The Construction

Exercises

Other terminology: adverbial marker, adverbial modifier

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

1. When should I use the construction?

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

2. How can I form a sentence?

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

s. neg. mv. adv. v. o.

HE

yòng xīn de

用心

DILIGENTLY DE

zuò zhe

ZUO ZHE

liànxí

练习

EXERCISES

He is doing his exercises diligently.

HE

NOT

hĕnrènzhēn de

认真

VERY SERIOUS DE

xuéxí

学习

STUDY

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

lăoshī

老师

TEACHER

yīnggāi

应该

SHOULD

rènzhēnde

认真

SERIOUS DE

jiăng

TALK

LESSON

The teacher should give lectures conscientiously.

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

s.neg. mv. short phraseco-v / v. o.

xiăo gūniang

姑娘

LITTLE GIRL

dàshēngde

BIG SOUND DE

chàng

SING

SONG

The little girl sings very loudly.

tāmen

他们

THEY

yìbiān zŏu yìbiān xiào de

一边 一边

WHILE WALK WHILE LAUGH DE

shuō

SAY

huà

SPEECH

They are laughing and walking while they are talking.

xiăo wáng

XIAOWANG

yí zì yí jù de

ONE WORD ONE SENTENCE DE

gēn wŏshuō

TO ME SPEAK

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

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

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

qĭng nĭ

PLEASEYOU

mànman (er) de zŏu

()

SLOW SLOW(ER) DE WALK

Please walk slowly.

hăo hao(er)de xiĕ

()

WELLWELL (ER) DE WRITE

Write it properly.

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

gāogāoxìngxìngde qù

高高兴兴

HAPPY DEGO

xuéxiào

学校.

SCHOOL

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

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

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

nĭ yīnggāi duō zuò shì shăo shuō huà

应该 , .

YOU SHOULD MORE DO THINGS LESS SAY SPEECH

You should do more and say less.

kuài zŏu QUICKLY WALK Quickly, go!
màn chī SLOW EAT Eat slowly
zăoqĭ chuáng EARLY UP BED Get up early.
wănshuì jiào LATE SLEEP (YOUR) SLEEP Go to bed late.

nĭ yīnggāi duō shuōhànyŭ

应该 汉语.

YOU SHOULD MORE SPEAK CHINESE

You should speak more Chinese. .

kuài păo nĭ kàn jiùyào xià yǔ le

, .

QUICKLY RUN, YOU LOOK SOON FALL RAIN LE

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

+ verb 一点儿

多吃一点儿

Eat more [on the intention]

v ()+多一点儿

吃多一点儿

Eat a little bit more [quantity]

+ verb 一点儿

少作一点儿

Don't cook too much [on the intention]

v ()+多一点儿

作少一点儿

Cook a little bit less [quantity]

快一点儿+ verb

快一点儿念

Quickly! Read!

v ()+快一点儿

念快一点儿

Read a little bit faster

慢一点儿+ verb

慢一点儿说

Speak slowly [or: wait before you speak]

v ()+慢一点儿

说慢一点儿

Say it a little bit more slowly

早一点儿+ verb

早一点儿睡

Go to bed early

v ()+早一点儿

睡早一点儿

Go to bed a little bit earlier

晚一点儿+ verb

晚一点儿起

Get up late [don't get up early]

v ()+晚一点儿

起晚一点儿

Get up a little bit later

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

míngtiān nĭ zăo diănr lái xuéxiào

点儿 学校.

TOMORROW YOU EARLY A LITTLE COME SCHOOL

You come to school early tomorrow. (Manner)

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

Yes, for completed actions is used in constructions.

xiăo lĭ zuótiān rènzhēn de xiĕle sān ge xiăoshíde hànzì

认真 .

XIAO LI YESTERDAY CONSCIENTIOUS DEWRITE LE THREE GE HOUR DE CHARACTER

Xiao Li conscientiously wrote Chinese characters for three hours yesterday.

6. Can verb complements be used in constructions?

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

tā qiāoqiāo de ná zŏule wŏdeshŏu tíbāo

悄悄 了我的 提包

HE QUIET DETAKE AWAY LEMYBRIEFCASE

He very quietly took away my briefcase.

wáng lăoshīsān bù bìng liăngbù de zŏu jìn le jiàoshì lái

老师 .

WANG TEACHER THREE STEP INTO TWOSTEP DE WALK IN LE CLASSROOM ( TWARDS )

Mr. Wang came into the classroom half running.

7. How do I use in the and sentences?

The construction should be placed before and after and its agents,

lăo wáng xiăoxīnde bă nà zhāng zhōngguó huà guà zài qiáng shàng le

小心 .

OLD WANG CAREFUL DE BA THAT ZHANG CHINESE PICTURE HANG ZAI WALL ON LE

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

nà fēng xìn bèi tā zĭxì de kàn le yí biàn

仔细 一遍.

THAT FENG LETTER BYHIMCAREFULLY DE READ LE ONCE

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

8. Are the construction and the 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 construction describe the manner, mood or method in which the actions are carried out; but the adverbs in the 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 . The emphasis in the () 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", () sentence implies that he only took very little time to finish the meal. Let's see another example:

tā zhăng dehĕn gāo

.

HE GROW DE (VERY) TALL

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

But one can't say

X X

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

Exercises

You can submit your work online here

Click here for the answers

Translate the following sentences into Chinese.

1. One by one, Mr. Li put all his teacups on the table.

2. He gently opened the door and walked into the bedroom.

3. She slowly opened her eyes and said very quietly....

4. "Come here quickly!" Mr. Wang shouted loudly.

5. He always does his homework in a hurry.

6. These children always eat properly. / Can you eat properly?

7. The shop assistants always serve their customers thoughtfully.

Exercises on and .

Fill in the following gaps with and .

1. 古波今天早上不高兴,因为昨天晚上睡 不太好.

2. 他整天楼上楼下 . 不得了.

3. 小王迟到了.他不好意思 对老师说:"对不起..."

4. 这个句子他翻译 不太清楚.

5. 我总是累.可能我休息 不够.

6. 她非常客气 对我说:"菜不好.请你们多吃点儿."

7. 帕兰卡的中国民歌唱 不好听.

8. 一本书就五十块.怎么卖 那么贵?

9. 丁老师看见我们来了,就高兴 :"欢迎,欢迎,请进,请进."

10. 真累!今天晚上我要舒舒服服 睡一觉.

11. 你知道这封信的意思吗?怎么写 那么不清楚啊!

12. 她坐下来,慢慢 跟我说:"小王..."