Grammar Reference

沿（着）

Word class / preposition · 沿 (yán)（着 (zhāo)）

• 他喜欢沿着湖散步。 Tā xǐhuan yánzhe hú sànbù. He likes to stroll along the lake.
• 你沿这条路走，一会儿就到了。 Nǐ yán zhè tiáo lù zǒu, yíhuìr jiù dàoliǎo. Follow this road and you'll be there in a moment.

同、与

Word class / preposition · 同 (tóng)、与 (yú)

• 同你一样，我也是学生。 Tóng nǐ yíyàng, wǒ yě shì xuésheng. Like you, I'm a student too.
• 你要与同学搞好关系。 Nǐ yào yǔ tóngxué gǎohǎo guānxi. You should get along well with your classmates.

至于

Word class / preposition · 至于 (zhìyú)

• 旅行的时间已经定了，至于费用问题，还需要再讨论。 Lǚxíng de shíjiān yǐjīng dìng le, zhìyú fèiyòng wèntí, hái xūyào zài tǎolùn. The travel dates are set; as for the question of costs, it still needs discussion.
• 学校决定下个月举行运动会，至于具体时间，请待学校通知。 Xuéxiào juédìng xiàgèyuè jǔxíng yùndònghuì, zhìyú jùtǐ shíjiān, qǐng dài xuéxiào tōngzhī. The school has decided to hold a sports meet next month; as for the exact time, please wait for the school's notice.
• 刚来中国时，我既听不懂也说不清楚，至于写作和阅读，就更不行了。 Gāng lái zhōngguó shí, wǒ jì tīngbudǒng yě shuō bùqīngchu, zhìyú xiězuò hé yuèdú, jiù gèng bùxíngle. When I first came to China, I could neither understand nor speak clearly — as for writing and reading, I was even worse.
• 新产品已经开始生产了，至于销售时间和价格，现在还不能确定。 Xīn chǎnpǐn yǐjīng kāishǐ shēngchǎn le, zhìyú xiāoshòu shíjiān hé jiàgé, xiànzài hái bùnéng quèdìng. The new product has gone into production; as for when it will be sold and at what price, that cannot be determined yet.

引出对象

因

Word class / preposition · 因 (yīn)

• 因公司的业务需要，她要去中国出差。 Yīn gōngsī de yèwù xūyào, tā yào qù zhōngguó chūchāi. For the company's business needs, she is going to China on a work trip.
• 昨天她因病请假。 Zuótiān tā yīn bìng qǐngjià. Yesterday she took leave due to illness.

除

Word class / preposition · 除 (chú)

• 除他以外，所有人都来了。 Chú tā yǐwài, suǒyǒurén dōu lái le. Everyone has come except him.
• 除这件事以外，其他我都能答应你。 Chú zhè jiàn shì yǐwài, qítā wǒ dōu néng dāying nǐ. Except for this one thing, I can promise you everything else.

据

Word class / preposition · 据 (jù)

• 据专家介绍，这个信息并不准确。 Jù zhuānjiā jièshào, zhège xìnxī bìng bùzhǔnquè. According to the experts, this information is not accurate.
• 据统计，大多数家庭有一到两个子女。 Jùtǒngjì, dàduōshù jiātíng yǒu yí dào liǎng gè zǐnǚ. According to statistics, most families have one or two children.

连接词或词组：而、同、与

Word class / conjunction · 连接词或词组(而 (ér)/同 (tóng)/与 (yú))

• 她善良而乐观。 Tā shànliáng ér lèguān. She is kind and optimistic.
• 我同他都是新员工。 Wǒ tóng tā dōu shì xīn yuángōng. He and I are both new employees.

连接分句或句子：不料、可、若

Word class / conjunction · 连接分句或句子(不料 (bùliào)/可 (kě)/若 (ruò))

• 我今天本想去操场踢足球，不料外面下起雨来。 Wǒ jīntiān běn xiǎng qù cāochǎng tī zúqiú, bùliào wàimiàn xià qǐ yǔ lái. I had meant to play football on the field today, but unexpectedly it started raining outside.
• 我们约定一起去长城玩儿，可他忘记了。 Wǒmen yuēdìng yìqǐ qù chángchéng wánr, kě tā wàngjì le. We agreed to visit the Great Wall together, but he forgot.
• 我本来打算在房间看书，不料突然停电了，我只好去图书馆。 Wǒ běnlái dǎsuàn zài fángjiān kànshū, bùliào tūrán tíngdiàn le, wǒ zhǐhǎo qù túshūguǎn. I had planned to read in my room, but unexpectedly the power went out, and I had to go to the library.
• 我以为两个孩子能一起好好玩儿，不料他俩刚一见面就吵起来了。 Wǒ yǐwéi liǎng gè háizi néng yìqǐ hǎohǎo wánr, bùliào tā liǎ gāngyī jiànmiàn jiù chǎo qǐlai le. I thought the two children would play nicely together; to my surprise, they started quarreling the moment they met.

结构助词：所

Structural particle · 结构助词 (jiégòuzhùcí)(所 (suǒ))

结构助词：所

• 据我所知，这件事不是真的。 Jùwǒsuǒzhī, zhè jiàn shì bú shì zhēnde. As far as I know, this matter is not true.
• 你所做的每件事我都支持。 Nǐ suǒ zuò de měi jiàn shì wǒ dōu zhīchí. I support everything you do.
• 这部电影是根据人们所熟悉的故事改编的。 Zhè bù diànyǐng shì gēnjù rénmen suǒ shúxī de gùshì gǎibiān de. This film was adapted from a story everyone knows.
• 你所了解的情况只是一小部分。 Nǐ suǒ liǎojiě de qíngkuàng zhǐshì yìxiǎobùfèn. What you know is only a small part of it.

语气助词：罢了、啦、嘛

Modal particle · 语气助词 (yǔqìzhùcí)(罢了 (bàle)/啦 (lā)/嘛)

语气助词：罢了/啦/嘛

• 别生气，我只是开个玩笑罢了。 Bié shēngqì, wǒ zhǐshì kāi gè wánxiào bàle. Don't be angry — I was only joking.
• 我终于把这个问题搞明白啦！ Wǒ zhōngyú bǎ zhège wèntí gǎo míngbai la! I've finally got this problem figured out!
• 我昨天就已经把作业交给老师啦！ Wǒ zuótiān jiù yǐjīng bǎ zuòyè jiāogěi lǎoshī la! I already handed my homework to the teacher yesterday!
• 这些文件对于公司至关重要，你可千万别弄丢啦！ Zhèxiē wénjiàn duìyú gōngsī zhìguānzhòngyào, nǐ kě qiānwàn bié nòngdiū la! These documents are vital to the company — whatever you do, don't lose them!

数词+形容词+量词

Phrase / structure type · 数词 (shùcí)+形容词 (xíngróngcí)+量词 (liàngcí)

或A或B

或A或B · 或 (huò)A或 (huò)B

• 每位市民都为这座城市的发展做出过或大或小的贡献。 Měi wèi shìmín dōu wèi zhè zuò chéngshì de fāzhǎn zuòchū guò huò dà huò xiǎode gòngxiàn. Every citizen has made some contribution, large or small, to this city's development.
• 各个企业都有一套或高或低的质量监测管理标准。 Gègè qǐyè dōu yǒuyítào huò gāo huò dī de zhìliàng jiāncè guǎnlǐ biāozhǔn. Every enterprise has its own set of quality-control standards, higher or lower.

无A无B

无A无B · 无 (wú)A无 (wú)B

• 妈妈无时无刻不在想念着国外留学的孩子。 Māma wúshíwúkè bùzài xiǎngniàn zhe guówài liúxué de háizi. There is never a moment when Mom does not miss her child studying abroad.
• 这孩子再不管管就无法无天了。 Zhè háizi zài bùguǎn guǎn jiù wúfǎwútiān le. If this child isn't disciplined soon, he'll become utterly lawless.

A这A那

A这A那 · A这 (zhè)A那 (nǎ)

• 他总是很耐心地听她说这说那。 Tā zǒngshì hěn nàixīn de tīng tā shuō zhè shuō nà. He always listens patiently as she talks about this and that.
• 他这个人真是麻烦，总是嫌这嫌那的。 Tā zhège rén zhēnshi máfan, zǒngshì xián zhè xián nà de. He really is a bother — always finding fault with this and that.
• 小孩子总是喜欢拉着父母问这问那。 Xiǎoháizi zǒngshì xǐhuan lā zhe fùmǔ wèn zhè wèn nà. Little children always love tugging at their parents, asking about this and that.
• 既然决定了就大胆去做吧，不要总是想这想那。 Jìrán juédìng le jiù dàdǎn qù zuò ba, bùyào zǒngshì xiǎng zhè xiǎng nà. Since you've decided, go boldly and do it — stop second-guessing every which way.

四字格

左A右B

左A右B · 左 (zuǒ)A右 (yòu)B

• 他左躲右闪，终于把球踢进了球门。 Tā zuǒ duǒ yòu shǎn, zhōngyú bǎ qiú tī jìn le qiúmén. Dodging left and right, he finally kicked the ball into the goal.
• 第一次出门，他兴奋得左瞧右看，眼睛都不够用了。 Dìyīcì chūmén, tā xīngfèn de zuǒ qiáo yòu kàn, yǎnjing dōu bùgòu yòng le. On his first trip out, he was so excited he looked left and right — even his eyes couldn't keep up.
• 天还没亮，他就醒了，躺在床上左思右想，怎么也睡不着。 Tiān hái méi liàng, tā jiù xǐng le, tǎng zài chuáng shàng zuǒsīyòuxiǎng, zěnme yě shuì bùzháo. Before dawn he was awake, lying in bed thinking this way and that, unable to fall asleep no matter what.
• 她在商场里左挑右选，始终没买到一件满意的衣服。 Tā zài shāngchǎng lǐ zuǒ tiāo yòu xuǎn, shǐzhōng méi mǎi dào yí jiàn mǎnyì de yìfu. She picked and chose all over the mall, yet never bought a single piece of clothing she was satisfied with.

四字格

不怎么

Phrase / fixed phrase · 不怎么 (bùzěnme)

• 这件衣服不怎么好看，换一件吧。 Zhè jiàn yìfu bù zěnme hǎokàn, huàn yí jiàn ba. This one doesn't look so good — let's swap for another.
• 他不怎么在乎这些小事。 Tā bù zěnme zàihu zhèxiē xiǎoshì. He doesn't much care about these small matters.

不怎么样

Phrase / fixed phrase · 不怎么样 (bùzěnmeyàng)

• 她跳舞跳得不怎么样。 Tā tiàowǔ tiào de bùzěnmeyàng. She doesn't dance very well.
• 甲：这件衣服怎么样？ Jiǎ: zhè jiàn yìfu zěnmeyàng? A: How is this piece of clothing?

好（不）容易

Phrase / fixed phrase · 好 (hǎo)（不 (bù)）容易 (róngyì)

• 我好不容易给你争取来这个机会，你怎么能不抓住呢？ Wǒ hǎobùróngyì gěi nǐ zhēngqǔ lái zhège jīhuì, nǐ zěnme néng bù zhuāzhù ne? I fought hard to win you this opportunity — how can you not seize it?
• 你好容易走到这一步，怎么能说放弃就放弃呢？ Nǐhǎo róngyì zǒu dào zhè yí bù, zěnme néng shuō fàngqì jiù fàngqì ne? You've come this far with such difficulty — how can you give up just like that?
• 我好不容易才获得这次面试机会，一定不会轻易放弃。 Wǒ hǎobùróngyì cái huòdé zhè cì miànshì jīhuì, yídìng bùhuì qīngyì fàngqì. I won this interview only with the greatest difficulty — I certainly won't give it up easily.
• 假期好不容易可以休息一下，你怎么还要去公司加班？ Jiàqī hǎobùróngyì kěyǐ xiūxi yíxià, nǐ zěnme hái yào qù gōngsī jiābān? The holiday is a rare chance to rest — why on earth would you go work overtime at the company?

其他

那倒（也）是

Phrase / fixed phrase · 那倒（也 (yě)）是 (shì)

• 现在看来，那倒是个很好的办法。 Xiànzài kànlai, nàdàoshi gè hěn hǎo de bànfǎ. Seen from now, that actually was a very good solution.
• 实在没办法，那倒也是个办法。 Shízài méibànfǎ, nà dào yě shì gè bànfǎ. If there's truly no other way, then that itself is a way.
• 假如去那家公司工作能为你提供更多的发展空间，那倒也是个不错的选择。 Jiǎrú qù nà jiā gōngsī gōngzuò néng wèi nǐ tígōng gèng duō de fāzhǎn kōngjiān, nà dào yě shì gè bùcuò de xuǎnzé. If working at that company could offer you more room to grow, it would indeed be a good choice.
• 要是你能从失败中吸取教训，那倒也是件值得高兴的事。 Yàoshi nǐ néng cóng shībài zhōng xīqǔjiàoxun, nà dào yě shì jiàn zhíde gāoxìng de shì. If you can learn a lesson from failure, that is actually something to be glad about.

其他

就是说/这就是说

Phrase / fixed phrase · 就是说 (jiùshìshuō)/这就是说 (zhèjiùshìshuō)

• 就是说，他是一个不诚实的人。 Jiùshì shuō, tā shì yìge bù chéngshí de rén. That is to say, he is a dishonest person.
• 这就是说，责任不在你，你千万不要怪自己。 Zhèjiùshìshuō, zérèn bùzài nǐ, nǐ qiānwàn bùyào guài zìjǐ. That is to say, the blame isn't yours — don't reproach yourself.