1. The “--的” structure: The “--的” structure is one in which the structua l particle 的 is used to indicate possession or other qulities and is attached to: 1) a noun; eg. 这本 书 是 我 哥 哥 的 。 Zhè běn shū shì wǒ gē gē de . This book is my older brother's. 2) a noun phrase; eg. 这 台 电 脑 是 东 亚 图 书 馆 的 。 Zhè tái diàn nǎo shì dōng yà tú shū guǎn de . This computer is the East Asian Library's. 3) an adjective; eg. 那 儿 有 红 的 车 。 红 的 不 好 。 Nàr yǒu hóng de chē . Hóng de bù hǎo . There is(are) a red car(s) over there. Red one(s) is(are) not good. 4) a pronoun; eg. 他 们 的 阅 览 室 很 大 。 我 喜 欢 他 们 的 。 Tā men de yuè lǎn shì hěn dà . Wǒ xǐ huān tā men de . Their reading room is huge. I like theirs The “"--的” structure functions as a noun phrase in the sentence. In all the above examples, the noun is understood and would be tedious to repeat, but a check can be made by supplying it: 5) 这本 书 是 我 哥 哥 的( 书 ) 。 6) 这 台 电 脑 是 东 亚 图 书 馆 的(电 脑 )。 7) 那 儿 有 红 的 车 。 红 的 (车 )不 好。 8) 他 们 的 阅 览 室 很 大 。 我 喜 欢 他 们 的(阅 览 室 )。 If the noun is not supplied, the structure may be used in the generalized sense; eg.: 9)大 的 不 一 定 好 。 Dà de bù yī dìng hǎo . (The) big ones are not necessarily good. 2. The proposition 从 : The preposition 从 usually take words which denote locality as objects. For example: 10)从 宿 舍 cóng sùsh from the dorm 11)从 我 家 cóng wŏji from my home A propositional phrase such as 从 我 家 ,从 宿 舍 can funtion as adverbial adjunct indicating direction. The position of an adverbial adjunct always precedes the verb it modifies. For example: 12)我 从 我 家 来 。 Wǒ cóng wǒ jiā lái . I come from my home. 13)古 老 师 从 哪 儿 去 ? Gǔ lǎo shī cóng nǎr qù ? From where is Teacher Gu going ? Nouns or pronouns denoting persons cannot be used independently as the object of the proposition 从 to indicate locality. They must also take 这 儿 or 那 儿 : 14)我 从 我 妈 妈 那 儿 来 。 Wǒ cóng wǒ mā mā nàr lái . I came from my mom's place. 15)他 从 你 这 儿 去 。 Tā cóng nǐ zhèr qù . He went/left from your place. The negative form of a sentence with 从 prepositional phrase is: 16) 妈 妈 不 从 这 儿 去 。 Tā cóng nǐ zhèr qù . Mom won't go/leave from here. Note that the position of 不 is before the prepostional phrase. 3. The expression of “太 +adj./v. + 了”: The expression of “太 +adj./v.+ 了” indicates that something has gone to the extreme, and that some limit has been passed. In short, it shows “excessiveness”. For example: 17) 这 条 裤 子 太 小 了 。 Zhètiáo kùzi tài xiăo le. The pants are too small. 18) 那 个 人 太 老 了 。 Nàge rén tài lăo le. That guy is too old. 19) 他 太 喜 欢 他 的 孩 子 。 Tā tài xǐ huān tā de háizi . He likes his kids too much. (He spoils his kids.) The expression of “太 +adj.+ 了” does not always carry a negative tone. It can also be use to show admiration. For example: 20) 古 老 师 的 书 法 太 漂 亮 了 。 Gǔ lǎo shī de shū fǎ tài piào liàng le . Teacher Gu’s calligraphy is wonderful. 4. The adverb 就: The adverb 就 is often placed before the main verb to indicate emphasis of different implication. For example: *as 'precisely', 'exactly': 21) 那 就 是 图 书 馆 。 Nà jiù shì tú shū guǎn . THAT is the library. 22) 她 就 是 东 亚 馆 的 古 老 师 。 Tā jiù shì dōng yà guǎn de gǔ lǎo shī . SHE is Teacher Gu of East Asian Library. *As ‘only’: 23) 我 们 系 就 有 一 个 阅 览 室 。 Wǒmen xì jiù yǒu yī gè yuè lǎn shì . There is ONLY one reading room in our department. *As ‘immediately’: 24)我 就 去 语 言 实 验 室 。 Wǒ jiù qù yǔyán shí yàn shì . I WILL go to the language lab RIGHT AWAY. The adverb 就 usually does not have a negative form. Only when indicating “absolutely not”, can it take negative form. For example: 25)她 就 不 是 古 老 师 。 She is DEFINITELY NOT Teacher Gu. 26)我 就 不 去 语 言 实 验 室 。 I am ABSOLUTELY NOT going to the language lab. 27)我 们 系 就 没 有 阅 览 室 。 There DEFINITELY ISN’T Any reading room in our department. 5. Reduplication of verbs: Reduplication of verbs such as “看 看 , 等 等” tends to stress the “tentative effect” of the verb and to minimize the action. It is often used (A) to describe modestly to one’s own activities. For example: 28) 我 看 看 你 的 书 , 好 吗 ? Wǒ kàn kàn nǐ de shū , hǎo ma ? May I have a look at your book? (B) to form a mild imperative, or to make a suggestion. For example: 29) 你 看 看 这 本 书 吧 。 Nǐ kàn kàn zhè běn shū ba . Take a look at this book. 30)喝 喝 这 茶 吧 。 真 好 。 Hē hē zhè chá ba . Zhēn hǎo . Have a sip of the tea. (It is) really good. The rules for the redublication of verbs are: (A) In a verb-object structure, only the verb and not the object, is redublicated. For example: 喝 茶 --喝 喝 茶 问 王 老 师 --问 问 王 老 师 (B) When a monosyllabic verb is reduplicated, "一 " can come between the verb and its reduplicate: 喝 茶 --喝 喝 茶 --喝 一 喝 茶 看 地 图 --看 看 地 图 --看 一 看 地 图 (C) To a disyllabic verb is simply repeat the whole word: 学 习 汉 语 --学 习 学 习 汉 语 帮 助 他 --帮 助 帮 助 他 Note that "一 " cannot come between the disyllabic verb and its redublicate. 6. The adjective 好 as an adverb: The adjective 好 often can function as an adverb to modify a verb. When 好 works as an adverb, it means roughly "good to" or "easy to". For example: 31) 汉 语 很 好 学 。 Hànyǔ hěn hǎo xué . Chinese is easy to learn. 32) 外 语 学 院 很 好 找 。 Wài yǔ xué yuàn hěn hǎo zhǎo . The Foreign Language Institute is ease to locate. In some cases, 好 + V. is taken as a set-phrase, and is considered to have the status of a word, which can function as an adjective. For instance: 33) 这 条 裙 子 很 好 看 。 Zhè tiáo qún zi hěn hǎo kàn . The skirt is really nice to look at. HENCE: The skirt is really nice-looking (pretty). 34) 这 是 一 本 很 好 看 的 书 。 Zhè shì yī běn hěn hǎo kàn de shū . This is a nice to read book. / This is an interesting (good) book. 7. The preposed object: Sometimes, a verb can have a list of objects. For example: 35) 我 有 汉 语 书 , 英 语 书 , 和 日 语 书 。 wǒ yǒu hàn yǔ shū , yīng yǔ shū , hé rì yǔ shū . I have Chinese books, English books, and Japanese books In a case like this, a Chinese speaker likes to change the word-order, and prepose the list of objects in the way like this: 汉 语 书 , 英 语 书 , 日 本 书 , 我 都 有 。 Hàn yǔ shū , yīng yǔ shū , rì běn shū , wǒ dōu yǒu . Notice that when the list is preposed, the adverb "dōu" is present, and its positition in the sentence is right ahead of the verb. “Dōu” must always follow its referent, a requirement that works well with this construction. must One more examples: 36) 茶 , 咖 啡 , 酒 , 他 都 喝 。 Chá , kā fēi , jiǔ , tā dōu hē . He drinks tea, coffee, and wine.