Tag: Chinese Grammar

Adding 什么(shénme) to the end of an adjective (or less frequently a verb) can be used to form a rhetorical question. In the phrase 你急什么？"what are you worried about?", the speaker is implying that there is no need to be worried.

The type "在…上" (zài…shàng) can express the position exactly where an action takes spot or perhaps a condition exists. The type在…上can also be employed to indicate scope or aspect when an abstract noun or verb is utilized in between. For instance,
他在楼上。tā zài lóushàng. [He is upstairs.]
他在班上的表现还是不错的。tā zài bān shàng de biǎoxiàn háishì bú cuò de. [He performed well in the class.]

得不得了 (de bùdéliǎo) can be used as a complement to suggest a situation is serious, or is likely to result in perhaps terrible consequences. It can be used in a positive sense, like in English when we say "I'm terribly happy".

就是 (jiùshì) can be used to add many different types of emphasis.
It can be used in the following ways:

干脆 is an adverb meaning "you might as well" or "just", and is normally used by the speaker to propose a straightforward course of action within a difficult situation.

一向 (yī xiàng) is generally used to express a habit, attitude, or ‘set way of things' has continued for a long period of time until the present.

In its simplest terms, 都 (dōu) means "all", but there are also many other advanced uses for it.

总 (zǒng) can often be simply translated as "always," but it has other advanced uses as well. It can express "no matter how long or under what circumstances, facts are facts." It can also express "no matter what." It is often paired with other words to form set phrases such as 总会, 总归, 总得, 总要, 总能, etc. It can also be structured together with other unconditional compound phrases like 无论 and 不管. You cannot place it directly after the verb.

进一步, is an adverb meaning 'further' or to 'go a step forward'. Usually it is used in formal written Chinese, though it can be spoken as well.