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文法b
句子︱文法a︱文法c︱文
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Ａ人可以Ｂ，Ｃ
高少姐可以學中文寫中文字。
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Person A can do B, and (person A) does C.
Miss A can study Chinese and (she) writes Chinese characters.
Note 1: Being able to study (可以學中文）and being able to write
（會寫中文）appear to convey two different meanings of ability. The
first appears to have more to do with circumstances than talent.
Note 2: The sequence of the verbs 可以學中文，寫中文字 suggests that
the second is a consequence of the first.
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Ａ可以買很多Ｂ。
錢先生可以買很多表。
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A can purchase many B.
Eg. - Mr. Chin can buy man watches.
Note: Mr. Chin is likely able to buy the watches because he
has money that permits him to so. Thus, circumstance, not talent
or acquired ability, enables the purchase.
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Ｂ我不會，你可不可以教我﹖
這個字我不會，你可不可以教我﹖
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I cannot do B, could you teach me? (B is the object of 會 but
is placed in front of the subject 我 apparently for emphasis.
Eg. - I cannot (write) this character, can you teach it to
me?
Note 1: 可以 is a separable verb that is split when employed
as a question: 可不可以
Note 2: The negation of 可以 is simply 不可以.
Note 3: In the clause 這個字我不會 the direct object is placed before
both the subject and the verb. This is likely done in order to
avoid repetition of the object in the second clause. It is similar
to the Japanese construction A wa, B.
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Ａ人不可以Ｂ。
高先生不可以教我寫字。
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Person A cannot B. (B is an activity that A cannot perform.
B is a verb in this case.)
Mr. Goh cannot teach me how to write.
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Ａ很會Ｂ。
高先生很會寫中文字。
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A can do B well (B is an activity -- in this case a verb.)
Mr. Goh can write Chinese characters very well. (He has a
special talent which enables him to perform the task.)
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Ｃ，Ａ人不會，Ｂ人教不教Ａ﹖
這個字我不會，你教不教我﹖
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Person A cannot do C. Will B teach A how to do C?
Eg. - I cannot write this character, will you teach it to
me?
Note 1: 教不教 asks the question whether teaching will occur.
可不可教 asks the question whether teaching can occur based on the
possibility of some constraint that might prohibit it from occurring.
Note 2: C is the object of what A cannot do, and is also the
understood object of the second clause. Understood objects seem
to appear often in Chinese.
Note 3: The verb 寫 appears to be understood in the first clause.
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你可不可以教我做飯﹖
你教我做飯，好不好﹖
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Could you teach me how to cook?
Will you teach me how to cook? / How about teaching me to
cook, OK?
Note: Though both sentences express the same intended wish,
the first appears to be more formal emphasizing not so much the
requested person's ability 會 or the idea 好不好, rather the opportunity
or the circumstances necessary for it to occur -- namely, 可以.
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| Ａ人做的飯很好吃。 |
Meals cooked by person A taste very good. / Person A really
knows how to cook.
Note 1: 好吃 means that something is good to eat. The use of
好 in this expression is very similar to the use of 好 in the expression
好看. The activities expressed by the verbs 吃 and 看 assume adjectival
functions when combined with 好.
Note 2: This sentence is of the form Ａ的Ｂ很好吃。where Ａ的 is a
relative clause describing Ｂand 很好吃 is the predicate adjective
of same.
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| Ａ不Ｂ |
A is not B, where B is a non-attribute
of A, but not A itself. |
| 錢少姐的英文不很好。 |
Eg. - Miss Chin's English is not
very good. |
| 我的中文不很好。 |
Eg. - My Chinese is not very good.
Note: The base structure appears to be the negative of the
sentence structure ＡＢ for which Ｂis the predicate adjective of
Ａ.
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Ａ人有很多Ｂ是Ｃ的。
高先生有很多學生是美國的。
not
高先生有很多學生美國的。
not
高先生有很多學生美國人。
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Person A has many B that are C. (C is not just an attribute
of B.)
Eg. - Mr. Goh has many USAmerican students. / Mr. Goh has
many students, who are USAmericans (USAmerican students).
Note 1: Only the first of the three examples is correct. The
是 must be present because 美國的（學生）and 美國人 are both predicate nominatives
describing 很多學生.
Note 2: The sentence appears to be the abbreviated compound
of the two simpler sentences: Ａ人有很多Ｂ。and Ｂ是Ｃ的。Unfortunately,
it is not clear whether the sentence part 是Ｃ的 should be construed
as a post-nominative relative clause describing Ｂor as a subsequent
verb phrase for which Ｂis the understood subject -- namely, Ａ人有很多Ｂ，是Ｃ的。Whichever
is the case 很多Ｂ is the direct object of the verb 有 and 是Ｃ的 does
not refer back to Ａ.
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| 這個月生日的朋友。 |
friends who have a birthday this month
Note: This phrase appears to be the compound form of 這個月的生日+生日的朋友
for which the redundant 生日 is dropped.
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不要的Ａ
不要的表
不要的書
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A that is not needed / wanted
Eg. - unwanted watches (watches that are not needed)
Eg. - unwanted books (books that are not needed)
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Ａ不要Ｂ。
高先生不要這些書。
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A does not need / want B.
Eg. Mr. Goh does not (need / want) these books.
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| 有人要買。 |
There are people who (need /want)
to buy something. (The something is understood.) |
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Note: 要 can stand alone as a verb
with a noun or as a verb in combination with another verb. |
| 今日的事要今日做。 |
Do not put off until tomorrow, what you should do today.
Note: The temporal adverb 今日 is placed between the verbs 要
and 做.
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Ａ人要不要Ｂ﹖
今日高先生要不要吃一些飯﹖
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Doesn't person A require B?
Shouldn't Mr. Goh eat something today? Doesn't Mr. Goh (need/want)
something to eat today?
Note: The question is formulated around the verb element 要
-- not 吃. The base structures appear to be:
要吃 = want/need to eat
不要吃 = not want/need to eat
要不要吃 = a question asking whether eating is desirable or needed.
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要是Ａ，Ｂ。
要是你很多學，你會寫中文字。
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If A, then B.
Eg. - If you study hard, you can write Chinese characters.
Note 1: 要 used in conjunction with 是 becomes 要是 and means
"if". The resulting compound functions very differently
in the sentence then either of the two verbs from which it was
formed.
Note 2: Once again, 會 used in combination with another verb
(in this case 寫) takes on the meaning of the English modal "can".
Note 3: 很多 placed before the verb serves as an adverb meaning
very much. It is also possible to write only 多.
Note 4: In the above example there are two distinctly different
subjects to each sentence part Ａ and Ｂ.
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| Ａ人沒有Ｂ。 |
Person A did not to B. (B is a
verb that expresses the action that A did not do.) |
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高少姐沒有學書。
昨日高先生沒有吃飯。
他沒有夾呢。
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Eg. - Miss Goh did not study.
Eg. - Mr. Goh did not eat yesterday.
Note: Though 沒有 used alone means "not have", when
used in conjuction with another verb it appears to indicate the
negative past.
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| 他沒有夾呢。 |
Eg. - He has not come yet.
Note: The base construction is Ａ沒有Ｂ呢。Ｂis something that Ａhas
yet to do. 呢 (ne-1) indicates the continuation of the non-occurence.
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Ａ，是不是Ｂ﹖
好的美國人，是不是學中文的﹖
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Is A not B?
Eg. - Are not good USAmericans those who study Chinese? /
Don't good USAmericans study Chinese?
Note: The purpose of the comma is not understood. The base
structure resembles the Japanese "A wa, B." construction
very closely.
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Ｂ的Ａ，是不是都是Ｃ的Ａ﹖
會看中文書的人，是不是都是寫中文字的人。
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Aren't A that are B also C. (B and C are attributes that are
common to A.)
Eg. - Are not people who can read Chinese, also people who
write Chinese?
Note 1: In the example sentence the phrases 會看中文書的 and 寫中文字的
serve as relative clauses Ｂand Ｃ respectively.
Note 2: The question indicator 是不是 functions independently
of the verb phrase 都是. Remove the phrase 是不是 and the question
becomes the statement 會看中文書的人，都是寫中文字的人。meaning "Someone
who can read Chinese is also someone who can write Chinese."
Note 3: The phrase 寫中文字的 is a relative clause describing 人.
The juxtaposition of the verb phrase 都是 and the verb 寫 is somewhat
confusing at first.
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會Ａ的人是不是都會Ｂ﹖
會寫日文的人是不是都會寫中文﹖
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Are people who can do A not also able to do B? (A and B are
things that people have the ability to do, not something for
which they have received permission to do.
Eg. - Cannot people who write Japanese also write Chinese?
Note: The base structure is Ａ是不是都會Ｂ﹖meaning "Can't all
A do B?".
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| 會寫中文字的學生 |
students who know how to write
Chinese |
| 會看中文書的人 |
people who can read |
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Note: Both of the above phrases
are of the form Ａ的Ｂ where Ａ的 is a relative clause describing
Ｂ. The absence of the relative pronouns in Chinese is conspicuous. |
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Ａ人寫的中文字很好看。
高先生寫的中文字很好看。
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Person A's written Chinese looks very good.
Eg. - Mr. Goh's Chinese is very easy to read. / Mr. Goh's
Chinese reads well.
Note 1: The base structure is ＡＢ where Ｂ functions as the
predicate adjective of Ａ. In this case （高先生寫的中文字）＋（很好看）.
Note 2: The subject of the sentence is 中文字 not 高先生. If the
sentence were written as 高先生寫中文字很好看。, it may not be clear what
is good looking or interesting: the characters that Mr. Goh writes
or Mr. Goh. Even if a comma were entered, still it would be confusing.
先生寫中文字，很好看。
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那些書是你的﹖
not
那些本書是你的﹖ |
Do those books belong to you? Are those your books?
Note: The role of 那 in this sentence is not clear. Does it
function as a question word in conjuntion with 些 or as a plural
demonstrative pronoun? Could the sentence not serve as a simple
statement, if there were no question mark?
Note: Once again, no counter is required with the 那些 construction.
This could make sense as the number or amount that is counted
or measured is unclear. We only know that the number or amount
is small.
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| 那些書是你不要的﹖ |
Are those books you do not need? / Do you need those books?
Note: The same ambiguity occurs here as in the sentence above.
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上︱文法c
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