Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Time

The modal particle 了

了 is a modal particle indicating that the situation is new (change of situation).

It is placed at the end of the sentence and is also called "the final" (this particle can also be put behind the verb, but with another nuance on the time of the action).

To see more clearly, look at the two examples below:

• 他 学汉语. Tā xué hànyǔ. He studies Chinese.

(There is no particular indication of time, whether it has been a long time since it started or not, it is a very simple sentence).

• 他 学汉语 了. Tā xué hànyǔ le. He put himself in Chinese.

(The 了 indicates that it is new, that he did not study Chinese before and that he put himself in it).

In the example above, we can easily make sense in English, but this is not always the case:

• 你 多大? How old are you?
• 你 多大 了? How old are you? (in the sense of "Now, how old are you?")
• 现在 几点? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn? What time is it right now ?
• 现在 几点 了? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn the? What time is it right now ? (reinforces the idea of ​​"now", but in the sense of change).

The use of modal n'est is not always obvious for a beginner. On the other hand, it comes naturally enough with practice. It is therefore important to learn standard phrases by heart.

Here are some more examples:

• Il 去 中国: He's going to China. (maybe he's getting ready or he's already at the airport)
• 他 去 中国 了 He went to China. (That's it, it's done, he's gone.)
• 我 看见 他. Wǒ kānjiān tā. I see him.
• 我 看见 他 了! Wǒ kānjiān tā le! That's it, I see it (now)!

The negation in a past context will be as we have already seen in sequence 2 in the expression "mei guanxi" "It's nothing". Do not add the 了 the.

• 没 去 中国 He did not go to China.
• 没 看见 他. I did not see him.

On the other hand, the expression 不 ..... 了. Bù ...... le. means "no longer":

• 他 不 学汉语 了 He does not study Chinese anymore.

The time

In Chinese, the punctual time (and not the duration) is built with 点 diǎn:

• 一点 yì diǎn an hour.
• 两点 liǎng diǎn two hours.
• 三点 sān diǎn three o'clock.
• 十一点 shí yī diǎn eleven o'clock.
• 十二点 shí èr diǎn twelve hours.

Two comments:

1. for the number "two", when it comes to the time, it is necessary to use 两 liǎng and not 二 èr and that only for the number 2, not for the numbers composed with 2 like 12, 22, etc. .
2. When a syllable that begins with a vowel (like èr) is preceded by another syllable, it must be separated by an apostrophe: shí'èr 12; tiān'ānmén Tian'anmen Square, etc.

If we want to specify that it is the hour stack, we can add 钟 zhōng after 点 diǎn, but it is not mandatory:

• 七 点钟 qī diǎn zhōng 7 o'clock

The minutes are built with 分 fēn:

• 八点 五分 bā diǎn wǔ fēn 8h05

In Chinese, we can say 13:00 十三 点, 14:00 十四点. But it is better to say 2 o'clock in the afternoon, 9 o'clock in the morning, etc. The word "morning" 上午 shàngwǔ or "afternoon" 下午 xiàwǔ is placed before the time:

• 上午 九点 二 十五分 9:25 am
• 下午 六 点钟 6 o'clock pm

The question for asking the time is 现在 几点 了? Xiànzài jǐ diǎn le?

We can remove the 了 to give less force in the sense of "now".

It is quite possible to answer using 现在:

• 现在 三点 了 It's three o'clock.

The punctual time

The circumstantial complement of place (the place where the action takes place) is placed before the verb of action:

• 在 中国 学 中文 She is studying Chinese in China.

It is a general rule in Mandarin Chinese that the circumstantial complements are placed before the action verb (we must first set the scene before talking about the action).

The punctual time can take the function of circumstantial complement and thus follows this rule:

• 我 今天 打电话. I'm calling today.
• 我 明天 去看 他. I'll go see him tomorrow.

Ms. Li learns Japanese on Wednesday afternoon at three o'clock.

The question is 什么 时候 shénme shíhou: when?

Like almost all the interrogative words in Mandarin Chinese, he puts himself in the same place as the word answer:

• 什么 时候 回家? When do you come home?
• 我 明天 上午 回家 I'm going home tomorrow morning.

If the c.c. (circumstantial complement) of place and that of time are found in the same sentence, which is first?

Time is considered more general than space. It is therefore first:

• 我明天在你家打电话。 I'll call tomorrow at home

Note that in Chinese, there is no time. These are the words of time that locate the action in the present, past or future.

The duration

Unlike the punctual time, the duration is not a circumstantial complement (which is placed before the verb), but a verbal complement which is placed after the verb:

• 学汉语 两年. I did two years of Chinese.

Notice the difference between:

• 学汉语 两年. I did two years of Chinese.

and

• 我 学汉语 两年 了. I have been doing Chinese for two years.

The combination of 了 the final and the duration allows to give the idea of ​​"since" since the 了 places the situation in the present: there is a change of situation, before that was not two years, now if.

As the verbal complement is placed after the verb, the place of the complement can vary. The rigid grammar rule wants it to be in front of the action verb:

• 汉语 学 两年 了. I have been doing Chinese for two years.

But the use of the spoken language is more flexible and the duration can be put behind the complement :

• 我 学汉语 两年 了. I have been doing Chinese for two years.

We must therefore remember these two sentences that are often used:

• 你 学汉语 几年 了? How many years have you been Chinese?
• 我 学汉语 三年 了. I have been doing Chinese for three years.

Simple directional

In the vocabulary we have seen the verbs 来 lái "come" and 去 qù "go".来 indicate the approximation and the distance, which seems quite logical:

• 去 中国 He goes to China. (The speakers are not in China.)
• 来 法国 He comes to France. (The speakers are in France.)

Nothing really complicated, but it is possible to add 来 and 去 to action verbs. They then indicate the direction of the action in relation to the speakers. They become "directional".

Example:

• 我 回去. I'm going back.
• 你 回来 了! You have come back!

Here the action verb is 回 huí (return) that can not be used alone.

But, then, if we talk on the phone with someone who is not in the same place as us (one is in China and the other is in France), which directional to choose? It will depend on which side (you or the other party) you are sitting. Politeness wants us to be on the side of the interlocutor. If, for example, you phone your girlfriend and she asks you: "When are you coming back?" and that you answer, 现在 回去., you indicate that you do not stand beside him ... It would be more polite to answer 我 现在 回来.

This is only a small difference from the point of view of language, but this subtlety is of great importance in reality. To meditate and remember.

The construct "action + directional verb" is called "directional simple". There is a construction called "complex directional" with an additional character that gives an indication of fundamental movement as "go up", "go down", "go through".

Finally, if we want to specify the place in the construction of the simple directional, we must put it between the action verb and the directional

action verb + location + directional

Example:

• 我 回 中国 去. I'm going back to China.
• 他 回 我 家 来 He goes home.

Note, "going home" is simply saying 回家 huíjiā:

• 下午 六点 回家. I'm going home at 6:00 pm.

Object verbs

If the verb 说 shuō "to speak" is followed by a complement, it is used alone:

• 说 汉语. I speak Chinese.

But if we simply mean "talk", we must add a "standard complement ": 话 huà word. To say "He speaks.", we have to use 他说话. and not 他说.

These kind of verbs that still need a complement are called "verb-object". They are also called "married verb".

We also have already seen "write" 写 xiě which requires the standard complement 字 zì:

• 她 写字. She writes.

Attention, it is absolutely necessary to remove the standard complement when another complement is specified.

The following sentence is therefore false: 他 说话 汉语 .

Object-verbs may be heard alone, but in this case the complement is implied:

• (汉语) 我 会 说, 不会 写. (Chinese) I can speak it, but not write it.

能 and 一点儿

To finish, some details on 2 words of vocabulary.

能 neng indicates the ability to do something:

• 我 能 打电话 I can call. (I can do it.)

There is a nuance with 会 huì "know how to do something", even if the use is sometimes very close:

• 能 说话. I can speak. (I have the physical capacity: mouth, tongue, etc.)
• 会 说话. I can speak. (because I have learned it, it is a know-how and in this sense the sentence is also understood by the eloquence: "I know how to speak well.")

能 neng also indicates permission:

• 我 能 不能 去看 他? Can I go see him?
• 不能 No.

We saw in the vocabulary 一点儿 yì diǎnr: a little bit. This word is a "verbal classifier". It only means that it is after the verb:

• 会 说 一点儿 日语. I can speak a little Japanese.