Referential adverbs

There are a number of monosyllabic adverbs which are placed directly before the main verb and have an important linking function in the meaning of the sentence. Since they refer forwards and/or backwards, we will call them referential adverbs. These referential adverbs also function as conjunctives linking clauses or predicates/comments in com-posite sentences (see Chapter 24), but here we deal with their place in simple sentences. Some are best discussed in pairs:

(1)
Jiù [then] and
cái [only then]:
jiù emphasises a direct consequence, while
cái indicates that something ensued only at a particular time or under particular circumstances:

 ! Wnmen hLn (lit. we very early then arrive p)

 5 zKo jiù dào le. We arrived very early.

 ! Tamen hLn (lit. they very late only-then come)

5 wKn cái lái. They didn]t come till very late.

 ! Tamen qùnián (lit. they last-year then begin learn

 ! jiù kaishm xué Chinese p) They began to study

 5 Hànyo le. Chinese (as early as) last year.

 ! Tamen qùnián (lit. they last-year only-then begin

 ! cái kaishm xué learn Chinese p) They did not begin

5 Hànyo. to study Chinese until last year.

111 Note 1: Sentences with
jiù, as above, regularly end with
le, since they almost certainly express a change in circumstances (see Chapter 16 for discussion of sentence
le). However,
le is not generally used with
cái – see 16.3 (9).

Note 2:
Biàn [then] may be used interchangeably with
jiù in this sense, particularly in the written language.

Jiù can also emphasise immediacy:

 Wn jiù (lit. I immediately come (p)) I]m (
)5 lái (le). coming. (or I]ll be right with you)

 Wn qùqù jiù (lit. I go-go immediately back-come

(
)5 huí lái (le). (p)) I]ll be right back.

Note:
Le here is optional: without it, the sentence sounds somewhat abrupt; with it, the tone is more reassuring.

(2)
Ddu [all]/[both] always refers back to a preceding phrase, e.g.

the subject, a posed topic (i.e. object transposed to a pre-verbal position – see 18.4), a frequency expression (e.g. with
mli [every]). It never relates to what follows it or follows the verb:

 ! DàjiA dDu qù (lit. everybody all go eat lunch p)

 !5 chc wofàn le. Everybody has gone for lunch.

 ! Tamen liKng (lit. they two mw people both

 gè rén dDu back-come p) Both of them

5 huí lái le. have come back.

 ! Zhèr mLi nián (lit. here every-year winter all

 dDngtiAn dDu come-down-snow) It snows

5 xià xul. here every winter.

 !4 Wnmen BLijCng, (lit. we Beijing, Xi]an, Shanghai

4
 XC}An, ShànghKi all go asp) We]ve been to

 5 dDu qùguo. Beijing, Xi]an and Shanghai.

 Nèi liKng gè (lit. those two mw ylm I both not

 ! diànyMng wn dDu like) I don]t like either of those

 5 bù xmhuan. two ylms.

(3)
Zhm [only], in contrast with
ddu, generally refers to what follows in the sentence:

 Wn zhM qù (lit. I only go Hong Kong)

5 XiAnggKng. I]m only going to Hong Kong.

 ! Wnmen zhM (lit. we only talk asp one time)

 5 tánguo yC cì. We talked [about it] only once.

Verbs and adverbials

112 II Verbs

(4)
Yl [also] and
hái [additionally] have similar meanings.

Yl generally refers back to the subject, though it may also point forward to the following verb and/or object:

 TA yL (lit. she also start-burn p)

 5 fashao le. She has a fever too.

 WN yL (lit. I also not-have money)

(
)
5 méi (ynu) qián. I haven]t got any money either.

Hái, on the other hand, always refers to the following verb or object of that verb, implying an additional action or situation:

 Xikotdu (lit. thief in-addition steal asp

 hái tdule television-set) The thief also stole

 5 diànshìjC. the television. (i.e. in addition to other things)

 ! Dàxué (lit. university additionally have

 5 hái yNu Chinese-department) The university ZhDngwénxì. has a Chinese Department as well.

Note 1:
Hái also has the meaning [still]:

 Ta hái zài (lit. she still at here)

5 zhèr. She is still here.

 Tamen hái (lit. they still not return home)

 5 méi huí jia. They haven]t gone home yet.

Note 2: In sentences with
shéi/shuí [everybody]/
 shénme [every-thing] as the subject,
yl can be used interchangeably with
ddu, and is generally preferred when the sentence is negative:

 Zhèi jiàn shì (lit. this mw matter everybody all/also

/
shéi dDu/yL know) Everybody knows this.

5 zhcdao.

 ! Zhèi jiàn shì shéi (lit. this mw matter everybody also

 !5 yL bù zhcdao. not know) Nobody knows this.

Note 3: In another construction,
lián [even] is used with
ddu or
yl in the pattern: subject +
lián + noun or verb phrase +
=ddu or
yl + verb (or with [
lián + noun or verb phrase] preceding the subject):

 ! Ta lián shnuxiàng (lit. he even prime-minister all/also know)

/
 5 dDu/yL rènshi. He even knows the prime minister.

 Ta lián dòng yL (lit. he even move also not move)

 5 bù dòng. He did not so much as move.

 ! Lián yc fbn qián (lit. even one cent money she also not

 !5 ta yL méi ynu. have) She doesn]t (even) have a cent.

113 (5)
Zài and
yòu both mean [again], but there is a subtle

distinc-tion between them.
Yòu expresses actual repetition, while

zài indicates projected repetition. This means that often
yòu is used in a past or continuous present context, whereas
zài is used in a future context:

 Wn míngtian (lit. I tomorrow again come)

5 zài lái. I]ll come again tomorrow.

 ! Tamen zuótian (lit. they yesterday again come p)

 5 yòu lái le. They came again yesterday.

 ! Nèi gè háizi (lit. that mw child again asp watch

 yòu zài kàn television p) That child is watching

 5 diànshì le. television again.

As an indicator of projected repetition,
zài may also imply the postponement of an action:

 ! Wnmen (lit. we tomorrow again talk)

5 míngtian We]ll discuss [it] tomorrow.

zài tán. (i.e. not today)

 ! Zhèi gè wèntí (lit. this mw question again consider

 ymhòu zài p) We]ll consider this question in

 5 kkolv ba. future. (i.e. not now)

It is possible for
=zài to be used in the past when repetition is anticipated rather than realised. That is why
=zài occurs nat-urally in negative sentences where the anticipated repetition does not take place:

 ! Hòulái wnmen (lit. afterwards we not again go

 ! bù zài qù zhko look-up them p) Afterwards we

 5 tamen le. did not go and look them up again.

 3 Ta znu le, (lit. he go p, not-have again

back-
(
)
méi(ynu) come) He left and did not come

5 zài huí lái. back again.

Similarly,
= yòu may occur in future contexts where repeti-tion can be seen as part of a predetermined plan or course of action:

 ! Xià gè yuè (lit. next mw month we again

 ! wnmen yòu have-to start-holiday p) Our holiday

5 yào fàngjià le. comes round again next month.

Verbs and adverbials

114 II Verbs

 Wn hòutian (lit. I day-after-tomorrow again must

 ! yòu dli qù go see tutor p) I]ll have to go and

 5 jiàn dkoshc le. see my tutor again the day after tomorrow.

(6)
Dào and
què both mean [but], [however], [on the other hand], or [on the contrary]. They are almost interchangeable, though
què occurs more often in negative sentences:

 Xiko Lm dào (lit. little Li however catch-cold p)

 5 gknmào le. However, Little Li caught a cold.

 Xiko Lm què (lit. Little Li however not like eat

 bù xmhuan vegetables) Little Li, however, doesn]t

 5 chc shecài. like (to eat) vegetables.

In document 20125311147206509 (Page 125-129)