Difference between revisions of "Expressing "and" with "he""
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<li class="q"><span class="spaced">I went to the store <em>and</em> bought some gum.</span><span class="expl">Don't use 和 (hé) for this "and"! "Went to the store" and "bought some gum" are both verb phrases, not nouns.</span></li> | <li class="q"><span class="spaced">I went to the store <em>and</em> bought some gum.</span><span class="expl">Don't use 和 (hé) for this "and"! "Went to the store" and "bought some gum" are both verb phrases, not nouns.</span></li> | ||
| − | <li class="o"><span class="spaced">I like to eat cucumbers <em>and</em> cheese.</span><span class="expl">This one is good! "Cucumbers" and "cheese" are both nouns, so you can use 和 (hé) here. | + | <li class="o"><span class="spaced">I like to eat cucumbers <em>and</em> cheese.</span><span class="expl">This one is good! "Cucumbers" and "cheese" are both nouns, so you can use 和 (hé) here.</span></li> |
</ul> | </ul> | ||
Revision as of 01:50, 18 February 2016
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Keywords
When listing out multiple nouns, 和 (hé) is there to help you out. Just remember that 和 (hé) isn't a word you can use to translate just any usage of the English word "and."
Structure
The most common way to express "and" in Chinese is with 和 (hé). It's important to note that 和 (hé) is mainly used to link nouns. This is how you should use it exclusively as you get used to it. Don't try to link verbs (or whole sentences) with 和 (hé).
Noun 1 + 和 + Noun 2
Examples
- 你 和我you and I
- 老板 喜欢 咖啡 和 茶。The boss likes coffee and tea.
- 我 的 爷爷 和 奶奶 都 70 岁 。My grandpa and grandma are both 70 years old.
- 他 和 他 女朋友 都 喜欢 中国 菜 。His girlfriend and he both like Chinese food.
- 你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 都 是 美国 人 吗 ？Are your father and your mother both Americans?
- 手机 和 电脑 都 很 贵 。Cell phones and computers are both expensive.
- 德语 和 法语 都 很 难 吗 ？Are both German and French difficult?
- 今天 和 明天 都 可以 吗 ？Are today and tomorrow both OK?
(If you're unclear why the 都 (dōu) is used in the sentences about, see our article on the adverb 都 (dōu).)
Just to be absolutely clear what we mean by using 和 (hé) with nouns only, here are two English examples of what you should and shouldn't try to express with 和 (hé):
- I went to the store and bought some gum.Don't use 和 (hé) for this "and"! "Went to the store" and "bought some gum" are both verb phrases, not nouns.
- I like to eat cucumbers and cheese.This one is good! "Cucumbers" and "cheese" are both nouns, so you can use 和 (hé) here.
See also
- Expressing "in addition" with "haiyou"
- "In addition" as "lingwai"
- Expressing "not only… but also"
- Combining verbs with "bing"
Sources and further reading
Books
- Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 74-5) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 14-5) →buy
- A Practical Chinese Grammar For Foreigners (外国人实用汉语语法) (p. 126) →buy
