Chinese Multimedia

Grammar Notes for lesson 7

Combined directional verb phrase

A combined directional verb phrase is formed from a verb of action with a directional word such as 进 jìn in, 出 chū  out, 上 shàng  up or 下 xià down and is followed by 来 lái or 去 qù (indicating the position of the speaker). 来 lái indicates that the action is moving towards the speaker, and 去 qù indicates that the action is moving away from the speaker, for instance, 走 进 来 zǒu jìn lái to walk in (the speaker is inside). A simple object is placed between 进 and 来 lái, as in 走 进 图 书 馆 来 zǒu jìn túshū guǎn lái to walk into the library. The object 图 书 馆 túshū guǎn library is placed between the directional word and 来 lái or 去qù .

是 … 的 shì ... de construction

The 是 … 的 shì ... de construction is used to emphasise the state or situation of the noun. The emphasised statement is placed between 是 shì and 的 de, as in 我 的 书 是 新 的 wǒ de shū shì xīn de my book is the new one.

Position words

Position words are 前 qián  front, 后 hòu  back, 旁 páng beside, 右 yòu  to the right, 左 zuǒ to the left, 上 shàng above,下 xià beneath and 中 zhōng  middle/inside. These position words can all be followed by 边 biān side. The exception is 中 zhōng   middle/inside, which cannot be used with 边 biān, but instead is used with 间 jiān . When position words are used to describe nouns they are placed after the noun, as in 房 间 里 边 fángjiān lǐ biān inside the room.