从 cóng from is used as a co-verb in sentences such as:
小 王 从 他家 来了这儿 。
Xiǎo Wáng cóng tā jiā lái le zhèr
Xiao Wang came here from his home.
离 lí from cannot be used in the same way, but is used to measure the distance between two objects. For instance,
| A | 离 | B | SV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 很 远。 |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | hěn yuǎn |
My home is a long way from the college.
| A | 离 | B | V + distance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 有 三 英 里。 | |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | yǒu sān yīngliǐ |
It is three miles from my home to the college.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 走 路一个 小 时。 |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | zǒu lù yī ge xiǎoshí |
It takes an hour to walk to the college from my home.
The 离lí construction can also be used to measure duration.
For example:
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 现在 | 离 | 下 课 | 还有一刻钟。 |
| xiànzài | lí | xiàkè | Háiyǒu yíkè zhōng |
It is 15 minutes from now to the end of the class.
The co-verbs 从 cóng from and 到 dào to can also be used to measure distance and duration in the following sentence patterns.
| 从 | A | 到 | B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | 我 家 | 到 | 学 院 |
| cóng | wǒ jiā | dào | xuéyuàn |
My home is a long way from the college.
| 从 | A | 到 | B |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | 我 家 | 到 | 学 院 |
| cóng | wǒ jiā | dào | xuéyuàn |
It is three miles from my home to the college.
| 从 | A | 到 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | 我 家 | 到 | 学 院 | 走 路一 个 小 时。 |
| cóng | wǒ jiā | dào | xuéyuàn | zǒu lù yī ge xiǎoshí |
It takes an hour to walk to the college from my home.
| 从 | A | 到 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | 现 在 | 到 | 下 课 | 还 有 一刻 钟。 |
| cóng | Xiànzài | dào | xiàkè | háiyǒu yíkè zhōng |
It is 15 minis between now and the end of the class.
Negation and question words are placed next to the main verbs or stative verbs expressing distance or duration as demonstrated below.
| A | 离 | B | SV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 远 吗? |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | yuǎn ma |
Is it far from my home to the college?
| A | 离 | B | SV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 不 远。 |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | bù yuǎn |
It is not far from my home to the college.
| A | 离 | B | SV |
|---|---|---|---|
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 多 远? |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | duō yuǎn |
How far is it from my home to the college?
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 现 在 | 离 | 下 课 | 还 有 一刻 钟。 |
| xiànzài | lí | xiàkè | Háiyǒu yíkè zhōng |
It is 15 minutes from now to the end of the class.
The co-verbs 从 cóng from and 到 dào to can also be used to measure distance and duration in the following sentence patterns.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | A | 到 | B |
| 从 | 我 家 | 到 | 学 院 |
| cóng | wǒ jiā | dào | xuéyuàn |
My home is a long way from the college.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | A | 到 | B |
| 从 | 我 家 | 到 | 学 院 |
| cóng | wǒ jiā | dào | xuéyuàn |
It is three miles from my home to the college.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | A | 到 | B |
| 从 | 我 家 | 到 | 学 院 |
| cóng | wǒ jiā | dào | xuéyuàn |
It takes an hour to walk to the college from my home.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| 从 | A | 到 | B |
| 从 | 现 在 | 到 | 下 课 |
| cóng | Xiànzài | dào | xiàkè |
It is 15 minis between now and the end of the class.
Negation and question words are placed next to the main verbs or stative verbs expressing distance or duration as demonstrated below.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 离 | B | SV |
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 远 吗? |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | yuǎn ma |
Is it far from my home to the college?
| A | 离 | B | V + duration |
|---|---|---|---|
| A | 离 | B | SV |
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 不 远。 |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | bù yuǎn |
It is not far from my home to the college.
| A | 离 | B | V + duration | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A | 离 | B | SV | |
| 我 家 | 离 | 学 院 | 多 远? | |
| wǒ jiā | lí | xuéyuàn | duō yuǎn |
How far is it from my home to the college?
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