EXPRESSING KNOWLEDGE, ADVICE, AND OPINIONS

50

Expressing knowledge, advice, and opinions

50.1Expressing knowledge

To express knowledge, use the following verbs:

	zhrdao	to know
/	rènshi	to recognize/to know
/	huì	to be able to, to know

50.1.1Expressing knowledge with zhRdao and / rènshi

zhrdao and / rènshi can both be translated into English as ‘to know.’ They are sometimes interchangeable, but they often have distinct uses.

•zhrdao means to know information.

•/ rènshi means to know of or to recognize. It is used to talk about recognizing Chinese characters and locations, as well as people.

The following examples illustrate the differences between zhrdao and / rènshi.

Conversation 1

Q:!"# A: !"#$%" &'(!)

!"#	!"#$%" &'(!)
Nm rènshi tp ma?	Wn zhRdao tp shì shéi, klshì
	wn bù rènshi tp.
Do you know him?	I know who he is, but I don’t
	know him.
Do not say
G !"#
!"#
Nm zhRdao tp ma?

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Expressing knowledge							50.1
Conversation 2
Q: !"#$%&'(	A: !"# $"
!"#$%&'\	!"# $"
Nm zhRdao hunchqzhàn	Wn bù zhRdao. Duìbuqm.
zài nkr ma?
Do you know where the	I don’t know. Sorry.
train station is?
Do not say	Do not say
G !"#$%&'(	G !"# $"
!"#$%&'\	!"# $"
Nm rènshi hunchqzhàn zài	Wn bù rènshi. Duìbuqm.
nkr ma?
Conversation 3
Q: !"#$%	A: !"# $%&'()*
!"#$%	!"# $%&'()*
Nm rènshi Zhsngguó	Wn rènshi, klshì wn bù zhRdao
zì ma?	zlnme xil.
Do you know Chinese	I recognize them, but I don’t
characters?	know how to write them.
Do not say	Do not say
G !"#$%	G !"# $%&'()*
!"#$%	!"# $%&'()*
Nm zhRdao Zhsngguó zì ma?	Wn zhRdao, klshì wn bù rènshi
	zlnme xil.
Conversation 4
Q: !"#$%&'(	A: !" #$%&
!"#$%&'(	!" #$%&
Qmngwèn, dào túshtgukn	Duìbuqm, wn bù rènshi lù.
zlnme znu?
Excuse me, how do you go	Sorry, I don’t know the way.
to the library?
	Do not say
	G !"#
	Wn bù zhRdao lù.

50.1.2Expressing knowledge with / huì

One meaning conveyed by the modal verb / huì is that of ability associated with knowledge. In the following sentences, / huì means to be able to or to know.

Q: !"#$	A:	!"#$
!"#$		!"#$
Nm huì shus Yrngwén ma?	Wn huì shus yrdikr.
Do you speak English?	I can speak a little.

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	EXPRESSING KNOWLEDGE, ADVICE, AND OPINIONS			50.2
	Q: !"#	A:	!"#$%&'
	!"#		!"#$%&'
	Nm huì bù huì kpi chq?		Wn shíbp suì jiù huì kpi chq le.
	Do you know how to drive?		I have known how to drive since
			I was eighteen.
	Q: !"#$%&	A:	!"# $!
	!"#$%&		!"# $!
	Mliguórén dsu huì		Bù yrdìng. Wn jiù bù huì.
	tiào wo ba?
	All Americans know how		Not necessarily. I for one cannot
	to dance, right?		dance.
Í	12.1
50.2	Advice and opinions

50.2.1Requesting and giving advice and opinions

To give your opinion or your advice, or to ask another for their opinion or advice use these expressions.

xiKng ‘to think’

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

Nm xikng wnmen shì zuò fqijr hko, háishi zuò hunchq hko?

Do you think we should fly or take the train?

A: !"#$%&'!"#$%&'

Wn xikng wnmen zuò fqijr bmjiào hko.

I think it is better to fly.

The Mandarin equivalent of the English expression ‘I don’t think . . . ’ is . . . wn xikng . . . bù ‘I think . . . not . . .’ and not wn bù xikng . . .

!"#$!"#$

Wn xikng tp bù csngming.

I don’t think he is smart.

!"#$!"#$

Wn xikng tp bù huì lái.

I don’t think he is going to come.

kàn ‘to look at, consider, think’

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

Nm kàn zhè jiàn shì yrnggpi zlnme bàn?

How do you think we should handle this matter?

340

Advice and opinions

50.2

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

Wn kàn wnmen dli xipn kànkan dàjip de yìjiàn.

I think we should consider everybody’s opinion first.

/ juéde ‘to feel, to consider, think’

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

Tpmen dsu juéde zhèyàng zuò bmjiào tundang.

They all feel that doing it this way is more appropriate.

/ shuS ‘say’

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

Nm shus wn yrnggpi xukn nk mén kè?

Which courses do you say I should take?

/ rènwéi ‘to believe, to suppose, to consider’

/ yMwéi ‘to believe, to suppose, to consider’

/ ymwéi and / rènwéi overlap in meaning and usage. Both mean to consider, to suppose.

!"#$%&'()*( / rènwéi can be used)

!"#$%&'()*

Wn yMwéi zhècì de luxíng hln ynu yìsi.

I consider this trip to be very interesting.

!"#$%&'()( / =rènwéi can be used)

!"#$%&'()

Dàjip dsu yMwéi tp shì yr gè hkorén.

Everyone believes he is a good person.

/ ymwéi also means to mistakenly assume something. This meaning is not shared by / rènwéi. It is illustrated in the following sentences:

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

Wn ymwéi nm shì Rìbln rén, yuánlái nm shì Hánguó rén.

I thought you were Japanese, but you are Korean.

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

Wn ymwéi jrntipn bù huì xià yo. Méi xikngdào xià le zhème dà de yo.

I assumed that it wouldn’t rain today. I had no idea that it would rain this much.

When giving or requesting advice, you can make reference to obligations.

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

Wn xikng nm yRnggPi dus yònggsng yrxiq.

I think you should be a little more diligent.

Í12.4, 46.1

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EXPRESSING KNOWLEDGE, ADVICE, AND OPINIONS

50.2

50.2.2Making your request polite

To make your request for an opinion or advice polite, use these expressions.

/ qMng wèn ‘may I ask, excuse me’

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

Qmngwèn, wn yrnggpi sòng tp shénme lmwù?

May I ask, what kind of gift should I give him?

/ qMng jiào ‘please teach me/(I) request instruction’

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

Wn ynu yr gè wèntí gqn nín qmng jiào.

I’d like some advice from you on a question.

/ qMng zhMjiào ‘please provide instruction’

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

Wn xil le yr pipn wénzhpng qmng nm dus zhmjiào.

I’ve written an essay that I would like your comments on.

50.2.3Telling someone their best or only option

These expressions can be used when giving strong, direct advice.

zuì hKo (+ verb phrase) ‘the best thing to do is’ (verb phrase)

Q:!"#$%&!"#$%&

Xià yo ne! Zlnme bàn a?

It’s raining. What should we do?

A:!"#$%&!"#$%&

Nà, wnmen zuì hko bù qù.

Well then, we’d best not go.

zhM hKo (+ verb phrase) ‘the only thing to do is’ (verb phrase)

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

Yàoshi nm yào kko de hko, zhm hko rènzhqn de xuéxí.

If you want to do well on the exam, the only thing you can do is study hard.

50.2.4Telling someone to do as they please

To tell someone to do as they please, use the following expression:

subject		verb			verb
subject		verb			verb
subject	zlnme	verb	jiù	zlnme	verb

do whatever the subject pleases

342

Advice and opinions

50.2

Conversation 1

Q:!"#$%&!"#$%&

Zhè jiàn shì wn zlnme zuò hko?

How should I best do this?

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

Zhè wn kl bù zhrdào, nm xikng zlnme zuò jiù zlnme zuò ba.

I don’t know. Do it the way you think it should be done.

Conversation 2

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

Nm xikng zhège zhsumò wnmen qù nkr hko?

Where do you think we should go this weekend?

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

Nm xikng qù nkr wnmen jiù qù nkr ba, wn méi yìjiàn.

We will go wherever you think we should go. I don’t have an opinion.

Conversation 3

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

Jiljie, nm shus wn gqn shéi chtqu wár hko?

Older sister, who do you think I should go out with?

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

Nm xikng gqn shéi wár jiù gqn shéi wár. Bù bì wèn wn.

Go out with whomever you want. You don’t have to ask me.

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