\tThe \u662f… \u7684 construction is used to draw particular attention to certain information in a sentence. It's often used to ask questions that seek specific information, or to explain a situation by emphasising a particular detail.<\/p>\n
\tWhile not strictly tied to any "tense," the \u662f… \u7684 construction is frequently used when asking details about the past or telling details about the past.<\/p>\n
\tBasic \u662f… \u7684 structure <\/strong> \tThis structure can be used to emphasise any detail, but most commonly it emphasizes time, manner, or place. Don't worry if this still seems a little confusing; lots of straightforward examples are coming up!<\/p>\n \tSimple Question Examples <\/strong> \tYou might be wondering, "can I still say the same thing without the \u662f and the \u7684?" The answer is that in most cases, no, not really. While the \u662f can sometimes be dropped, these examples sound weird without the \u7684. It's just a part of learning to ask questions naturally in Mandarin. You don't have to learn a "past tense," but you do have to learn this way of asking for details about the past, sooner or later.<\/p>\n \tWhen to use \u662f… \u7684 <\/strong> \tYou could think of \u662f… \u7684 as being equivalent to saying one of the following in English:<\/p>\n \t"The situation is that" \tIf the sentence could be formed with one of those phrases in English, it can probably use a \u662f… \u7684 construction in Chinese. Usually the topic of a \u662f… \u7684 sentence has already been established. \tIt's important to note that a \u662f… \u7684 construction also indicates that an action has been completed. However, this is not the purpose of a \u662f… \u7684 construction. The association with a completed action is more like a side effect of \u662f… \u7684. This means you shouldn't use \u662f… \u7684 just to indicate that an action is completed. Use the aspect particle \u4e86 for that. Instead, use \u662f… \u7684 to draw attention to particular features of the action.<\/p>\n \tNegating \u662f… \u7684<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\u662f… \u7684 sentences can only be negated with \u4e0d, as \u6ca1 can not be used to negate \u662f. Place \u4e0d before \u662f as you would in a standard sentence.<\/p>\n \tSome examples: <\/strong> \t<\/p>\n \tNote that negating a \u662f… \u7684 construction creates the implication that the action in the sentence was carried out, and only the detail emphasized by \u662f… \u7684 is being denied. So, in the last sentence, the implication is that \u4f60 didn't go out with \u5979, but did go out with someone. So negative \u662f… \u7684 constructions would work nicely in the final scenes of detective dramas.<\/p>\n \t\u662f… \u7684 and questions<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\u662f… \u7684 constructions can be made into questions in the usual three ways to form questions in Chinese:<\/p>\n \tWith a question particle \t\u662f is often optional<\/strong><\/p>\n \tAlthough this structure is called the \u662f… \u7684 construction, the \u662f is nearly always optional. You will often hear this structure with \u662f omitted, so be aware. The only time \u662f is required in this construction is when it's being negated. Other than that, \u662f is commonly omitted.<\/p>\n \tSome examples: <\/strong> \t<\/p>\n \tWhere to put \u7684 in a \u662f… \u7684 construction <\/strong> \tFor example: <\/strong> \t<\/p>\n \tNote that if the object is a person, \u7684 has to go at the end of the sentence. Otherwise it can go before the object or at the end of the sentence.<\/p>\n \tSometimes this arrangement is useful for avoiding ambiguity in the sentence.<\/p>\n
\tA \u662f… \u7684 sentence is formed with this structure: \t<\/p>\n
\tThese are some of the most common questions asked using the \u662f… \u7684 construction and some possible answers: \t<\/p>\n
\t\u4f60 \u662f \u600e\u4e48 \u6765 \u7684 \uff1f<\/div>\n
\tAs described above, the \u662f… \u7684 construction is used to draw attention to particular information in a sentence. Whereas a sentence without a \u662f… \u7684 construction might describe a situation, a sentence with a \u662f… \u7684 construction explains it. \u662f… \u7684 is not generally used for reporting new information, but for adding important details that make the information clearer.<\/p>\n
\t"It's that …"
\t"It was … that …"<\/p>\n
\tCompleted action<\/p>\n
\t\u8fd9\u4e2a\u7535\u8bdd\u4e0d \u662f \u6253\u7ed9\u4ed6\u7684\u3002<\/div>\n
\tWith a question word
\tWithin affirmative-negative questions<\/p>\n
\t\u4ed6 \u662f \u5750 \u98de\u673a \u53bb \u610f\u5927\u5229 \u7684 \u5417\uff1f<\/div>\n
\t\u4ed6 \uff08\u662f\uff09 \u6628\u5929 \u6765 \u7684\u3002<\/div>\n
\tUp till now we've said that \u7684 appears at the end of the sentence in a \u662f… \u7684 construction. This is very often the case. However, if there's an object, \u7684 can appear before the object.<\/p>\n
\t\u6211 \u662f \u5728 \u82f1\u56fd \u5b66 \u7684 \u82f1\u8bed\u3002<\/div>\n