15

Adverbs

Adverbs are words that modify the verb or verb phrase.

15.1General properties of adverbs

In Mandarin, adverbs occur at the beginning of the verb phrase, before the verb and any prepositional phrase.

Most adverbs must precede negation, but some adverbs may occur before or after negation.

!"	and also	!"
Tp yrdìng bù qù.		Tp bù yrdìng qù.
She’s definitely not going.		She’s may not go.
		(She is not definitely going.)
!"#	but not	G !"#
!"		!"
Tp yéxo bù qù.		Tp bù ylxo qù.
Perhaps she won’t go.
!"#$	but not	G !"#$
!"#		!"#
Tp bìng bù xmhuan wn.		Tp bù bìng xmhuan wn.
She doesn’t like me at all.

Í23.2

Unlike verbs, adverbs typically cannot be the one word answer to a yes–no question.

Question	Respond with this	Not this
!"#$%&'%()		G
!"#$%&'%(
Tpmen jrngcháng zài nàge	Duì.	Jrngcháng.
fàngukn chr fàn ma?
Do they often eat at	Correct.
that restaurant?	or
	= !"#$%
	= !"#$%
	Tpmen jrngcháng zài
	nàr chr fàn.
	They often eat there.

89

ADVERBS			15.2
Question	Respond with this	Not this
!"#$		G
!"#
Nm ymjing chr le ma?	Duì.	Ymjing.
Have you already eaten?	Correct.
	or
	!"#
	!"
	Wn ymjing chr le.
	I have already eaten.

Mandarin has a number of structures that are adverbial in function in that they describe an action in some way. These structures are presented in the chapter on adverbial modification.

Í27

Adjectival verbs, stative verbs, and modal verbs may be modified by intensifiers such as hln ‘very,’ tài ‘too,’ and zhqn ‘really.’ A list of intensifiers is presented in 10.3.

Í10.3, 11.2, 12.6.3

Adverbs add many different kinds of meaning to a sentence. This chapter presents adverbs that have logical functions. Other adverbs are presented throughout this book in chapters that focus on the meanings associated with the specific adverbs.

Í23, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 38, 40, 42, 46, 48, 49, 52, 53

15.2Adverbs with logical function: yL, dSu, / hái,

jiù, zhM, and cái

15.2.1yL ‘also, in addition’

yl is used to introduce a second verb phrase. It never follows negation.

yl can be used to introduce a second verb phrase that adds additional information about the subject.

!"#$% &"#!" !"

Xiko Wáng xué Zhsngwén. Tp yl xué Rìwén.

Little Wang studies Chinese. He also studies Japanese.

When the subjects are identical in reference, the second subject may be omitted:

!"#$ %"&!"#$ %"

Xiko Wáng xué Zhsngwén, yl xué Rìwén.

Little Wang studies Chinese and also studies Japanese.

yl can be used to indicate that two different subjects share similar properties or perform the same action.

90

Adverbs with logical function: yL, dSu, / hái, jiù, zhM, and cái 15.2

!" #$ !"

Xiko Wáng hln gpo. Xiko Lm yl hln gpo.

Little Wang is very tall. Little Li also is very tall.

!"# $% !"#!" !"#

Xiko Wáng shàng dàxué. Xiko Lm yl shàng dàxué.

Little Wang attends college. Little Li also attends college.

Í36.1

Since yl introduces additional information it can sometimes be translated by ‘and’ in English. However, it is very different from English ‘and.’ ‘And’ can connect almost any kind of phrase. yl can only occur before verbs or verb phrases.

Compare this Mandarin example and its English translation.

!"# $%&'!"# $%&

Wn xué Zhsngwén, yl xué Zhsngguó lìshm.

I study Chinese and I also study Chinese history.

Chinese conjunctions that join noun phrases and convey the meaning of the English ‘and’ include hé and gqn.

!" #$%&!" #$%

Wn xué Zhsngwén hé Zhsngguó lìshm.

I study Chinese and Chinese history.

Í36.7

15.2.2dSu ‘all, both’

dsu can indicate that a verb phrase is true for the entire subject.

!"#$!"#

Wnmen dsu xué Zhsngwén.

We all study Chinese.

!"#$%&!"#$%

Xiko Wáng hé Xiko Lm dsu xué Zhsngwén.

Little Wang and Little Li both study Chinese.

dsu can indicate that a verb is true for multiple objects. Typically, when dsu refers to objects, the objects occur before the verb as the topic of the sentence.

! "#$%! "#$

Zhsngwén, Rìwén, tp dsu xué.

Chinese, Japanese, he studies them both.

Í53.1.2.1

91

ADVERBS

15.2

dsu before a verb without an object can be used to express the meaning ‘completely.’

!

Wn dsu dnng.

I understand everything.

dsu can occur with a question word to indicate that something is universally true.

!"#!"

Tp shénme dsu huì.

She can do everything.

!"#$%&!"#$%

Tp shénme shíhòu dsu hln máng.

She is always busy.

Í42.4

dsu can occur before or after negation. The relative position of negation and dsu reflects a difference in meaning.

The sequence dSu + Negation conveys the meaning ‘all not.’

dsu before negation may indicate that the negated verb phrase is true for the entire subject.

!"#$%!"#$

Tpmen dsu méi xué Zhsngwén.

They all have not studied Chinese.

dsu before negation can also indicate that the negated verb is true for the entire object. Often, when dsu refers to the object, the object is topicalized.

! "#$%&! "#$%

Zhtròu, niúròu wn dsu bù chr.

Pork, beef, I don’t eat either.

dsu after negation indicates that negation is not true for the entire subject or that it is not true for the entire object. The sequence negation + dSu can often be translated into English as ‘not all.’

!"#$%&'"($%)*"+$%&,- "#$%&!"#$% !"#$ %!" !"#$

Wnmen bù dsu shì Zhsngguó rén. Tp shì Mliguó rén, tp shì Yrngguó rén. Zhm ynu wn shì Zhsngguó rén.

We are not all Chinese. She is American, he is English. Only I am Chinese.

!"#$%#$'#&(#$%!"#$ ! "

Mliguó rén bù dsu ynu qián. Ynu de ynu qián, ynu de méi ynu qián.

Americans don’t all have money. Some have money, some don’t have money.

92

Adverbs with logical function: yL, dSu, / hái, jiù, zhM, and cái 15.2

15.2.3/ hái ‘in addition, still, also, else’

/ hái marks the continuation of a situation or introduces additional actions performed by the subject. It can never follow negation.

!"#$!"#

Tpmen hái zài zhèr.

They are still here.

!"#$!"#

Nm hái xué Zhsngwén ma?

Are you still studying Chinese?

!"# $%!"# $

Wn yào mki sht, hái yào mki zhm.

I want to buy books. (I) also want to buy paper.

!"#$!"#

Nm hái yào mki shénme?

What else do you want to buy?

/ hái may introduce additional information about a noun phrase. In this function it is similar to yl ‘also.’

!"#$ %"&!"#$ %"

Tp huì shus Zhsngwén, hái huì shus Rìwén.

He can speak Chinese (and) can also speak Japanese.

( )/ ( ) hái méi (ynu) translates into English as ‘not yet’ or ‘still.’

!"#$!"#

Tp hái méi huí lái ne.

He hasn’t returned yet. (He still hasn’t returned.)

Í36.2

NOTE / hái y]u is a phrase that occurs at the beginning of a sentence or clause and introduces additional information. It can be translated into English as ‘in addition.’

!"#$%&'()*#+,

!"#$%&'()*#+

Tu de nán péngyou h[n héqi. Hái y]u, tu h[n shuài!

Her boyfriend is very friendly. In addition, he is really cute!

Í35.2.2, 36.3

15.2.4jiù ‘only, uniqueness’

When jiù precedes a verb phrase that is not linked to another verb phrase, it conveys the meaning of uniqueness.

93

ADVERBS

15.2

In some sentences, this meaning is best translated by the English word ‘only’:

!"#$!"#

Wn jiù ynu yr kuài qián.

I only have one dollar.

In some contexts, jiù conveys precise identification of a noun phrase. If the noun phrase is a person or place, there may be no English equivalent for jiù.

W !	W !"#	W !
Wáng: Nm zhko shéi?	Lín: Wn zhko Wáng Mlilíng.	Wáng: Wn jiù shì.
Wang: Who are you	Lin: I am looking	Wang: That’s me.
looking for?	for Wang Meiling.

If the noun phrase is a specifier or a directional expression, jiù may be translated as ‘right’ or ‘precisely.’

Q:	!"#$%&'(	A:	!"#$%&'
!"#$%&'		!"#$%&
Zhào jrnglm de bàngsngshì zài nkr?		Tp de bàngsngshì jiù zài zhèr.
Where is Manager Zhao’s office?		Her office is right here.
Q: !"#$		A: !"#$%&
!"#		!"#$%
Túshtgukn zài nkr?		Jiù zài huNchQzhàn de duìmiàn.
Where is the library?		Right across from the train station.

jiù is also used to link two verb phrases and to signal a relationship of sequence between them.

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Wn kàn le bào ymhòu jiù shuì jiào.

After I read the newspaper I will go to sleep.

!"#$%&"! !

Tp hln csngming. Yr xué jiù huì.

She is really smart. As soon as she studies it she gets it.

Í38.2.2.1

jiù usually precedes negation, but it may also follow negation.

!"#$%&'()*+!"#$%&'()*

Zhè jiàn shìqing bù jiù shì wn yr gè rén zhrdao.

(As for) this matter, it is not just I who knows.

15.2.5zhM ‘only’

zhm can be used interchangeably with jiù to express the meaning ‘only.’

94

Adverbs with logical function: yL, dSu, / hái, jiù, zhM, and cái 15.2

!"#$!"#

Wn zhm ynu yr kuài qián.

I only have one dollar.

Like jiù, zhm typically precedes negation, but may also follow it.

!"#$%&'()*+!"#$%&'()*

Zhè jiàn shìqing bù zhm shì wn yr gè rén zhrdao.

(As for) this matter, it is not just I who knows.

15.2.6cái ‘only, only then’

cái indicates that something is less than expected. In sentences in which there is only a single verb, cái may be translated into English as ‘only.’

!"#$%!"#$

Tp cái rènshi wo gè zì.

He only knows (recognizes) five characters [and that is fewer than one would expect].

!"#$%&'()*+,%!"#$ !"#$

Nàge háizi cái yrsuì. Dpngrán hái bù huì shus huà.

That child is only one year old. Of course s/he can’t speak yet.

!"#$%&'

Wn jrntipn cái zhèng le spnbki yuán.

Today I only earned 300 yuan (300 dollars).

When cái is used to link two verb phrases as in the following sentences, it may be translated as ‘only then.’

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Tp zuòwán le gsngkè cái shuì jiào.

She finishes doing her homework and only then goes to sleep.

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'

Nà bln sht wn kàn le likng cì cái dnng.

That book, I read it two times and only then understood (it).

Í38.2.2.2

cái never follows negation.

15.2.7éryM ‘and that is all’

In Taiwan, the sentence final expression érym ‘and that is all’ is commonly used to reinforce the sense of only contributed by jiù, zhm, and cái.

95

ADVERBS

15.2

!"#$%&!"#$%

Wn zhm ynu wo kuài qián érym.

I only have five dollars (and that is all.)

!"#$%&'!"#$%&

Tp jiù xil le yr gè zì érym.

He only wrote one character (and that is all.)

The meaning ‘only if ’ is expressed with the sentence initial phrase chúfqi.

Í41.4

96