Language/Mandarin-chinese/Grammar/Separable-verbs

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What are verb-object phrases?

Hello everybody!

In today's lesson, we will teach you how to use certain kinds of verbs that still need a complement.

"Separable verbs" get their name from their ability to "separate" into two parts (a verb part and an object part), with other words in between. In fact, you could also simply call separable verbs "verb-object phrases."

Feel free to edit this wiki page, if you think it can be improved.

Object verbs

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

  • 我說漢語/我说汉语。 (Wǒ shuō hànyǔ.)

I speak Chinese.

But if we simply mean "talk", we must add a "standard complement ": 話/话 (huà).

To say "He speaks.", we have to use 他說話。/他说话。 (Tā shuō huà.) and not simply 他說。/他说。 (Tā shuō.).

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

  • 她寫字。/她写字。 (Tā xiě zì.).

She writes.

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

The following sentence is therefore false: 他說話漢語/他说话汉语。 (Tā shuō huà hànyǔ.)

A verb-object may be heard alone, but in this case the complement is implied:

  • (漢語)我會說,不會寫。/(汉语)我会说,不会写。 [(Hànyǔ) wǒ huì shuō, bú huì xiě]

(Chinese) I can speak it, but not write it.

As is said, there can be other words in between of the verb and the object. Let's see how it works:

  • 我上了課。/我上了课。 (Wǒ shàng le kè.).

I went to class.

In dictionaries, a combination of a separable verb and an object are noted with “//” between their pinyin.

Main Separable Verbs

Chinese Pinyin Translation
上课 shàng kè to have a class
住院 zhù yuàn to be hospitalised
发烧 fā shāo to get a fever
吃饭 chī fàn to eat
开学 kāi xué to start a new term of school
开车 kāi chē to drive
打的 dǎ dī to get a taxi
游泳 yóu yǒng to swim
看病 kàn bìng to see a doctor
睡觉 shuì jiào to sleep
聊天 liáo tiān to chat
说话 shuō huà to speak
起床 qǐ chuáng to get up

Sources

https://resources.allsetlearning.com/chinese/grammar/Separable_verb

http://www.chine-culture.com/chinois/cours-de-chinois-6-grammaire.php

https://mandarinfriend.wordpress.com/2015/02/12/separable-verbs-a-misleading-concept-for-chinese-learners/


Contributors

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