The 地 Construction

Exercises

Other terminology: adverbial marker, adverbial modifier

Also included: the uses of 一点儿 and 一些; and the differences between 得 and 地.

1. When should I use the 地 construction?

When you want to describe how the action is carried out, 地 can be used. In other words, 地 is used to describe the manner, mood or method of the action.

2. How can I form a 地 sentence?

Modal verbs and negations should be placed before adverbs. An adverb in the 地 construction should always be placed before 地, which will then be followed by the verb.

s. neg. mv. adv. 地v. o.

He is doing his exercises diligently.

He doesn't study very seriously. (He studies in a very casual way.)

The teacher should give lectures conscientiously.

Short phrases can also be placed before 地 to describe how actions are carried out:

s.neg. mv. short phrase地co-v / v. o.

The little girl sings very loudly.

They are laughing and walking while they are talking.

Xiao Wang said to me, word by word...

3. What should I be aware of when I use the 地 construction?

1. A monosyllabic adverb should be duplicated, meaning that 慢 (slow) will become 慢慢(儿)地. The duplicated word should be pronounced in first tone when it is followed by 儿(Beijing accent), with the stress on the duplicated word. If 儿 is not used, the duplicated word should be pronounced in the same way as the original one:

Please walk slowly.

Write it properly.

2. A di-syllablic adverb in the 地 construction can also be duplicated for emphasis according to the following pattern: AB → AABB.

(He) goes to school very happily. (He goes to school in a very happy mood.)

4. Do I always have to use 地 if I want to describe how an action is carried out?

No, not always. Some adverbs, such as 多(more), 少(less), 快(quickly), 慢(slowly), 早(early) and 晚(late) can be placed before verbs without using 地. They don't have to be duplicated, and are used mainly for imperatives.

You should do more and say less.

You should speak more Chinese. .

Quickly! Run! Look, it's going to rain!

Phrases indicating quantity such as 一点儿 (a little bit) and 一些 (a little bit) can be used in these sentences as follows.

Patterns Examplesin Chinese Meanings in English

As you can see from these examples, 一点儿 refers to quantity or results when 多,少,快,慢,早 and 晚 are placed after verbs. When 多,少,快,慢,早 and 晚 are placed before verbs , 一点儿 refers to the manner in which something is done.

You come to school early tomorrow. (Manner)

5. Is the particle 了 for completed action used in 地 constructions?

Yes, 了 for completed actions is used in 地 constructions.

Xiao Li conscientiously wrote Chinese characters for three hours yesterday.

6. Can verb complements be used in 地 constructions?

Directional complements and complements such as 到 (directions and attainment), 给 (to [person]), 在(at, in, on) and 走(away) can be used in the 地 construction, but potential complements cannot be used.

He very quietly took away my briefcase.

Mr. Wang came into the classroom half running.

7. How do I use 地 in the 把 and 被 sentences?

The 地 construction should be placed before 把 and after 被 and its agents,

Mr. Wang has carefully hung that Chinese picture on the wall.

That letter has been very carefully read by him once through.

8. Are the 地 construction and the 得 constructions interchangeable? For instance A.今天上午他很快地吃完了饭 // B.今天上午他饭吃得很快 Do these two sentences have the same meaning?

Strictly speaking, they are not interchangeable. The main difference between these two constructions is that the adverbs in 地 construction describe the manner, mood or method in which the actions are carried out; but the adverbs in the 得 construction are the degree or result of the actions and sometimes they can refer to the objects of sentences, e.g., 他吃饭吃得很多 the adverb 很多 refers to 饭. The emphasis in the (地) sentence "A" is very much on how he ate the meal. In other words, the stress is on his manner of eating the meal, but the result of that might not be necessarily very fast. The "B", (得) sentence implies that he only took very little time to finish the meal. Let's see another example:

He has grown very tall. (Tall is the result of growing.)

But one can't say

X他 很 高 地 长X

One can't have a manner, mood or method of being “very tall”.

Exercises

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