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Grammar Notes for lesson 12

Imminent actions

The following sentence patterns are used to indicate that an action is about to take place or that a particular time is approaching.
1. 要 … 了 yào…le
2. 快 要 … 了kuàiyào…le
3. 就 要 … 了 jiùyào…le
Elements which can be placed between 要 yào leand 了 le are: V-O patterns; and time words such as  三 月 sānyuè March, 春 天 chūntiān spring, 中 午 zhōngwǔ noon and 两点 liǎng diǎn 2 o’clock. 

The adverbial marker 地 de

The adverbs or phrases which are placed before 地 de describe the intention, manner or method with, in or by which an action is carried out, as in 她 高 兴 地 唱 了 一 个 歌 tā gāoxìng de chàngle yí ge gē she happily sang a song. 学 生 们 都 一 个 一 个 地 回 家 了 xuésheng men dōu yí ge yí ge de huí jiā le the students went home one by one.

V 着 zhe O

The V 着 zhe O pattern can be used in the following two situations:
1. It is used to describe how something has been left, as in 桌 上 放 着 一 本 书 zhuō shàng fàngzhe yì běn shū there is a book left on the table; 墙 上 写 着 三 个 字 qiáng shàng xiě zhe sān ge zì there are three characters written on the wall; 门 开 着 mén kāi zhe the door has been left open.
2. It can also be used to make this action simultaneous with the main verb in the sentence, as in 她 唱 着 歌 回 家 tā chàngzhe gē huí jiā she went home singing.