eric
/
ChineseGrammarWiki


			
				
					
						
						
							123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930313233343536373839404142434445464748495051525354555657585960616263646566676869707172737475767778798081828384858687888990919293949596
							<!DOCTYPE html>
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
<head>
<meta name="generator" content=
"HTML Tidy for HTML5 for Linux version 5.2.0" />
<title></title>
</head>
<body>
<p>In China, you often hear you should do this or that more (eat
more, drink more water, wear more warm clothing etc.), and they
often use the word 多 (duō). What's not intuitive to learners is
that the word 多 should come <em>before the verb</em>.</p>
<h2 id="structure">Structure</h2>
<p>This structure is often used in commands or suggestions. Note
the position of 多:</p>
<div class="jiegou">
<p>多 + Verb-Obj.</p>
</div>
<p>This structure is not used exclusively as a command, so you
could also include a subject if you needed to.</p>
<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
<p>In English we like to say things like "eat <em>more</em>" and
"drink <em>more</em> beer" and "I need to exercise <em>more</em>."
Notice that in every one of these cases, the word "more"
(equivalent to this use of 多) comes <em>after</em> the verb in
English. In Chinese, it's more natural to put the 多 <em>before</em>
the verb.</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li><em>多</em> 吃 点 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Duō</em> chī
diǎn.</span><span class="trans">Eat a little more.</span></li>
<li><em>多</em> 加 点 辣 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Duō</em> jiā diǎn
là.</span><span class="trans">Add a little more spice.</span></li>
<li><em>多</em> 放 点 糖 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Duō</em> fàng diǎn
táng.</span><span class="trans">Put a little more
sugar.</span></li>
<li>爷爷 ，你 要 <em>多</em> 出去 走走 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye, nǐ yào
<em>duō</em> chūqù zǒuzou.</span><span class="trans">You need to go
out and take a walk more often.</span></li>
<li><em>多</em> 给 他 点 时间 吧 。<span class="pinyin"><em>Duō</em> gěi tā
diǎn shíjiān ba.</span><span class="trans">Give him a little more
time.</span></li>
<li>你 为什么 不 <em>多</em> 陪陪 家人 呢 ？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ wèishénme
bù <em>duō</em> péipei jiārén ne?</span><span class="trans">Why
wouldn't you spend more time with your family?</span></li>
<li>感冒 的 时候 要 <em>多</em> 喝 水 。<span class="pinyin">Gǎnmào de shíhou
yào <em>duō</em> hē shuǐ.</span><span class="trans">Drink more
water when you have a cold.</span></li>
<li>医生 让 我 <em>多</em> 运动 。<span class="pinyin">Yīshēng ràng wǒ
<em>duō</em> yùndòng.</span><span class="trans">The doctor told me
to exercise more.</span></li>
<li>他 比 你 有 经验 ，你 应该 <em>多</em> 跟 他 学习 。<span class="pinyin">Tā bǐ
nǐ yǒu jīngyàn, nǐ yīnggāi <em>duō</em> gēn tā
xuéxí.</span><span class="trans">He's more experienced than you.
You should learn from him more often.</span></li>
<li>想 提高 汉语 口语 ，就要 <em>多</em> 练习 。<span class="pinyin">Xiǎng tígāo
Hànyǔ kǒuyǔ, jiùyào <em>duō</em> liànxí.</span><span class=
"trans">If you want to improve your speaking Chinese, you need to
practice more.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<h2 id="counter-examples">Counter-Examples</h2>
<p>Just to be completely clear, the following uses of 多 are not as
natural as the ones above. They'll be understood, and they might
not be technically <em>wrong</em>, but you can do better!</p>
<div class="liju">
<ul>
<li>吃 <em>多</em> 点。<span class="pinyin">Chī <em>duō</em>
diǎn.</span></li>
<li>我 要 回家<em>多</em>点！<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yào huíjiā
<em>duō</em> diǎn!</span></li>
<li>我 应该 运动 <em>多</em> 点。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yīnggāi yùndòng
<em>duō</em> diǎn.</span></li>
</ul>
</div>
<p>The opposite of 多 is, of course, 少. It is further explained in
the article <a href="doing_something_less_with_&quot;shao&quot;"
title="wikilink">doing something less with "shao"</a>.</p>
<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<h2 id="sources-and-further-reading">Sources and further
reading</h2>
<h3 id="books">Books</h3>
<ul>
<li><a href="Integrated_Chinese:_Level_1,_Part_2_(3rd_ed)" title=
"wikilink">Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed)</a> (pp.
39) <a href=
"http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276709/ref%3das_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&amp;tag=allset-20&amp;linkCode=as2&amp;camp=217145&amp;creative=399369&amp;creativeASIN=0887276709">
→buy</a></li>
<li><a href=
"%E5%8F%91%E5%B1%95%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD_%E4%B8%AD%E7%BA%A7%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%8F%A3%E8%AF%AD%E4%B8%8A"
title="wikilink">发展汉语 中级汉语口语上</a> (pp. 72)</li>
</ul>
<p><a href="Category:B1_grammar_points" title=
"wikilink">Category:B1 grammar points</a></p>
</body>
</html>