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文法
| 這個鋪子有很多很美的衣服賣，可是都很貴。 |
This store has many beautiful clothes for sale, but they
are all very expensive.
Note 1: The base pattern for this sentence is not new. It
is Ａ有Ｃ的Ｂ，可是Ｄ, such that Ａ has Ｂthat are both Ｃ and Ｄ, and Ｃ and
Ｄ are opposing attributes of Ｂ.
Note 2: The construction 很多很美的 is a noteworthy adjectival
compound of the form 很Ａ很Ｂ的. The word 很 is repeated twice.
Note 3: Another important base pattern is Ａ有Ｂ賣, which means
Ａ has Ｂ that are for sale, or simply Ａ has Ｂ and sells it.
Note 4: Finally the construction 都很貴 should be very familiar
by now. It means that all of Ｂ in note 1 are very expensive.
很貴 is the quality Ｄ.
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| 他說衣服是給人看的，你說是嗎 |
He says clothes are for people to look at. What do you
think?
Note 1: The base pattern of this sentence is Ａ說Ｂ, 你說是嗎﹖This
question asks the listener, what he thinks about what Ａ has just
said -- namely, Ｂ. 嗎 apparently replaces the question word 甚麼
in the phrase 你說是嗎﹖
Note 2: The accusative object Ｂ of the first clause Ａ說Ｂis
the phrase: 衣服是給人看的 which is of the pattern Ｃ是Ｄ的（Ｃ）where Ｃ is
understood. It answers the question what kind of Ｃ are Ｃ, and
the answer is Ｄ的（Ｃ） -- namely, 給人看的（衣服）. The second Ｃis understood
and need not be repeated.
Note 3: The use of 給人看 in the phrase 衣服是給人看的 does not mean
"give people and see". Rather, it means "for people
to see". In this sense 給 functions very much like a preposition
indicating the beneficiary of the verb 看. Ostensibly, one could
substitute the verb 看 with other verbs and produce similar meaning.
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| 說話不要太快，也不要太慢。 |
Speak neither too fast nor too slowly.
Note 1: The base pattern of this sentence is difficult to
reconstruct, because the grammatical role of 說話 is clear. Is
this a command given by the speaker to a specific listener, or
is it a kind of saying that can be said by anyone, when circumstances
permit? I have rendered it as a command.
Note 2: Ignoring the grammatical role of 說話 the base pattern
for the rest of the sentence is （Ａ）不要Ｂ，（Ａ）也不要Ｃ where Ｂand Ｃ are
what Ａ does not need, or does not want. To what Ａ refers is unclear
Note 3: Clearly 太 in this context means "too", as
the speaker is setting limits on the speed at which conversation
should take place.
Note 4: In this context 也 appears to mean "also".
As Ａ and Ｂare both negative, the construction "neither A
nor B" appears appropriate.
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| 他說：「明日坐船到香港去，再坐車去買書，好嗎﹖」 |
He says, "Let's take a boat to Hong Kong tomorrow,
and then board a train to go and buy books".
Note 1: The base pattern is Ａ說：「Ｂ」, where Ｂis what is being
said.
Note 2: The base pattern of the quoted question is Ａ，再Ｂ，好嗎.
The speaker assumes that the listeners knows the subject of the
sentence, and asks the listener for approval of his suggestion.Ａ，再Ｂ.
Note 3: Here again, the character 再 functions as an adverbial
conjunction indicating sequence of action. Boarding a train to
buy books is an action that takes place after taking a boat to
Hong Kong. One could also think of it as performing one action
and then another. In this sense it is the performance of an action
that is repeated, not the action itself.
Note 4: The word order in the first part of the quoted statement
is (time + manner + verb) -- namely 明日 + 坐船 + 到香港去.
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| 有人說，做事很快的人，說話也很快，你說是嗎﹖ |
It is said that people who work fast, talk fast. Do you
agree?
Note 1: The base pattern of this sentence is 有人說Ａ，你說是嗎. The
speaker wants to know, if the listener agrees with what the speaker
believes may be common knowledge. The phrase 有人說 can obviously
be translated in many ways. It means that "there are people
who say".
Note 2: Assuming that 做事 and 說話 are both verbs, then 很快 is
an adverb that follows each. Thus, 做事很快的 is an adjectival modifier
of 人, such that 的 forms a link between the noun that is modified
and the phrase that is used to modify it.
Note 3: The role of the comma between the two phrases 做事很快的人
and 說話也很快 is misleading. Consider the following base pattern
Ａ說話也很快, where Ａis the subject of the sentence. Combining both
phrases yields 做事很快的人說話也很快. In other words, "People who
work fast also talk fast." Here 也 can be interpreted to
mean "too" or "also".
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| 太早告訴你不好，慢慢你會知道的。 |
It is not good to tell you too soon, in time you will know
it.
Note 1: The base pattern for the first clause is Ａ不好, where
Ａ is 太早告訴你. What is told, or in this case not told, is understood.
The temporal adverb 太早 appears before the verb 告訢. 你 as the indirect
object of 告訴 appears in its usual place after the verb.
Note 2: The base pattern of the second clause is Ａ會Ｂwhere
Ｂis a future action performed by Ａ. In this context 會 indicates
that Ｂwill occur in the future. Apparently 的 functions as a pronoun
for that which is not yet known, but will be learned in due time.
Others may argue that it has no meaningful role in the sentence
and should simply be dropped.
Note 3: 慢慢 is a doubling of characters and means "gradually",
"slowly", "with time". The doubling of characters
to produce new meaning or emphasize old is also very common in
Japanese
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| 我說新的地方好玩，他說舊的地方好玩，你呢﹖ |
I say the new place is fun, he says the old place is fun.
And you? (What do you think?)
Note 1: The base pattern is Ａ說Ｃ，Ｂ說Ｄ，你呢﹖The speaker says what
Ａ and Ｂthink and asks for the listener's own opinion. Ｃ and Ｄ
are Ａ and Ｂ's different opinions, respectively.
Note 2: 新的 and 舊的 are contrastive adjectives describing 地方.
新的地方 is a new place and 舊的地方 is an old place.
Note 3: The base pattern for Ｃ and Ｄ mentioned in Note 1 is
the simple predicate adjective construction ＥＦ, where Ｅ is the
noun subjects 新的地方 and 舊的地方 and Ｆ is the predicate adjective
好玩.
Note 4: 你呢﹖is a standard sentence suffix used to ask another
person's opinion about something just spoken by the speaker.
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| 字寫不好，再寫，慢慢會很好的。 |
Bad writing improves with practice.
Note 1: This is a sequence of three grammatically independent
sentence fragments, which when written together produce a single
thought: bad writing; written repetition; and improvement.
Note 2: The base pattern of the first sentence fragment is
Ａ不Ｂwhere 不Ｂis a negative predicate adjective describing Ａ. In
this case "the writing is bad".
Note 3: The second sentence fragment is of the form 再Ｃ and
means simply do Ｃ again -- in this case, write.
Note 4: The base pattern of the third fragment appears to
be（Ａ）會Ｂ的（Ａ）where Ａ is understood both as the subject 字寫 and as
its predicate nominative. 會 indicates what "can be",
what the future "can bring". Ｂ的 is of course the adjective
很好的 meaning "good" or "very good".
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| 他正在吃飯呢，你等他吃完了再說，好嗎﹖ |
He is eating right now. Can you wait until he has finished
and talk then?
Note 1: The base pattern for the first clause is Ａ正在Ｂ, where
Ｂis an activity performed by Ａin the moment it is described by
the speaker.
Note 2: The use of 呢 in the first clause is not entirely clear,
but it may be used by the speaker in an effort to obtain the
listener's understanding of the situation.
Note 3: One way of interpreting the base pattern in the second
clause is to divide the clause into two parts: one, Ａ等Ｄ再Ｅ where
Ｅ is an activity performed by Ａ after waiting for Ｄ to take place;
and two, ＢＣ完了 where ＢＣ完了 is the activity Ｄ that must take place
before Ａ performs Ｅ -- the activity is Ｂ's completion of Ｃ.
Another way to interpret the base pattern is as follows: Ａ等Ｄ再Ｅ,
and Ａ等ＢＣ完了. The first pattern is interpreted as above, and the
second pattern is interpreted as follows: Ａwaits for Ｂto complete
Ｃ.
The difference in interpretation depends on the grammatical
role that one assigns to Ｂ. In the first instance it is the subject
of the nested clause ＢＣ完了, and in the second it functions as
the object of the verb 等. It is likely that both interpretations
are at work simultaneously.
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| 早上有人在外頭唱歌，你知道是誰嗎﹖ |
There is someone singing outside this morning. Do you know
who it is?
Note 1: The first clause is of the base pattern 有Ａ在ＢＣ, where
Ｃ is an activity performed by Ａ at Ｂ. In this case someone 人
is singing 唱歌 outside 在外頭. One may argue that "is singing"
is an improper translation of 唱歌, but the construction 有人 does
not permit another. If the person sings every morning, then of
course the interpretation would be different, but nothing indicates
that this is what is meant.
Note 2: The temporal adverb 早上 appears in its usual place
before the verb phrase 有人外頭唱歌.
Note 3: The base pattern of the second clause is clearly that
of a question formed in the usual way by replacing a word element
of a statement with a question word or phrase. The statement
in this case is Ａ知道Ｂ, where Ｂis the direct object of the verb
知道 and Ａ is the subject of the sentence. The question element
that replaces Ｂ is 是誰. The sentence suffix 嗎 indicates further
that a question has been formed.
So, why does 是 precede 誰? Is there not an understood missing
element Ｃthat plays a dual grammatical role -- namely, the direct
object of the phrase Ａ知道Ｂ and the subject of the question phrase
是誰. Consider the following construction: Ａ知道（Ｃ）是誰嗎﹖, where Ｃ
is the unknown person. Evidence for this might be found in the
question: 你知道那個人是誰嗎﹖which means "Do you know who that person
is?"
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