Difference between revisions of "Expressing "until" with "dao""
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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
{{Grammar Box}}  
  
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One of the cool features of Chinese is [[complements]], and in this article we introduce a few of them.  
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One kind of [[complement]] in Chinese involves putting 到 after the verb. 到 (dào) is used to indicate that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.  
  
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One kind of [[complement]] in Chinese involves putting 到, 给 or 在 after the verb. These are used to indicate direction, target and location, respectively.
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== Structure ==
  
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== Complements with 到 ==
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到 (dào) indicates that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.
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Verb + 到 + A Certain Time Point
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=== Examples ===
 
=== Examples ===
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*我 昨天晚上 工作 <strong>到</strong> <em>十二 点 半</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò <strong>dào</strong> <em>shí'èr diǎn bàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I worked until 12:30 last night.</span>
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*我 昨天 晚上 工作 <strong>到</strong> <em>十二 点 半</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò <strong>dào</strong> <em>shí'èr diǎn bàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I worked until 12:30 last night.</span>
 
*我们 一直 等 <strong>到</strong> <em>天黑</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen yīzhí děng <strong>dào</strong> <em> tiānhēi</em>.</span><span class="trans">We waited until it was getting dark.</span>
 
*我们 一直 等 <strong>到</strong> <em>天黑</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen yīzhí děng <strong>dào</strong> <em> tiānhēi</em>.</span><span class="trans">We waited until it was getting dark.</span>
 
*他们 想 在 这里 住 <strong>到</strong> <em>春天</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù <strong>dào</strong> <em> chūntiān</em>.</span><span class="trans">They want to live here until it's spring.</span>
 
*他们 想 在 这里 住 <strong>到</strong> <em>春天</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù <strong>dào</strong> <em> chūntiān</em>.</span><span class="trans">They want to live here until it's spring.</span>

Revision as of 08:03, 20 June 2017

Chinese-grammar-wiki-dao.jpg

One kind of complement in Chinese involves putting 到 after the verb. 到 (dào) is used to indicate that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.

Structure

Verb + 到 + A Certain Time Point

Examples

  • 我 昨天 晚上 工作 到 十二 点 半。Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò dào shí'èr diǎn bàn.I worked until 12:30 last night.
  • 我们 一直 等 到 天黑 。 Wǒmen yīzhí děng dào tiānhēi.We waited until it was getting dark.
  • 他们 想 在 这里 住 到 春天 。 Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù dào chūntiān.They want to live here until it's spring.
  • 你们 要 玩 到 什么 时候 ？Nǐmen yào wán dào shénme shíhou? When will you be done playing?
  • 爸爸 看电视 看 到 半夜 。My dad watched TV until midnight.
  • 我们 吃 火锅 吃 到 火锅店 关门 。We ate hotpot until the hotpot place was closed.
  • 我们 部门 从 八点 就 开始 开会，一直 开 到 中午 。We had a department meeting from 8am to noon.
  • 她 给 她 妈妈 打 电话 一直 打 到 手机 没 电 。Tā gěi tā māma dǎ diànhuà yīzhí dǎ dào shǒujī méi diàn.She called her mom until her phone was dead.
  • 周五 晚上 我 跟 同事 去 KTV ，我们 一直 唱 到 第二天 早上 五点 。Zhōuwǔ wǎnshang wǒ gēn tóngshì qù KTV, wǒmen yīzhí chàng dào dìèr tiān zǎoshang wǔ diǎn.I went to the KTV Friday evening with my coworker. We sang until 5 o'clock the next morning.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK4


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