The uses of 什么…都…, 哪儿都…, and 谁都…

Exercises

 

When do I use the 什么… 都…, 哪儿 都…, and 谁 都…constructions?

 

These constructions are used to indicate general categorisation. They can be used when you want to describe how a particular action applies to a general object, as in 我什么(菜)都吃 wŏ shénme (cài) dōu chī I eat anything. They can also be used to describe people in general doing a particular type of thing, as in 谁都喜欢吃中国菜 shéi dōu xǐhuān chī Zhōngguó cài everybody likes eating Chinese food.

 

How do I form a sentence with these constructions?

 

The interrogative什么 shénme what is placed before a noun to become any or every.  Any or every can be used as the subject or object of a sentence. If the word什么 shénme any or every is used as the object, it should be placed before the adverb都 dōu both, all and can be placed before or after the subject of the sentence. The adverb都 dōu is placed before the verb, as indicated below.

s	什 么 o	都	v
wŏ 我	shénme dōngxi 什么东西	dōu 都	chī 吃。
I	ANY THING	ALL	EAT.

I eat anything. Or

什 么 o	s	都	v
shénme dōngxi 什么东西	wŏ 我	dōu 都	chī 吃。
ANY (THING)	I	ALL	EAT.

Apart from什么 shénme what, the interrogatives 哪儿 nǎr where and 谁 shuí who are also used in this type of construction. If the word any or every refers to the subject of a sentence, the resulting sentence pattern will take the form of one of the four examples below.

谁(s)	都	v	o
shuí 谁	dōu 都	xihuan chī 喜欢 吃	Zhīngguó fàn 中  国 饭。
ANY/EVERY (ONE)	ALL	LIKE	CHINESE FOOD.

Everyone likes eating Chinese food. Or

什 么 s	都	v	o
shénme rén 什么 人	dōu 都	xihuan chī 喜欢 吃	Zhīngguó fàn 中  国 饭。
ANY/EVERY (ONE)	ALL	LIKE	CHINESE FOOD.

 

谁(s)	都	v	o
shuí 谁	dōu 都	shnàng 上	dàxué 大学。
ANY/EVERY (ONE)	ALL	GO	UNIVERSITY.

Everyone goes to university. Or

什 么 s	都	v	o
shénme rén 什么 人	dōu 都	shnàng 上	dàxué 大学。
ANY/EVERY (ONE)	ALL	GO	UNIVERSITY.

 

How do I form a negative sentence with these constructions?

 

In a negative sentence, the adverb也yĕ is used instead of都dōu.  The negation 不bù or没méi is placed before the verb as indicated below.

s	哪 儿(o)	也	不 /没v
wŏ 我	năr 哪儿	yĕ 也	bú qù 不去。
I	ANY/EVERY (WHERE)	ALL	NOT GO.

I don’t go anywhere. Or

s	什 么 o	也	不 /没v
wŏ 我	shénme dìfang 什 么 地方	yĕ 也	méi qù 没去。
I	ANY/EVERY (WHERE)	ALL	NOT GO.

 I didn’t go anywhere.

 

Is there any difference in meaning between 都 and 也 here?

 

No, not really. The adverb也yě is usually used in negative sentences as above, while the adverb都dōu can be used in both affirmative and negative sentences as in

s	哪 儿(o.)	也 / 都	v
wŏ 我	năr 哪儿	yĕ  /  dōu 也 /都	bú qù 不去。
I	ANY/EVERY (WHERE)	ALL	NOT GO

I don’t go anywhere. Or

s	什 么 o	也 / 都	v
wŏ 我	shénme dìfang 什么 地方	yĕ  /  dōu 也 /都	bú qù 不去。
I	ANY/EVERY (WHERE)	ALL	NOT GO.

 

Are there any differences in word order between the constructions of 什么…都…, 谁都… and 哪儿都…?

 

The word order in all these constructions is the same, but there are differences in the way that things are indicated. A noun is often used to specify什么, as in 什么人都… shénme rén dōu anybody…, 什么东西都… shénme dōngxi dōu anything… or 什么菜都… shénme cài dōu any kind of food... The word 什么 shénme any in these constructions has a similar meaning to the adjective 任何 rènhé any, which is also followed by a noun, as in 任何人rènhé rén anybody, 任何东西rènhé dōngxi anything, and 任何菜rènhé cài any kind of food. However, 谁shuí anybody or 哪儿nǎr anywhere refers to a person or a place, so there is no additional noun needed to specify 谁 shuí and 哪儿nǎr.

 

What is the difference in meaning between using 任何, 所有的and these constructions?

 

任何rènhé any and 所有的 suŏyŏude every/all expressions are followed by都 dōu (but not也yĕ). 任何rènhé any can be used in a similar way to the sentence constructions above, with a noun being placed after 任何 rènhé any, as in

 

 

wŏ 我	rènhé dōngxi / shénme dōngxi 任何东西/什么东西	dōu 都	chī 吃。
I	ANY/EVERY (THING)	ALL	EAT.

I eat anything.

 

rènhén rén /shénme rén 任何 人/什   么人	dōu 都	shuō 说	Zhōngguó fàn  hăo 中  国 饭 好。
ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL	SAY	CHINESE FOOD GOOD.

Everybody says that Chinese food is good.

 

wŏ 我	rènhé dìfang / shénme dìfang 任何地方/什  么  地方	dōu 都	búqù 不去。
I	ANY/EVERY (WHERE)	ALL	NOT GO.

I don’t go anywhere.

However, unlike任何rènhé, sometimes什么 shénme does not necessarily need a specified noun. For example, 我什么都吃 wŏ shénme dōu chī I eat anything. 我什么都看wǒ shénme dōu kàn I read anything/ I watch anything.

 

How can I form a 比 or a 把 sentence with these constructions?

 

The general principle for forming these sentences is the same: the adverbs 都or 也should be placed before verbs and stative verbs. Please see the following word order possibilities in sentences using 比and 把.

 

The following sentence demonstrates a construction where谁都shéi dōu forms the subject.

 

1.

s	都	比	o	sv
shéi 谁	dōu 都	bĭ 比	tā 他	hǎo 好
ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL	COMPARE	HIM	BETTER

Anybody is better than him.

 

The following sentence demonstrates a construction where哪儿都 nǎr dōu forms the object.

 

2.

s	比	o	都	sv
zhèr 这儿	bĭ 比	nǎr 哪儿	dōu 都	hǎo 好
HERE	COMPARE	ANY/EVERY (WHERE)	ALL	BETTER

Here is better than anywhere else.

If the construction forms the subject of a sentence, as demonstrated in example 1, 都 dōu is placed before比 bĭ, and if it forms the object of a sentence, as in example 2, 都 dōu is placed before the stative verb.

 

  

Let’s see how these constructions are used to compare actions. The construction forms the object of the sentence in examples 3 and 3b.

3.

s (topic)	比	o	都	verb phrase
tāshō Zhōngwén 他说中  文	bĭ 比	shéi 谁	dōu 都	shuō  de liú lì 说  得流利
HE SPEAKS CHINESE	COMPARE	ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL	SPEAK DE FLUENTLY

He speaks Chinese more fluently than anybody.

3b.

s (topic)	v (complement of degree)	比	o	都 adverb
tāshō Zhōngwén 他说中  文	shuōde 说 得	bĭ 比	shéi 谁	dōu liú lì 都 流利
HE SPEAKS CHINESE	SPEAK DE	COMPARE	ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL FLUENTLY

Please also see the notes on the ‘complement of degree’ construction.

 

The construction forms the subject of the sentence in examples 4 and 5.

4.

s	都	比	o	verb phrase
shéi 谁	dōu 都	bĭ 比	tā 他	shō      Zhōngwén shuō de    liú lì 说   中  文 说  得 流利
ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL	COMPARE	HIM	SPEAKS CHINESE SPEAK DE    FLUENTLY

Anybody can speak Chinese more fluently than he does.

5.

topic	s	都	比	o	verb phrase
shō Zhōngwén 说 中  文	shéi 谁	dōu 都	bĭ 比	tā 他	shuō  de       liú lì 说  得  流利
SPEAKS CHINESE	ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL	COMPARE	HIM	SPEAK DE    FLUENTLY

We can see a common feature in the example sentences, which is that the adverb 都dōu is always placed after the interrogative.

 

 

The following examples demonstrate the constructions used with the co-verb 把.

1.

s	把	o	都	verb phrase
tā 他	bǎ 把	shénme shì 什么  事	dōu 都	zuò hǎo          le 作 好    了
HE	BA	ANY/EVERY  (THING)	ALL	DO COMPLETE LE

He has done everything.

2.

s	都	neg/mv	把	dir. o	v	indir. o
shéi 谁	dōu/yĕ 都/也	bùxiǎng 不想	bǎ 把	zhèj iànshì 这 件事	gàoshu 告诉	tā 她
ANY/EVERY (BODY)	ALL	NOT INTEND	BA	THIS JIAN MATTER	TELL	HER

Nobody wants to tell her about this matter.

 

As with the 比 bĭ construction, if the XX都construction forms the subject of a sentence, as in example 2, 都dōu all is placed before把bǎ; while if XX都construction forms the object of a sentence, as in example 1, 都dōu all is placed before the main verb.

 

 

Exercises

Click here for the answers

 

1. Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

 

1. I have been looking everywhere, but I still can’t find my shirts.
2. Xiao Wang is both pretty and friendly, so everybody wants to be her friend.
3. I am so tired that I don’t want to go anywhere this evening.
4. My brother’s classmate can learn languages more quickly than anyone.
5. He hasn’t bought any new clothes this year.
6. Whatever you say, it’s no good! He won’t listen to anything.
7. Xiao Li spends all his time at home studying and he won’t go out anywhere.

 

 

2. Put the following words in the correct order, and translate them into English.

 

1. 我    问了       都    谁, 不知道 谁    都    可是    上海      在哪儿.
2. 中国饭店    都   能    哪儿 找到.
3. 谁    用电脑            都    会    在我们大学.
4. 都    爱 吃 中国饭      什么人.