Sentence patterns and function words
chéng…qūshì 呈…趋势 APPEAR…TENDENCY (6)
The description of the tendency is placed between 呈and 趋势. For instance:
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中国人口 增长 率 |
呈 上升趋势。 |
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China population increase rate |
appear rise tendency. |
China’s population growth rate shows a tendency to rise.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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这种病毒 |
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在 |
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本地区的 |
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流传 |
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呈上升趋势 |
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这种病毒在本地区的流传呈上升趋势。 |
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学习中国学的 |
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人数 |
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呈下降趋势 |
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学习中国学的人数呈下降趋势。 |
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中国人口增长数字 |
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仍然 |
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呈上升趋势 |
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中国人口增长数字仍然呈上升趋势。 |
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…dĭ 底 END OF… (6)
底 is placed after 年or月 as in 年底 the end of the year, 月底 the end of the month, 2000年(年) 底 the end of 2000, 十月底 the end of October.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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2000年底 |
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我校 |
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会对 |
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本校的 |
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留学生 |
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进行 |
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语言考核 |
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2000年底我校会对本校的留学生进行语言考核。 |
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上个月底 |
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中国外交部 |
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在台湾问题上 |
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和 |
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美国 |
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进行了 |
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交涉 |
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上个月底中国外交部在台湾问题上和美国进行了交涉。 |
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去年年底 |
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我国 |
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对 |
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各地区用毒品的 |
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情况 |
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进行了 |
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调查 |
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去年年底我国对各地区用毒品的情况进行了调查。 |
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…qízhōng 其中AMONG WHICH; IN WHICH (6)
The 其中clause is preceded by another clause which describes a general situation. The 其中clause often contains number words or phrases which imply quantity. For instance:
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我们大学 有 很 多 学生 |
其中 500名 男生 600名 女生 among which 500 MING male students 600 MING female |
There are very many students in our university, of whom 500 are male and 600 are female.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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在这儿 |
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展出的 |
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作品 |
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很多 |
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其中 |
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包括 |
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中国现代艺术家的 |
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作品 |
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在这儿展出的作品很多其中包括中国现代艺术家的作品。 |
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学习中文的 |
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人 |
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很多 |
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其中 |
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只有 |
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十个人 |
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能用 |
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中文说话 |
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学习中文的人很多, 其中只有十个人能用中文说话。 |
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中国艾滋病人 |
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逐渐增多 |
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其中 |
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不少是 |
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经过 |
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注射毒品 |
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感染上 |
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病毒的 |
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中国艾滋病人逐渐增多,其中不少是经过注射毒品感染上病毒的. |
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…zhàn 占ACOUNT FOR (6)
In this usage, 占is followed by a clause which contains numbers. For instance:
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在中国 汉 人 |
占 总 人口 的90%。 |
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in China Han people |
account for total population DE 90% |
The Han population accounts for 90% of the total population in China.
More examples
沙漠占中国土地的30%.
国外的留学生占我小学生总数的三分之二.
中国人口占世界人口的五分之一.
…bĭ…比, the comparative construction (6)
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A |
比 |
B |
V (amount) |
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今 年 |
比 |
去年 同 期 |
增长 37.3%。 |
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this year |
compare |
last year same period |
increase 37.3% |
This year it has increased by 37.3% compared with the same period last year.
bùbĭ 不 比 NOT THE SAME AS …, UNLIKE, NOT AS GOOD AS…
不 比 is the negative form of 比 and is used as a comparative construction. However, sometimes 不 比 is similar to 不 如. 不 如 is placed between phrase A and phrase B. This construction implies that the situation in phrase A is not as good as it is in B. Either A or B can be abbreviated. For instance:
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A |
不如/不 比 |
B |
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中 国 的 经 济 力 量 |
不如 |
美 国。 |
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中 国 |
不比 |
美 国的 经 济 力 量。 |
China’s economic power is not as great as that of the US.
More examples
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中国人口 |
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比 |
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美国 |
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多 |
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多少 |
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中国人口比美国多多少? |
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自从80年代以来 |
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中国人口增长率 |
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比 |
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70年代 |
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减少了 |
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50% |
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自从80年代以来中国人口增长率比70年代减少了50%。 |
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Verb complements (6)
zài 在 used as a verb complement.
Verb complements indicate the results and directions of actions. The complements are placed after verbs of action. For example:
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分布在 |
农村 |
Spread through countryside
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设立在 |
北京 |
Set up in Beijing.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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中国人口 |
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主要 |
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集中在 |
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东部地区 |
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中国人口主要集中在东部地区。 |
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住在英国的 |
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中国人 |
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分布在 |
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英国的 |
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几个主要大城市 |
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住在英国的中国人分布在英国的几个主要大城市。 |
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jù…据 ACCORDING TO (6)
据 is short for 根据. A 根据 clause is followed by a main clause. For instance:
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根据 专家 分析according to experts analyse, |
中国和 台湾 的问题 China and Taiwan DE issue |
在10年 内 会 解决。 in 10 years within will solved |
According to the experts’ analysis, the China/Taiwan conflict will be solved within 10 years.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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据报告 |
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现在来英国学习的 |
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学生 |
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应该先申请 |
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工作许可证 |
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据报告, 现在来英国学习的学生应该先申请工作许可证。 |
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据 |
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中国政府昨天宣布的消息 |
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中国 |
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要和 |
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台湾 |
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进行 |
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谈判 |
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据中国政府昨天宣布的消息,中国要和台湾进行谈判。 |
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zìcóng…自(从 )… (以)来SINCE (6)
自(从 ) is used to indicate a point in time in the past; (以)来 extends the time to the present. The elements which are placed between 自(从 ) and (以)来 can be a word, phrase or sentence. Either 自(从 ) or (以)来 can be omitted. For instance:
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自从 |
七 十 年 代 |
以来 |
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from |
the 70s |
until now |
Since the 70s…
The phrase can also be written in the following ways:
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自 |
七 十 年 代 |
以来 |
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自 从 |
七 十 年 代 |
来 |
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七 十 年 代 |
以来 |
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自 从 |
七 十 年 代 |
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Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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1980年年底以来 |
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中国 |
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开始实行 |
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每对夫妇只生一个孩子的 |
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政策 |
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1980年年底以来,中国开始实行每对夫妇只生一个孩子的政策。 |
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自从新中国成立以来 |
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每个家长 |
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都可以送 |
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孩子 |
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上学了 |
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自从新中国成立以来,每个家长都可以送孩子上学了。 |
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yŭ 与AND: A与B作 斗争 (6)
与 is used as a conjunction or co-verb. For instance:
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中国与美国 |
进行 了 外交上 的 交涉。 |
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China and US |
carried out LE diplomatic DE negotiation. |
China carried out diplomatic negotiations with the US.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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校方 |
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与 |
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学生 |
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进行了 |
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两天的 |
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谈判 |
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校方与学生进行了两天的谈判。 |
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我们 |
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应该与 |
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不良作风 |
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作 |
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斗争 |
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我们应该与不良作风作斗争。 |
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jiāng 将 WILL (6)
将 is used as an auxiliary verb. It implies that the action that follows will take place in the future. For instance:
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中国 |
将 与 亚洲 各 国 建立 经济 共同体。 |
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China |
will with Asian each countriy set up economic union |
China will set upan economic union with other Asian countries.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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中国政府 |
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将控制 |
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内地的 |
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经济发展 |
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中国政府将控制内地的经济发展。 |
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中国 |
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与 |
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日本 |
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将宣布 |
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一条重要公报 |
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中国与日本将宣布一条重要公报。 |
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…zhīyī …之一 ONE OF… (6)
之 is used similarly to 的. 之一 means one of, and is placed at the end of a clause. For instance:
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他 |
是我 国 最 伟大的 领导人 之一。 |
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he |
is our country most great DE leaders of one |
He is one of the greatest leaders of our country.
Examples
Write down the English translation of the following words and phrasers in the boxes below.
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他 |
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是 |
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我们大学最好的 |
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学生之一 |
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他是我们大学最好的学生之一。 |
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我们来这儿学习的 |
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目的之一 |
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是 |
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看中文报纸 |
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我们来这儿学习的目的之一是看中文报纸。 |
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Reading tips
Which should come first, a person’s title or his/her name? (6)
A person’s ‘short’ title is placed after the surname or full name:
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王 |
总统 |
President Wang or
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王铁生 |
总统 |
President Wang Tiesheng;
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王 |
部长 |
Minister Wang.
However, a modified title is placed before a name:
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国务院副总理兼外交部部长 |
王铁生 |
Wang Tiesheng, the Vice-Premier of the State Council, (who is also) the Foreign Minister…
A full title is often indicated at the beginning of a newspaper article. As is demonstrated above, it begins with the higher ‘unit’, which is 国务院 the State Council and is followed by the title in that unit, which is 副总理 Vice-Premier. It is then followed by the ‘sub’ unit, which is 外交部 the Foreign Office, and then by the title from that unit, here 部长 the minister. Finally you find the name of the person, which is 王铁生. We can see many similar examples of this “telephoto lens” effect. For instance, you write a Chinese address on an envelope in the following order: country, county, city, street, number and receiver’s name.
Can you think of any other similar examples?
Sometimes a person’s full title can be as long as a few lines. In order to find a person’s name you must look for the words after titles such as长 head, 主任 director, 总理 premier, 总统 president, or员 member.