mirrored file at http://SaturnianCosmology.Org/ For complete access to all the files of this collection see http://SaturnianCosmology.org/search.php ========================================================== #next previous up next next up previous contents Next: Adverb Up: Introduction to Elementary Chinese Previous: A marker for Chinese Contents Tenses & Aspects Though tenses do exist in the Chinese language, verbs need not to be marked accordingly. The tense of a Chinese sentence is often indicated by an adverb of time, e.g.: §Ú ZQ¤N zÇ ß ¤¤¤l AC §A ¤l¤N zÇ ß ¤¤¤l AC LL Sú¤N zÇ ß ¤¤¤l AC LLE ¤lSu zÇ ß ¤¤¤l AC I/You/He/They yesterday/today/tomorrow/this season learn Chinese Note that the form of the verb zÇ ß stays unchanged regarding to different tenses, numbers and genders. Similar to the Czech language, Chinese uses the concept of `aspect'. The following are some Chinese aspect indicators. Most aspect marker appear after the verbs which they are marking. However, some aspect markers, i.e. Lz A Sb ALzSb, appear in front of the verbs that they mark. In fact, it is arguable whether these words really function as aspect markers due to their positioning within a sentence. In Chinese, when modifying the meaning of a verb, it is more common for an adverb to precede a verb than an aspect marker. As you will see in the next section, the word LzSb is also being regarded as an adverb of time. 1. Lz ASb ALzSb--to indicate the progressive aspect of an action ZQ¤N ¤U¤C í §Ú §ä¨e So Ss ZÉÔAM So Lz stLXAC yesterday afternoon when I found her time she ASPECT perform MARKER Yesterday afternoon when I found her, She was performing. SoE LzSb ZÍ SçSA AC They ASPECT MARKER leave-things-under-the-sun-for-drying clothes They are drying clothes. §ÚE Sb LdZ§ AC we ASPECT MARKER rest We are resting. A]Sú¤N§A¨elo¸ESsZÉÔAMA^ §Ú E | Sb lL §A AC (tomorrow when you arrive here,) we will ASPECT MARKER wait you We will be waiting for you. Consider the sentence: LLE aNA] |A^ Sb ¤USu l aB AC they will at next season get married They will get married in next season. The character Sb in here functions as a preposition instead of an aspect marker because it is marking (i.e. be means of preceding) the noun phrase ¤USu instead of the verb l aB. 2. ¤F--to indicate the completion of an action or be in a state. LLE ¤w¸g ¨T ¤F ¤T ¤N ¤F AC they already left/walk ASPECT MARKER three day MODAL PARTICLE They were gone for three days. OR They have been walking for three days. LL L´¸H ¤F lA¤l AC he hit-into-pieces ASPECT MARKER window He shattered the window. lA¤l ¸H ¤F AC window break-into-pieces ASPECT MARKER The window shattered. ¤U ZP´Á¤T §ÚE ¤ at Sw Â÷s} ¤F ¨s Ó T°LT AC next Wednesday we definitely leave ASPECT that QUANTIFIER city MARKER We would have left that city definitely by next Wednesday. 3. lU^12--to indicate the continuous manner of an action or a state (i.e. the action is still going on during the reference time of the speech). LLE ÁU Sb ¸ô ¤W ¨T lU SO AT they still at road top walk ASPECT MARKER MODAL PARTICLE They are still walking in the route! ZQ¤NaߤW lA¤l Aö lU SO AC yesterday night window close ASPECT MARKER MODAL PARTICLE The window was closed yesterday night. 4. nAK¤F--to express an action that is going to take place soon. ¸z÷ n °_¸ ¤F AC fly-machine ASPECT MARKER raise-fly ASPECT MARKER The aeroplane is about to take off. ¸z÷ §Ö n °_¸ ¤F AC fly-machine quick ASPECT MARKER raise-fly ASPECT MARKER The aeroplane is about to take off very soon. ¤W¤ë LL n lX lR Ss ZÉÔAM §Ú LzSb °eL~ AC last he ASPECT visit china time I at-the- country- month MARKER moment outside Last month when he was about to visit China, I was abroad. Sú¤N §ÚE n SN¸O ¤F AC tomorrow we ASPECT MARKER examination ASPECT MARKER Tomorrow we will have (an) examination(s). 5. sL--to indicate a certain action has been done and to place a special stress on this experience. LLE LHTe ¨T sL lo ar ¸ô AC they before walk ASPECT MARKER this QUANTIFIER road/route They have walked through this road/route before. §Ú ZÝ sL lo Lt ¤ptA AC I read ASPECT MARKER this QUANTIFIER novel I have read this novel (before). * §Ú a`a` ZÝ sL lo Lt ¤ptA AC I often read ASPECT MARKER this QUANTIFIER novel 6. °_¨Ó--to indicate the start of an action. ZG¨C LiLH Áz °_¨Ó ¤F AC story can talk/speak ASPECT MARKER MODAL PARTICLE The story can begin to be told. 7. ¤ULh--to indicate the carry on manner of an action. §Ö Áz ¤ULh AT quick talk/speak ASPECT MARKER Quickly, continue to tell (the story)! Another distinct feature concerning Chinese verbs is the existence of a phenomanon named verb copying (Chang, 1991). When expressing the duration or frequency of an action, in addition to using the appropriate aspect marker, a Chinese verb needs to be copied, thus it will appear in the sentence twice. For instance: sýsý SY ¤ at Ó au¤l SY ¤F ¤ at ¤pZÉAC mum eat one QUANTIFIER pear eat ASPECT MARKER one hour Mum ate a pear for one hour. S¨S¨ ZÝ lo Lt ZN ZÝ ¤F ¤T S¸AC dad read this QUANTIFIER book read ASPECT MARKER three times Dad read the book three times. In English, words which repeat the meaning of previous words within a sentence are considered to be redundant and thus should be avoided. For instance, one cannot say: * * I taste taste this cake. * * I investigate investigate this crime. However, in Chinese, the use of repeating characters in a word or a sentence (especially for enhancing, intensifying or modifying meaning) is very common. Consider the following grammatical examples: * to indicate the trying nature of an action Lý §Ú R| R| lo Ló Sctc AC let I taste this QUANTIFIER cake Let me try the taste of this piece of cake. * to indicate the repeating nature of an action Lý §Ú OZd OZd lo Sv Z×Ló AC let I investigate this QUANTIFIER crime Let me (repeatingly) investigate this crime. * to indicate that an event lasts for a short time only Lý §Ú ZÝ ZÝ lo Ló L¨Sç AC let I see this QUANTIFIER shirt Let me have a look at this shirt. _________________________________________________________________ Footnotes ...lU^12 Though lU is a proper form of this character, a variant of it (which I cannot display in here as I cannot find this character in the character set) is much more commonly used by most Chinese. _________________________________________________________________ next up previous contents Next: Adverb Up: Introduction to Elementary Chinese Previous: A marker for Chinese Contents Shun Ha Sylvia Konecna Wong 2001-02-19