| FDTL 46/99 | Chinese language skills for Britain: dissemination of best practice |
Sentence Patterns - Reading Week 3
Time clause when… …的 时 候 or …时 (3)
…的 时 候 is used to form a time when clause. The description of when is placed before 的. For instance:
|
… |
的 时 候 … |
|
我 到 我 老 师 家 |
的 时 候 … |
|
I arrive my teacher’s home |
DE time |
When I arrived at my teacher’s home…
The 时 clause is an abbreviated form of…的 时 候. The clause above can also be written as follows:
|
… |
时… |
|
我 到 我 老 师 家 |
时 … |
|
I arrive my teacher’s home |
As indicated above, 的 时 候 … and 时 indicate the end of a when clause.
Conditional sentence如 果 …的 话, 就…(3)
A conditional clause is placed between 如 果 and 的 话, though 的 话 can be omitted. The outcome of the condition is placed in the 就 clause. 就 is an adverb, which should be placed before verbs. For instance:
|
如 果 … 的 话, |
就 |
|
如 果 学 生 放 学 以 后 用 毒 品 的 话, |
家 长 就 应 该 告 诉 学 校 的 老 师。 |
|
If student school after use drugs DE HUA |
parents JIU should tell school’s teachers |
If pupils take drugs after school, their parents should let the teachers know.
However, abbreviated forms of this construction are frequently used in newspapers. For instance, the above sentence can also be written in the following ways:
1 Without 果 : 如 …的 话, 就…
|
如 学 生 放 学 以 后 用 毒 品 的 话, |
家 长 就 应 该 告 诉 学 校 的 老 师。 |
2 Without 的 话: 如 果… 就…
|
如 果 学 生 放 学 以 后 用 毒 品, |
家 长 就 应 该 告 诉 学 校 的 老 师。 |
3 Without 就 : 如 果… 的 话, …
|
如 果 学 生 放 学 以 后 用 毒 品 的 话, |
家 长 应 该 告 诉 学 校 的 老 师。 |
Modal particle 了indicate the change of situation (3)
When the particle 了 is placed at end of a clause or sentence, it has many implications. One of the implications is a change of situation. For instance:
|
|
了 |
|
我 们 |
不 去 中 国 了。 |
|
not go China LE |
Now we are not going to China.
Comparative [also see …bĭ…比]: stative verb + 于 (3)
This is a written type of comparative construction. For instance:
|
A |
SV 于 B |
|
中 国 人 口 |
多 于 英 国 人 口。 |
|
China’s population |
more than Britain’s population |
The Chinese population is larger than Britain’s.
Form phrases
1. Noun + 者 (3)
者 PERSON, PEOPLE. It is often in the form of V/N+者. It means the people who do a certain kind of job:
|
教育 工作 |
者 |
|
education work |
person |
People who are engaged in education
2. Noun + 制 (3)
制 SYSTEM. Short for 制 度 (zhìdù). 制 is often placed after a noun or short phrase which modifies a type of system:
|
制 |
|
|
system |
National health-care system
|
工 分 |
制 |
|
work points |
system |
work-point system
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