Grammar Reference

算了

Phrase / fixed phrase · 算了 (suànle)

• 这件事就这样算了吧。 Zhè jiàn shì jiù zhèyàng suànle ba. Let's just let this matter go.
• 他不去算了，不要为难他了。 Tā bú qù suànle, bùyào wéinán tā le. If he won't go, let it be — don't make it hard for him.
• 这些旧衣服扔掉算了，反正也不会再穿了。 Zhèxiē jiù yìfu rēngdiào suànle, fǎnzhèng yě bùhuì zài chuān le. These old clothes might as well be thrown out — they'll never be worn again anyway.
• 雪下得这么大，估计不会有客人来了，干脆早点儿关门算了。 Xuě xià de zhème dà, gūjì bùhuì yǒu kèrén lái le, gāncuì zǎodiǎnr guānmén suànle. With snow falling this heavy, no customers will likely come — might as well close early.

其他

A—+量词，B—+量词

A—+量词，B—+量词 · A—+量词 (liàngcí)，B—+量词 (liàngcí)

• 他摔得很严重，身上青一块，紫一块。 Tā shuāi dehěn yánzhòng, shēnshang qīng yíkuài, zǐ yíkuài. He fell badly — his body was black and blue all over.
• 大家你一句，我一句，搞得他反而没了主意。 Dàjiā nǐ yíjù, wǒ yíjù, gǎo de tā fǎnér méile zhǔyi. Everyone had a word — one this, one that — till he, far from being helped, lost his bearings altogether.

东一A，西一A

• 天黑还下雨，他东一脚，西一脚地赶回来了。 Tiānhēi hái xiàyǔ, tā dōng yì jiǎo, xī yì jiǎo de gǎn huílai le. In the dark and the rain, he stumbled his way back, one foot here and one foot there.
• 他说话东一句，西一句，完全没有重点。 Tā shuōhuà dōng yíjù, xī yíjù, wánquán méiyǒu chóngdiǎn. He talks a bit of this, a bit of that, with no point at all.
• 房间里的衣服东一件，西一件，扔得哪儿都是。 Fángjiān lǐ de yìfu dōng yí jiàn, xī yí jiàn, rēng de nǎr dōu shì. Clothes in the room lay here one and there one, thrown about everywhere.
• 最近他东一本，西一本地看了不少书。 Zuìjìn tā dōng yì běn, xī yì běndì kàn le bùshǎo shū. Lately he has read a good many books, one here and one there.

为了⋯⋯而⋯⋯

Fixed pattern · 为了 (wèile)⋯⋯而 (ér)⋯⋯

• 为了这么一件小事而生气，不值得。 Wèile zhème yí jiàn xiǎoshì ér shēngqì, bùzhíde. It isn't worth getting angry over such a trifle.
• 他为了这次比赛而努力了很久。 Tā wèile zhè cì bǐsài ér nǔlì le hěn jiǔ. He worked hard for a long time for this competition.

宾语的语义类型2

Sentence element / object

• 听见铃声，他马上就进教室了。 Tīngjiàn língshēng, tā mǎshàng jiù jìn jiàoshì le. Hearing the bell, he entered the classroom at once.
• 他把东西都放桌子上了。 Tā bǎ dōngxī dōu fàng zhuōzi shàng le. He put everything on the table.

趋向补语5

Sentence element / complement

• 老师一进教室，同学们很快安静了下来。 Lǎoshī yí jìn jiàoshì, tóngxué men hěn kuài ānjìng le xiàlai. The moment the teacher entered the classroom, the students quickly quieted down.
• 他对工作的兴趣渐渐淡了下去。 Tā duì gōngzuò de xìngqù jiànjiàn dàn le xiàqù. His interest in the job gradually faded.

“把”字句4：表致使

Sentence type / special pattern · “把 (bǎ)”字句 (zìjù)4(表致使)

• 这双鞋把脚磨破了。 Zhè shuāng xié bǎ jiǎo mó pò le. These shoes rubbed my feet raw.
• 外面的声音把我吵醒了。 Wàimiàn de shēngyīn bǎ wǒ chǎoxǐng le. The noise outside woke me up.
• 阳光把大地染成了红色。 Yángguāng bǎ dàdì rǎn chéngle hóngsè. The sunlight dyed the earth red.
• 音乐声把游客都吸引过去了。 Yīnyuè shēng bǎ yóukè dōu xīyǐn guòqù le. The music drew all the visitors over.

被动句4：主语+被/叫/让+宾语+给+动词+其他成分

Passive sentence · 被动句4：主语 (zhǔyǔ)+被 (bèi)/叫 (jiào)/让+宾语+给+动词+其他成分

被动句4：主语+被/叫/让+宾语+给+动词+其他成分

• 杯子被她不小心给摔碎了。 Bēizi bèi tā bù xiǎoxīn gěi shuāi suì le. The cup was accidentally smashed by her.
• 自行车叫小偷儿给偷走了。 Zìxíngchē jiào xiǎotōur gěi tōu zǒu le. The bicycle was stolen by a thief.

时而⋯⋯，时而⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 时而 (shíér)⋯⋯，时而 (shíér)⋯⋯

• 这儿的天气变来变去，时而晴天，时而下雨。 Zhèr de tiānqì biàn lái biàn qù, shíér qíngtiān, shíér xiàyǔ. The weather here keeps changing — now sunny, now raining.
• 生活就是这样，时而让人失望，时而让人充满信心。 Shēnghuó jiùshì zhèyàng, shíér ràng rén shīwàng, shíér ràng rén chōngmǎn xìnxīn. That's life — now letting you down, now filling you with confidence.

一时⋯⋯一时⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 一时 (yìshí)⋯⋯一时 (yìshí)⋯⋯

• 年纪太大了，身体一时好一时坏。 Niánjì tài dà le, shēntǐ yìshí hǎo yìshí huài. Too old — his health is fine one moment and poor the next.
• 这家公司的产量一时上升一时下降。 Zhè jiā gōngsī de chǎnliàng yìshí shàngshēng yìshí xiàjiàng. The company's output rises one moment and falls the next.

⋯⋯便⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · ⋯⋯便 (biàn)⋯⋯

• 我一走出校门，抬头便看见了她。 Wǒ yì zǒu chūxiàomén, táitóu biàn kànjiàn le tā. The moment I walked out of the school gate, I looked up and saw her.
• 她放下电话，衣服没换便往医院赶。 Tā fàngxià diànhuà, yìfu méi huàn biàn wǎng yíyuàn gǎn. She put down the phone and hurried to the hospital without even changing clothes.

不但不/不但没有⋯⋯，反而⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 不但不/不但没有⋯⋯，反而 (fǎnér)⋯⋯

• 他不但不帮我，反而还给我添麻烦。 Tā bùdàn bù bāng wǒ, fǎnér huángěi wǒ tiānmáfan. Far from helping me, he actually made trouble for me.
• 夏天过去了，天气不但没有凉快，反而更热了。 Xiàtiān guòqù le, tiānqì bùdàn méiyǒu liángkuai, fǎnér gèng rè le. Summer has passed, yet instead of cooling, the weather has turned hotter still.

不是⋯⋯，还/还是⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 不是 (bùshì)⋯⋯，还 (hái)/还是 (háishi)⋯⋯

• 不是读完了就可以了，还应该写一篇作文。 Bú shì dú wánle jiù kěyǐ le, hái yīnggāi xiě yì piān zuòwén. It's not enough just to finish reading it — you should also write an essay.
• 这事不是你想做就能做的，还是要听听老板的意见。 Zhè shì bú shì nǐ xiǎng zuò jiù néng zuò de, háishi yào tīng tīng lǎobǎn de yìjiàn. This isn't something you can do just because you want to — you should hear the boss's opinion.

要么⋯⋯，要么⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 要么 (yàome)⋯⋯，要么 (yàome)⋯⋯

• 你要么跟他一组，要么自己一个人一组，尽快决定吧。 Nǐ yàome gēn tā yì zǔ, yàome zìjǐ yígèrén yì zǔ, jǐnkuài juédìng ba. Either you join his group or form a group of one by yourself — decide as soon as you can.
• 面对困难，我们要么被它吓倒，要么战胜它。 Miànduì kùnnan, wǒmen yàome bèi tā xiàdǎo, yàome zhànshèng tā. Facing difficulty, we are either daunted by it or defeat it.

虽⋯⋯，但/可/却/也⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 虽 (suī)⋯⋯，但 (dàn)/可 (kě)/却/也⋯⋯

• 他年纪虽小，但经验不少。 Tā niánjì suī xiǎo, dàn jīngyàn bùshǎo. Young as he is, he has plenty of experience.
• 我虽没得到奖励，可仍然对自己充满信心。 Wǒ suī méi dédào jiǎnglì, kě réngrán duì zìjǐ chōngmǎn xìnxīn. Though I got no award, I am still full of confidence in myself.

⋯⋯，要不然/不然⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · ⋯⋯，要不然 (yàobùrán)/不然 (bùrán)⋯⋯

• 大家要认真对待考试，要不然会影响毕业的。 Dàjiā yào rènzhēn duìdài kǎoshì, yàobùrán huì yǐngxiǎng bìyè de. Everyone must take the exam seriously — otherwise graduation will be affected.
• 你不用太担心，不然我和你一起去。 Nǐ bùyòng tài dānxīn, bùrán wǒ hé nǐ yìqǐ qù. You needn't worry too much — or I can go with you.

凡是⋯⋯，都⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 凡是 (fánshì)⋯⋯，都 (dōu)⋯⋯

• 凡是听到高兴的事，他都和朋友分享。 Fánshì tīngdào gāoxìng de shì, tā dōu hé péngyou fēnxiǎng. Whenever he hears good news, he shares it with his friends.
• 凡是跟他合作，都能顺利完成任务。 Fánshì gēn tā hézuò, dōu néng shùnlì wánchéng rènwu. Whoever works with him can finish the task smoothly.

就算/就是⋯⋯也⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 就算 (jiùsuàn)/就是 (jiùshì)⋯⋯也 (yě)⋯⋯

• 就算成绩最好的同学也无法回答这个问题。 Jiùsuàn chéngjì zuìhǎo de tóngxué yě wúfǎ huídá zhège wèntí. Even the top student in the class couldn't answer this question.
• 就是你想马上瘦下来也不能每天不吃饭。 Jiùshì nǐ xiǎng mǎshàng shòu xiàlai yě bùnéng měitiān bù chīfàn. Even if you want to slim down right away, you can't skip meals every day.
• 就算再累，我也要坚持完成任务。 Jiùsuàn zài lèi, wǒ yě yào jiānchí wánchéng rènwu. Even if I'm exhausted, I will persevere and finish the task.
• 就算他做错了，你也要注意教育方法。 Jiùsuàn tā zuòcuò le, nǐ yě yào zhùyì jiàoyù fāngfǎ. Even if he did wrong, you should still mind your method of teaching him.

让步复句

不⋯⋯不⋯⋯

Sentence type / compound sentence · 不 (bù)⋯⋯不 (bù)⋯⋯

• 你们两个人可真是不打不成交。 Nǐmen liǎng gèrén kě zhēnshi bù dǎ bù chéngjiāo. You two really prove the saying: no discord, no concord.
• 这里的房价不问不知道，一问吓一跳。 Zhèlǐ de fángjià bùwèn bù zhīdào, yí wèn xiàyítiào. You'd never know the housing prices here until you asked — and one ask startles you.

二重复句2：复句+复句

Sentence type / compound sentence · 二重复句2(复句 (fùjù)+复句 (fùjù))

• 成功的基础是奋斗，奋斗的收获是成功，所以，只有不断努力的人才有机会走上成功的高峰。 Chénggōng de jīchǔ shì fèndòu, fèndòu de shōuhuò shì chénggōng, suǒyǐ, zhǐyǒu bùduàn nǔlì de réncái yǒu jīhuì zǒu shàng chénggōng de gāofēng. The foundation of success is striving, and the harvest of striving is success; therefore only those who keep striving have the chance to climb the peak of success.
• 这个国王既不关心他的军队，也不喜欢去看戏，也不喜欢乘着马车去游玩儿，————除非是要展示一下儿自己的新衣服。 Zhège guówáng jì bù guānxīn tā de jūnduì, yě bù xǐhuan qù kànxì, yě bù xǐhuan chéng zhe mǎchē qù yóu wánr, ---- chúfēi shì yào zhǎnshì yíxiàr zìjǐ de xīn yìfu. This king cared nothing for his army, cared nothing for the theater, cared nothing for carriage rides — unless it was to show off his new clothes.