Mandarin Chinese

Interrogatives-1
PREPARED BY: PROF. JOSEPH B. DIMAANO, CTP
The uses of question words with 都
dou and 也 ye
These constructions are used for general categorisation. They can
describe how a particular action applies to a general object, as in 我
什么东西都吃 wŏ shénme dōngxi dōu chī I eat anything; 我哪儿都
去 wŏ năr dōu qù I go anywhere. They can also describe people in
general doing a particular type of thing, as in 谁 都喜欢 吃中国 菜
shuí dōu xĭhuān chī Zhōngguó cài everyone likes eating Chinese food.
The uses of question words with 都
dou and 也 ye
The question word 什么 shénme what is placed before a noun to imply any or every, and can
refer to the subject or object of a sentence. If 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 a sentence. The adverb 都 dōu is placed before the verb, as illustrated below
S. 什 么 O. 都 V.
我 什 么 东 西 都 吃。
wŏ shénme dōngxi dōu chī .
I eat anything. Or
什 么 O. S. 都 V.
什 么 东 西 我 都 吃。
shénme dōngxi wŏ dōu chī
The uses of question words with 都
dou and 也 ye
The question words 哪儿 nǎr where and 谁 shuí who can be used in the same way as 什么
shénme what.

S. 那儿 (O.) 都 V.
我 哪儿 都 去。
wŏ nǎr dōu qù

I go anywhere.
 The uses of question words with 都
dou and 也 ye
If the any or every word is the subject of a sentence, the resulting sentence patterns will be as follows.
谁 (S) 都 V. O.
谁 都 喜欢 吃 中国菜
shuí dōu xĭhuān chī Zhōngguó cài
Everyone likes eating Chinese food. Or:

什 么 S. 都 V. O.
什么 人 都 喜欢 吃 中国菜
shénme rén dōu xihuan chī Zhōngguó cài
Everyone likes eating Chinese food
The uses of question words with 都
dou and 也 ye
The adverb 也 yě often precedes the negation 不 bù or 没 méi as demonstrated below.

S. 哪 儿 (O.) 也 不 / 没 V.
我 哪儿 也 不 去。
wŏ năr yĕ bú qù
I don’t go anywhere (nowadays).

S. 什 么 O. 也 不 / 没 V.
我 什 么 地方 也 没 去。
wŏ shénme dìfang yĕ méi qù
I didn’t go anywhere
The 连 lian… 也 ye construction
This is one of the constructions used to emphasize a noun, a noun clause or a v-o pattern. The emphasized
element can be the subject or the object of a sentence and is placed after 连 lián The adverb 都 dōu or 也
yě is placed before the main verb of the sentence. The difference between 都 dōu and 也 yě is that 都
dōu can be used in both the affirmative and negative, while 也 yě is normally used before negatives or
before verbs which have a negative sense.
The 连 lián clause refers to the object of the sentence in the following examples. S.
连 O. 都 / 也 V.
他 连觉 也忘了睡
tā lián jiào yě wàng le shuì
He has even forgotten to go to sleep.
连 V-O. 都 / 也 V.
他 连睡觉 也忘了
tā lián shuìjiào yě wàng le
The 连 lian… 也 ye construction
S. 连 O. 都 / 也 V.
我 连 他的 名 字 也忘了
wǒ lián tā de míngzi yě wàng le
I’ve even forgotten his name.
The 连 lián clause refers to the subject of the sentence in the following example.
连 S. 都 / 也 V. O.
连 好学生 也 不去 上 课 .
lián hăo xuéshēng yě búqù shàngkè
Even the good students don't go to class.
The 连 lian… 也 ye construction
Although the sentences above are in the affirmative form, the adverb 也 yě is used to imply that forgetting
to sleep, forgetting someone‟s name, and not going to class, are all undesirable actions. Of course, the
adverb 都 dōu can also be used in the above sentences. When placed after the particle 得 de, the 连
lián construction can be used to describe the outcome of an action, in a complement of degree
construction, as follows.

S SV 得 Outcome of the SV ( 连… 也… )
我们 忙得 连饭也忘了吃
wǒmen máng de lián fàn yě wangle chī
We are so busy that we’ve even forgotten to eat.
The phrase 连饭也忘了吃 lián fàn yě wangle chī even forget to eat, here placed after the particle 得 de,
describes the results of the state described before 得 de.
 孩子多大了？
How Old Are Your Children?
㆙：李先生結婚了沒㈲？
Lǐ xiān shēng jié hūn le méi yǒu
Is Mr. Li married?
㆚：早結婚了，孩子都長得比他高了。
zǎo jié hūn le hái zi dōu zhǎng de bǐ tā gāo le
He married a long time ago. His children are taller than he is.
㆙：他的孩子多大了？
tā de hái zi duó dà le
How old are his children?
 孩子多大了？
How Old Are Your Children?
㆚：兒子㈩㆔歲了，㊛兒比較小，才㈤歲。
ér zi shí sān sùi le nyǔ ér bǐ jiào xiǎo cái wǔ sùi
His son is 13 years old, and his daughter is only five.
㆙：他的㊛兒長得怎麼樣？
tā de nyǔ ér zhǎng de zěn me yàng
What is his daughter like?
㆚：長得很像他太太，眼睛大大的，頭髮長長的。
zhǎng de hěn xiàng tā tài tai yǎn jīng dà dà de tóu fǎ cháng cháng de
She looks like his wife, with big eyes and long hair.
 孩子多大了？
How Old Are Your Children?
㆙：㆒定很漂亮。
yí dìng hěn piào liàng
She must be very pretty.
㆚：非常漂亮，就是笑起來少了㆒顆大門牙。
fēi cháng piào liàng jiù shì xiào qǐ lái shǎo le yì kē dà mén yá
Yes, very pretty. But when she laughs, one tooth is missing.
㆙：那才更可愛呢。
nà cái gèng kě ài ne
That makes her even cuter.
 WORDS AND PHRASES
結（ㄐㄧㄝˊ； jié ） tie, knot, bear fruit

結果
jié guǒ
bear fruit
結實
jié shí
bear fruit
㆗國結
zhōng guó jié
Chinese knot
結婚（ㄐㄧㄝˊ ㄏㄨㄣ； jié
hūn ） marry
他結婚了沒㈲？
tā jié hūn le méi yǒu
Is he married?
他跟誰結婚了。
tā gēn shéi jié hūn le
Who is he married to?
他結婚多久了？
tā jié hūn duō jiǔ le
How long has he been married?
長（ㄔㄤˊ ㄓㄤˇ； cháng
zhǎng ） long, grown up
這條路很長。
zhè tiáo lù hěn cháng
This road is long.
這個句子很長。
zhè ge jù zi hěn cháng
This sentence is long.
這件衣服比那件長。
zhè jiàn yī fú bǐ nà jiàn cháng
This dress is longer than that one.
長（ㄔㄤˊ ㄓㄤˇ； cháng
zhǎng ） long, grown up
他的孩子都長大了。
tā de hái zi dōu zhǎng dà le
His children are all grown up.
兒子長得很像爸爸。
ér zi zhǎng de hěn xiàng bà ba
The son looks like the father.
㊛兒長得很好看。
nyǔ ér zhǎng de hěn hǎo kàn
The daughter is beautiful.
高（ㄍㄠ； gāo ） tall, high
這棵樹很高。
zhè kē shù hěn gāo
This tree is tall.
哥哥高，妹妹矮。
gē ge gāo mèi mei ǎi
The brother is tall, and the sister is short.
兒子長得比爸爸高了。
ér zi zhǎng de bǐ bà ba gāo le
The son is taller than the father.
比較（ㄅㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄠˋ； bǐ
jiào ） compare
這兩件事很難比較。
zhè liǎng jiàn shìh hěn nán bǐ jiào
It s hard to compare the two.
哥哥比較聰明。
gē ge bǐ jiào cōng míng
The older brother is smarter.
妹妹比較漂亮。
mèi mei bǐ jiào piào liàng
The younger sister is prettier.
比較（ㄅㄧˇ ㄐㄧㄠˋ； bǐ
jiào ） compare
我比較喜歡看電影。
wǒ bǐ jiào xǐ huān kàn diàn yǐng
I prefer to see movies.
他比較喜歡游泳。
tā bǐ jiào xǐ huān yóu yǒng
He prefers to go swimming.
樣（ㄧㄤˋ； yàng ） appearance, look,
style, kind
這件衣服的樣子很好看。
zhè jiàn yī fú de yàng zi hěn hǎo kàn
The dress looks attractive.
她的樣子像媽媽。
tā de yàng zi xiàng mā ma
She looks like her mother.
你的鞋子跟我的㆒樣。
nǐ de xié zi gēn wǒ de yí yàng
Your shoes are like mine.
樣（ㄧㄤˋ； yàng ） appearance, look,
style, kind
你的㆗文㈻得怎麼樣了？
nǐ de zhōng wén xué de zěn me yàng le
How is your Chinese?
你現在怎麼樣？忙不忙？
nǐ xiàn zài zěn me yàng máng bù máng
How are you? Are you busy?
眼睛（ㄧㄢˇ ㄐㄧㄥ； yǎn jīng ） eye
他的眼睛很大。
tā de yǎn jīng hěn dà
His eyes are big.
他的眼睛長得像媽媽。
tā de yǎn jīng zhǎng de xiàng mā ma
His eyes look like his mother's.
他的眼睛很好，他不用眼鏡。
tā de yǎn jīng hěn hǎo tā bú yòng yǎn jìng
His eyes are very good. He doesn't need glasses.
頭髮（ㄊㄡˊ ㄈㄚˇ； tóu fǎ ） hair
他的頭髮長。
tā de tóu fǎ cháng
His hair is long.
我的頭髮短。
wǒ de tóu fǎ duǎn
My hair is short.
李先生的頭髮白了。
Lǐ xiān shēng de tóu fǎ bái le
Mr. Li's hair has turned white.
亮（ㄌㄧㄤˋ； liàng ） bright
他的眼睛很亮。
tā de yǎn jīng hěn liàng
His eyes are bright.
這間屋子很亮。
zhè jiān wū zi hěn liàng
The room is bright
這個燈很亮。
zhè ge dēng hěn liàng
The light is bright.
漂亮（ㄆㄧㄠˋ ㄌㄧㄤˋ； piào liàng ）
pretty
長頭髮很漂亮。
cháng tóu fǎ hěn piào liàng
Long hair is pretty.
這件衣服又漂亮又便宜。
zhè jiàn yī fú yòu piào liàng yòu pián yí
This dress is pretty, but cheap .
笑（ㄒㄧㄠˋ； xiào ） laugh, smile
㈲的小孩子愛笑，㈲的小孩子愛哭。
yǒu de xiǎo hái zi ài xiào yǒu de xiǎo hái zi ài kū
Some children like to laugh. Some like to cry.
他笑起來很可愛。
tā xiào qǐ lái hěn kě ài
When he smiles, he looks charming.
你笑什麼？
nǐ xiào shé me
What are you laughing at?
門（ㄇㄣˊ； mén ） door, gate
我家的門是紅的。
wǒ jiā de mén shì hóng de
The door of my house is red.
㈻校門口㈲兩棵大樹。
xué xiào mén kǒu yǒu liǎng kē dà shù
There are two big trees at the school gate.
牙（ㄧㄚˊ； yá ） tooth
每個㆟應該㈲㆔㈩㆓顆牙。
měi ge rén yīng gāi yǒu sān shí èr kā yá
Everyone should have thirty-two teeth.
常常刷牙， 牙齒才會好。
cháng cháng shuā yá yá chǐ cái hùi hǎo
If you brush your teeth often, your teeth will be healthy.
孩子㈤、㈥歲的時候就開始換牙了。
hái zi wǔ lìu sùi de shí hòu jiù kāi shǐ huàn yá le
When children are five or six years old, they start to grow their permanent teeth.
愛（ㄞˋ； ài ） love, like
愛笑的孩子可愛。
ài xiào de hái zi kě ài
Children who love to smile are cute.
愛哭的孩子不可愛。
ài kū de hái zi bù kě ài
Children who love to cry are not cute.
愛（ㄞˋ； ài ） love, like
小孩子愛吃糖。
xiǎo hái zi ài chī táng
Children like to eat sugar.
你愛吃什麼？
nǐ ài chī shé me
What do you love to eat?
我愛吃㆗國菜。
wǒ ài chī zhōng guó cài
I love Chinese food.
我愛我的國家，愛我的家㆟，也愛我的朋友。
wǒ ài wǒ de guó jiā ài wǒ de jiā rén yě ài wǒ de péng yǒu
I love my country, my family and my friends.
EXTENDED PRACTICE
㆙：小王㈲㊛朋友了！
siǎo Wáng yǒu nyǔ péng yǒu le̊
Little Wang has a girl friend.
㆚：長得怎麼樣？
zhǎng de zěn me yàng
What is she like?
㆙：長得很漂亮，眼睛大大的，頭髮長長的。
zhǎng de hěn piào liàng yǎn jīng dà dà de tóu fǎ cháng cháng de
She's quite pretty. She has big eyes and long hair.
EXTENDED PRACTICE
㆚：高不高？
gāo bù gāo
Is she tall?
㆙：不太高，不過也不算矮。
bú tài gāo bú guò yě bú suàn ǎi
Not very tall, but she's not short either.
㆚：㆒定很可愛。
yí dìng hěn kě ài
She must be very lovely.
EXTENDED PRACTICE
㆙：是啊，小王很愛她。
shì a xiǎo Wáng hěn ài tā
Yes, little Wang loves her very much.
㆚：他們快要結婚了嗎？
tā men kuài yào jié hūn le ma
Are they getting married soon?
㆙：還沒㈲，她還不到㆓㈩歲，不想這麼早結婚。
hái méi yǒu tā hái bú dào èr shí sùi bù xiǎng zhè me zǎo jié hūn
Not yet, she's not twenty yet. They don't want to get married so soon.