TALKING ABOUT HABITUAL ACTIONS

31

Talking about habitual actions

Habitual actions are actions that occur regularly. The following time expressions and adverbs are used to express habitual actions in Chinese.

31.1Expressing habitual time with the word mLi

‘every/each’

Time expressions that indicate habitual action include the word mli ‘every/each.’ As with other expressions that indicate the time when an action occurs, these expressions occur right after the subject, at the beginning of the predicate. Commonly used time expressions include:

!/ !	mli gè xikoshí	every hour
!/ !	mli gè zhsngtóu	every hour
	mlitipn	every day
!	mlitipn wknshang	every evening
!/ !	mli gè lmbài	every week
!/ !	mli gè xrngqr	every week
/	mli gè yuè	every month
	mli nián	every year

The adverb dsu may also occur with these expressions, right before the verb or, if there is a prepositional phrase, right before the prepositional phrase.

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

Wn mlitipn bpdikn bàn qù shàng bpn.

I go to work every day at 8:30.

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

Tp mli gè xrngqr dsu huí jip kàn fùmo yrcì.

She goes home once every week to see her parents.

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

Wn mli gè yuè dsu gqn péngyou qù kàn diànymng.

Every month I go with my friends to see a movie.

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Adverbs that describe habitual action

31.3

31.2Expressing habitual time with tiPntiPn and

niánnián

tipn and nián may also occur in the following phrases to indicate habitual action.

	tipntipn	every day
	niánnián	every year

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

Dàxuéshqng tipntipn dsu hln máng.

University students are busy every day.

31.3Adverbs that describe habitual action

Adverbs that describe habitual action include:

chángcháng ‘often’

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

Wnmen chángcháng qù wkngbp shàng wkng.

We frequently go to an internet café to surf the web.

píngcháng ‘ordinarily, usually’

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

Xuésheng píngcháng zài zhsumò gqn péngyou wár.

Students often have fun with their friends on the weekend.

/ jRngcháng ‘usually, often’

!"#$%!"#$%

Dìdi jrngcháng shàng kè chídào.

My younger brother is often late for class.

/ shícháng ‘regularly’

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

Nm dli shícháng yùndòng yùndòng, duànliàn shqntm.

You should exercise regularly and strengthen your body.

/ zNng ‘always’

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

Tp znng gqn nán péngyou zài yrqm, bù yuànyi yr gè rén chtqu.

She’s always with her boyfriend; (she’s) not willing to go out by herself.

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TALKING ABOUT HABITUAL ACTIONS

31.3

/ zNngshì ‘always’

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

Tp zhqn shì hko rén, znngshì bpngzhù péngyou.

He really is a good person; (he) always helps his friends.

dSu ‘all/always’

!"#$!"#$

Wn mlitipn dsu kàn bào.

I read the news every day.

lKo ‘always’

!"#$%

Wn bù yào lko dpi zài jip.

I don’t want to always stay home.

/ xiànglái ‘always in the past’

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

Tp xiànglái dsu trng fùmo de huà.

He always listened to his parents.

yRxiàng ‘always in the past’

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

Tp yrxiàng hln klkào. Wnmen yrdìng kéym xìnrèn tp.

He has always been very reliable. We can certainly trust him.

NOTE / xiànglái and / cónglái are opposites.

•/ xiànglái is used to indicate that an action habitually occurred in the past.

•/ cónglái indicates that an action does not happen or has not happened.

/ cónglái always occurs with negation:

/ cónglái + bù indicates that an action never occurs./ cónglái + méi indicates that an action has never occurred in the past.

!"#$!"#$

Tp cónglái bù hq jio.

He never drinks alcohol.

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

Wn cónglái méi gli tp dkguo diànhuà.

I have never called him on the phone before.

Í23.3.1

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32

Talking about the future

Mandarin has no distinct future tense. Instead, future time is expressed by words and phrases that refer to the future.

32.1Time words that refer to future time

Here are some common time words that refer to future time.

!	jrntipn xiàwo	this afternoon
!	jrntipn wknshang	tonight
	míngtipn	tomorrow
/	hòutipn	the day after tomorrow
/	dà hòutipn	three days from now
!/ !	xià gè xrngqr	next week
!/ !	xià gè lmbài	next week
/	xià gè yuè	next month
	míngnián	next year
/	jipnglái	in the future

The neutral position for ‘time when’ expressions is after the subject, at the beginning of the predicate. To emphasize the time when a situation occurs, put the ‘time when’ expression at the beginning of the sentence, before the subject.

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

Wnmen jRntiPn wKnshang qù kàn diànymng.

We are going to see a movie tonight.

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

jRntiPn wKnshang wnmen qù kàn diànymng.

Tonight we are going to see a movie.

Í4.5, 53.3.2

32.2Adverbs that refer to future time

Common adverbs that refer to the future include the following. (Note that adverbs always occur before the [prepositional phrase +] verb phrase.)

223

TALKING ABOUT THE FUTURE

32.3

jiù yào ‘soon will’

!"#$!"#$

Tp jiù yào jiéhtn le.

He is going to get married soon.

zài ‘(do) again in the future’

Zài jiàn!

See you again! (Goodbye)

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

Wn méi trng qrngchu, qmng nm zài shus yrcì.

I didn’t hear clearly, please say it again.

kLnéng ‘possible’

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

Tp kLnéng bù xué Zhsngwén le.

She may not study Chinese any more.

Í15

Notice that the adverb zài is closely related to the adverb yòu. The adverb zài means (to do) again in the future, and the adverb yòu means (to do) again in the past.

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

Nm qiántipn chídào le. Zuótipn yòu chídào le.

You were late the day before yesterday. Yesterday you were late again.

Í33.5

32.3Indicating future time with the modal verb / huì

The modal verb / huì can be used to indicate future time. The meaning of ‘future’ is associated with the meanings of ‘possibility’ and ‘prediction’ conveyed by

/ huì.

!"#$%!"#$%

Wn xikng tp bù huì lái le.

I don’t think he will come.

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Verbs that refer to the future

32.4

Sometimes, / huì simply indicates future.

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

Tipnqì yùbào shus, míngtipn yrdìng huì xià yo.

The weather report says tomorrow it will definitely rain.

Í12.1

32.4Verbs that refer to the future

Verbs involving thinking or planning refer to future time. The most common include the following:

yào ‘to want’

!"#$%!"#$%

Wn yào chtqu mki dsngxi.

I want to go out to buy some things.

xiKng ‘to think’

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

Wn jrntipn xikng zko yrdikn huí jip.

I want to return home a little earlier today.

/ yuànyi ‘to be willing’

!"#$%!"#$%

Wn yuànyi gqn tp jiéhtn.

I am willing to marry him.

/ zhOnbèi ‘to prepare to, to get ready to’

!"#$!"#$

Qmng nm zhonbèi xià chq.

Please get ready to get off the bus.

dKsuan ‘to plan to’

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

Wn jipnglái dksuan zhù zài Rìbln.

I plan to live in Japan in the future.

225