Advanced uses of "zong"

总 (zǒng) can often be simply translated as "always," but it has other advanced uses as well. It can express "no matter how long or under what circumstances, facts are facts." It can also express "no matter what." It is often paired with other words to form set phrases such as 总会, 总归, 总得, 总要, 总能, etc. It can also be structured together with other unconditional compound phrases like 无论 and 不管. You cannot place it directly after the verb.

Used with Auxiliary Verb

In this structure, 总, with its companion character (usually a modal/auxiliary verb), means "always will (fill in character/action here)" Once again, it gives the feeling of something very concrete and factual. As you'll see in the examples, below, however, the word "always" don't always work well in a natural translation to English.

Structure

总 + 会 / 得 / 要 / 能 + Verb Phrase (+ 吧)

Examples

• 这里 是 他 家，他 总 会 回来 的。Zhèlǐ shì tā jiā, tā zǒng huì huílái de.This is his home. He will always come back.
• 咱们 总 得 想 个 办法 啊。Zánmen zǒng děi xiǎng ge bànfǎ a.We're going to have to come up with some kind of solution.
• 不管 发生 了 什么，人 总 要 吃饭 吧。Bùguǎn fāshēng le shénme, rén zǒng yào chīfàn ba.No matter what happens, people still have to eat, right?
• 他 是 你 爸爸，你 总 要 礼貌 一点 吧。Tā shì nǐ bàba, nǐ zǒng yào lǐmào yīdiǎn ba.He is your father, so you ought to be a little more polite.
• 你 拿 了 人家 的 钱，总 得 帮 人家 做 事 吧。Nǐ ná le rénjiā de qián, zǒng děi bāng rénjiā zuòshì ba.You took their money, so you're going to have to help them with the work.

Used with 不 and 没

When 总 is used together with a negating word (like 不 or 没), it often has a tone of speculation, judgment or suggestion. The sentence often ends with a 吧.

Structure

总 + 不 / 没 + Verb

Examples

• 你们 之间 的 联系 这么 少，看 起来 总 不 像 是 一 家 人。Nǐmen zhī jiān de liánxì zhème shǎo, kàn qǐlái zǒng bù xiàng shì yī jiā rén.You talk to each other so little. It seems that you're barely family.
• 他 这么 大 年纪 了，我们 总 不 能 让 他 一个人 去 吧？Tā zhème dà niánjì le, wǒmen zǒng bù néng ràng tā yīgèrén qù ba?He's so elderly. We can't just let him go there all alone, right?
• 这么 晚 了，总 不 会 出 了 什么事 吧？Zhème wǎn le, zǒng bù huì chū le shénme shì ba?It's getting late. Do you think something bad might have happened?
• 这 件 事 总 不 会 是 内部 的 人 做 的 吧？Zhè jiàn shì zǒng bù huì shì nèibù de rén zuò de ba?This whole thing couldn't be an inside job, could it?
• 他 想 带 父母 去 旅行，可是 总 没 时间。Tā xiǎng dài fùmǔ qù lǚxíng, kěshì zǒng méi shíjiān.He wants to take his parents traveling, but he's never able to find time.

See also

• Comparing "zongsuan" and “zhongyu"
• "Always" with "zongshi"
• Expressing "After All" with "bijing"
• Expressing "In the End" with "daodi"

Sources and further reading

Books

• 现代汉语八百词（增订本） (pp. 698) [ →buy]
• 现代汉语虚词例释 (pp. 663) 卓越汉语－公司实战篇 →buy

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