Expressing "not even one" (Redirected from ASGUQ861) Level B2 Similar to Expressing "even" with "lian" and "dou" (B1) Expressing "not at all" with "yidianr ye bu" (B1) Advanced uses of "lian" (B2) Used for Describing things Keywords 一, 也, 都 In English we might want to say something like "I have absolutely no money, not even one penny." That "not even one" is the focus of this article. Contents 1 Basic Pattern 1.1 Structure 1.2 Examples 2 Advanced Pattern 2.1 Structure 2.2 Examples 3 See also 4 Sources and further reading 4.1 Books 4.2 Dictionaries 4.3 Websites Basic Pattern Structure This structure is usually used for emphasizing how little of something you have. The measure word in the middle of the sentence and the noun should be compatible with the verb at the end. 一 + Measure Word + (Noun) + 也 / 都 + 不 / 没 + Verb Examples 我 一 口 都 没 吃 。 Wǒ yī kǒu dōu méi chī. I didn't take a single bite. 他 一 句 中文 都 不 会 说 。 Tā yī jù Zhōngwén dōu bù huì shuō. He can't speak one sentence of Chinese. 为什么 这里 一 个 人 都 没有 ？ Wèishénme zhèlǐ yī gè rén dōu méiyǒu? Why aren't there any people here? 她 一 瓶 酒 也 没 喝 。 Tā yī píng jiǔ yě méi hē. She didn't drink a bottle of wine. 来 上海 以前 ， 他 一 个 外国 朋友 都 没有 。 Lái Shànghǎi yǐqián, tā yī gè wàiguó péngyou dōu méiyǒu. He didn't have a foreign friend before he came to Shanghai. Advanced Pattern Structure If you want to put the topic of your conversation at the beginning of the sentence, make sure it has a strong emphasis or some kind of exaggerated remark. Topic + Subj. + 一 + Measure Word + (Noun) + 也 / 都 + Verb Examples 这个 人 我 一 次 都 没 见 过 。 Zhège rén wǒ yī cì yě méi jiàn guo. I haven't seen this person once. 这样 的 菜 我 一 次 也 没 吃 过 。 Zhèyàng de cài wǒ yī cì yě méi chī guo. I've never eaten this kind of food before. 这 次 活动 我们 公司 一个 人 也 没 参加 。 Zhè cì huódòng wǒmen gōngsī yī gè rén yě méi cānjiā. Not one person in our company has participated in this activity. See also Expressing "not at all" with "yidianr ye bu" Expressing "even" with "lian" and "dou" Sources and further reading Books New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 153) →buy Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 37 - 9) →buy Dictionaries Websites