accompaniment 》Origin 》Conveyance 》Main Verb 》Object 我下课以后跟我朋友一起从教室走路去图书馆。 wǒ xià kě yǐhòu gēn wǒ péngyou yìqǐ cóng jiàoshì zǒu lù qù túshūguǎn After class, I will go on foot to the library together with my friends.
2. Time, 》Subject 》Location 》Benefactor 》Instrument 》Main Verb 》Object 晚上八点以后，王老师在教室给学生用英语介绍这个法国电影。 wǎnshang bādiǎn yǐhòu, Wáng lǎoshī zài jiàoshì gěi xuésheng yòng Yīngyǔ jièshào zhè ge Fǎguó diànyǐng After 8pm, Teacher Wang will be in the classroom introducing to the students, in English, a French film.
3. Subject 》Time 》Accompaniment 》Conveyance 》Main Verb 》Object 》Purpose 我现在跟你一起走路去那儿坐车，好吗？ wǒ xiànzài gēn nǐ yìqǐ zǒu lù qù nàr zuò chē, hǎo ma? I'm going there with you on foot now to catch the bus, ok?