Difference between revisions of "Expressing "be going to" with "yao""

Revision as of 06:58, 19 September 2014

Level

A1 / HSK2
Level

A1
Level

HSK2
Similar to
Similar to
- Expressing "would like to" with "xiang" (HSK1)
- Expressing "about to happen" with "le" (HSK2)
- Expressing "about to" with "jiuyao" (HSK2)
Used for

Referring to the future, Referring to changes of situation, Expressing desires, Expressing determination
Keywords

要

The auxiliary verb 要 (yào) has a lot of meanings, and here we'll tackle the "be going to" meaning. This can be confusing at first, dealing with the multiple meanings of 要 (yào), but stick with it!

Structure

The idea behind this usage of 要 (yào) is that someone is "planning to" or "going to" or "preparing to" do something. It's not that they just want to, or have to, it's that they fully expect to do it. It's in their plan. Because of the time indication, the following examples show that the subject wants and plans to do the action stated.

Subject + 要 + Verb

Examples

我今年要学中文。 Wǒ yào xué Zhōngwén.I am planning to learn Chinese this year.
我下个月要去中国工作。 Wǒ yào qù Zhōnggúo gōngzùo.I am going to China to work next month.
星期天我要去北京。 Xīngqītiān wǒ yào qù Běijīng. I am going to Beijing on Sunday.
我等会儿要给妈妈打电话。 Wǒ yào gěi māma diànhuà. I am going to call my mom in a little bit.
不好意思，我要出去一下。 Bùhǎoyìsi, wǒ yào chūqù yī xià.Pardon me, I am going out real quick.
我明天要买一个 iPhone 。 Wǒ yào mǎi yī gè iPhone.I am going to buy an iPhone tomorrow.
下班以后你要去哪里？ Xiàbān yǐhòu nǐ yào qù nǎlǐ? Where are you planning to go after work?
我要去吃饭，你去吗？ Wǒ yào qù chīfàn, nǐ qù ma? I am going to go eat. Do you want to go?
我要做咖啡，你喝吗？ Wǒ yào zùo kāfēi, nǐ hē ma? I am going to make coffee, do you want to drink some?

In the following examples, although no time period is specified, because the question is out of courtesy, it shows that the speaker is already planning on doing the action stated. Thus, here 要 (yào) is used to show that the subject is going/planning to do something.

我要去吃饭，你去吗？ Wǒ yào qù chīfàn, nǐ qù ma? I am going to go eat. Do you want to go?
我要做咖啡，你喝吗？ Wǒ yào zùo kāfēi, nǐ hē ma? I am going to make coffee, do you want to drink some?

Sources and further reading

Books

现代汉语八百词（增订本） (p. ) →buy

Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级)→buy

Dictionaries

现代汉语词典（第5版） (p. ) →buy

@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 </div>
-In the following examples, although no time period is specified, because the question is out of courtesy, it shows that the speaker is already planning on doing that action. Thus, here 要 (yào) is used to show that the subject is going/planning to do something.
+In the following examples, although no time period is specified, because the question is out of courtesy, it shows that the speaker is already planning on doing the action stated. Thus, here 要 (yào) is used to show that the subject is going/planning to do something.
@@ Line 37: / Line 37: @@
 * 我 <em>要</em> 去 吃饭 ， 你 去 吗 ？ <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yào</em> qù chīfàn, nǐ qù ma?</span> <span class="trans">I am going to go eat. Do you want to go?</span>
 * 我 <em>要</em> 做 咖啡 ， 你 喝 吗 ？ <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yào</em> zùo kāfēi, nǐ hē ma?</span> <span class="trans">I am going to make coffee, do you want to drink some?</span>
 </div>
-== 要 and 想 ==
-Instead of using 要 (yào) it is also possible to use the word 想 (xiǎng). These two words are both [[modal verb]]s and are largely interchangeable, and both generally mean "to want." The only difference worth mentioning is that 要 (yào) is often used when it is something you want to/need to do, and plan to take action on. It can sound a bit more demanding (and less polite). 想 (xiǎng) is often used as an idea of one's mind, that you may or may not take action on. You can think of it as meaning "would like to."
-For more about 想 (xiǎng), see [["Would like to" with "xiang"]].
-== Examples ==
-<div class="liju">
-* 我 <em>要</em> 喝 咖啡 。 <span class="expl">(I am going to get my hands on some coffee)</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yào</em> hē kāfēi.</span><span class="trans">I want to drink coffee.</span>
-* 我 <em>想</em> 喝 咖啡 。 <span class="expl">(I want to drink a cup of coffee, but may or may not act on that)</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>xiǎng</em> hē kāfēi.</span><span class="trans">I'd like to drink coffee.</span>
-* 你 <em>要</em> 吃 什么 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>yào</em> chī shénme?</span> <span class="trans">What do you want to eat?</span>
-* 你 <em>想</em> 吃 什么 ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐ <em>xiǎng</em> chī shénme?</span> <span class="trans">What would you like to eat?</span>
-</div>
 ==See also==