Difference between revisions of "Expressing "everything" with "shenme dou""
| Line 47: | Line 47: | ||
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| − | * | + | * 妈妈 做 的 <em>什么</em> 菜 <em>都</em> 好吃。 <span class="pinyin">Māma zuò de <em>shénme</em> cài <em>dōu</em> hǎochī.</span> <span class="trans">All of the dishes mom makes are tasty.</span> |
| − | + | * 她 <em>什么</em> 衣服 <em>都</em> 是 黑色 的 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>shénme</em> yīfu <em>dōu</em> shì hēisè de.</span> <span class="trans">All of her clothes are black.</span> | |
| − | * 她 <em>什么</em> 衣服 <em>都</em> 是 | + | * 我男朋友 <em>什么</em> 运动 <em>都</em> 喜欢 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ nánpéngyou <em>shénme</em> yùndòng <em>dōu</em> xǐhuān.</span> <span class="trans">My boyfriend likes all kinds of sports.</span> |
| − | * | + | * 我们 <em>什么</em> 酒 <em>都</em> 喝。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>shénme</em> jiǔ <em>dōu</em> hē.</span> <span class="trans">We can drink all alcohol.</span> |
| − | + | * 你 不 应该 <em>什么</em> 话 <em>都</em> 跟 他 说。 <span class="pinyin">Nǐ bù yīnggāi <em>shénme</em> huà <em>dōu</em> gēn tā shuō.</span> <span class="trans">You shouldn't have told everything to him.</span> | |
| − | * 我们 <em>什么</em> 酒 <em>都</em> | ||
| − | |||
| − | * 你 不 应该 <em>什么</em> 话 <em>都</em> 跟 他 | ||
| − | |||
| − | |||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 09:19, 4 November 2015
-
Level
-
Similar to
-
Used for
-
Keywords
什么... 都/也 (shénme... dōu/yě) is a pattern often used to express "all" or "everything." This pattern also works with other question words, such as 哪儿 (nǎr) and 什么时候 (shénme shíhou).
Contents
Basic Structures
什么... 都/也 (shénme... dōu/yě)
The structure is very clear, as many Chinese grammar points are. In this structure, 都 (dōu) is more frequently used than 也 (yě)。
Topic + 什么 + 都/也 + Verb/Adj.
Examples
- 很 多 人 觉得 外国 的 东西 什么 都 好。 Many people think that all foreign things are good.
- 我 觉得 这里 的 菜 什么 都 好吃。 I think everything is delicious here.
- 中国 的 历史 爸爸 什么 都 知道。 My dad knows everything about Chinese history.
- 工作 的 事情 老公 什么 都 跟 我 说。 My husband tells me everything about working stuff.
- 家务活 我 什么 都 会 做。 I can do every piece of housework.
Targeted Structures
Structures with a Noun
什么 + Noun + 都
什么 + Noun + 也
Examples with Nouns
- 妈妈 做 的 什么 菜 都 好吃。 All of the dishes mom makes are tasty.
- 她 什么 衣服 都 是 黑色 的 。 All of her clothes are black.
- 我男朋友 什么 运动 都 喜欢 。 My boyfriend likes all kinds of sports.
- 我们 什么 酒 都 喝。 We can drink all alcohol.
- 你 不 应该 什么 话 都 跟 他 说。 You shouldn't have told everything to him.
Negative Structures
Structures with 不/没
The negative structure simply adds a 不 (bù) or a 没 (méi) after the 都 (dōu)/也 (yě). Instead of "all" or "everything," this expresses "none" or "not any."
什么 + Noun. + 都/也 + 不
什么 + Noun + 都/也 + 没
Negative Examples
- 以后 你 应该 什么 酒 都 不 要 喝 。 From now on, you should not drink any alcohol.
- 我 什么 电影 都 不 喜欢 看 。 I don't like to watch any kind of movie. (implying I don't like movies in general)
- 很 多 人 觉得 中国 什么 东西 都 不 好 。 Many people think that everything in China is bad.
- 小 城市 什么 东西 都 不 贵 。 Things in small cities are not expensive at all.
- 为什么 你 在 家里 什么 事 都 不 做 ？ Why haven't you done anything at home?
- 今天 我 什么 东西 都 没 吃 。 Today I didn't eat anything.
- 她 什么 话 都 没 跟 我 说 。 She didn't tell me anything.
- 我 家 什么贵的 东西 都 没 有 。 My family doesn't have any expensive stuff.
- 周末 的 时候 ， 我 什么 地方 都 没 去 。 During the weekend, I didn't go anywhere.
- 我 今天什么 作业 都 没 做 。 I didn't do any homework today.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (p. 195)→buy
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 286-8) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 216-7) →buy
- 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (p. 314)→buy
