Difference between revisions of "Expressing actions in progress (full form)"
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*我 <em>正在</em> 吃饭 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>zhèngzài</em> chīfàn <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | *我 <em>正在</em> 吃饭 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>zhèngzài</em> chīfàn <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | ||
*我 <em>正</em> 吃 <em>着</em> 饭 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ chī <em>zhe</em> fàn <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | *我 <em>正</em> 吃 <em>着</em> 饭 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ chī <em>zhe</em> fàn <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | ||
| − | *我 吃饭 <strong>呢</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ chīfàn <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | + | *我 吃饭 <strong>呢</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ chīfàn <strong>ne</strong>.</span><span class="trans">I'm eating now.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| − | *他 <em>正在</em> 上厕所 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>zhèngzài</em> | + | *他 <em>正在</em> 上厕所 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>zhèngzài</em> shàng cèsuǒ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> |
| − | *他 <em>正</em> | + | *他 <em>正</em> <em>着</em> 厕所<strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>zhèng</em> shàng <em>zhe</em> cèsuǒ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> |
| − | *他 | + | *他 上厕所 <strong>呢</strong>。<span class="pinyin">Tā shàng cèsuǒ <strong>ne</strong>.</span><span class="trans">He's using the bathroom now.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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*我们 <em>正在</em>上 汉语 课 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>zhèngzài</em> shàng Hànyǔ kè <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | *我们 <em>正在</em>上 汉语 课 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen <em>zhèngzài</em> shàng Hànyǔ kè <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | ||
*我们 上 <em>着</em> 汉语 课 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen shàng <em>zhe</em> Hànyǔ kè <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | *我们 上 <em>着</em> 汉语 课 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen shàng <em>zhe</em> Hànyǔ kè <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | ||
| − | *我们 上 汉语 课 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen shàng Hànyǔ kè <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | + | *我们 上 汉语 课 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen shàng Hànyǔ kè <strong>ne</strong>.</span><span class="trans">We're having a Chinese lesson now.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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*爷爷 <em>正在</em> 看 报纸 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye <em>zhèngzài</em> kàn bàozhǐ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | *爷爷 <em>正在</em> 看 报纸 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye <em>zhèngzài</em> kàn bàozhǐ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | ||
*爷爷 看 <em>着</em> 报纸 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye kàn <em>zhe</em> bàozhǐ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | *爷爷 看 <em>着</em> 报纸 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye kàn <em>zhe</em> bàozhǐ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | ||
| − | *爷爷 看 报纸 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye kàn bàozhǐ <strong>ne</strong>.</span> | + | *爷爷 看 报纸 <strong>呢</strong> 。<span class="pinyin">Yéye kàn bàozhǐ <strong>ne</strong>.</span><span class="trans">Grandpa is reading newspapers now.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
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*老板 <em>正在</em> 开会 <strong>呢</strong> ，不 方便 接 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>zhèngzài</em> kāihuì <strong>ne</strong>, bù fāngbiàn jiē diànhuà.</span> | *老板 <em>正在</em> 开会 <strong>呢</strong> ，不 方便 接 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>zhèngzài</em> kāihuì <strong>ne</strong>, bù fāngbiàn jiē diànhuà.</span> | ||
*老板 <em>正</em> 开 <em>着</em>会 <strong>呢</strong> ，不 方便 接 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>zhèng</em> kāi <em>zhe</em> huì <strong>ne</strong>, bù fāngbiàn jiē diànhuà.</span> | *老板 <em>正</em> 开 <em>着</em>会 <strong>呢</strong> ，不 方便 接 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn <em>zhèng</em> kāi <em>zhe</em> huì <strong>ne</strong>, bù fāngbiàn jiē diànhuà.</span> | ||
| − | *老板 开会 <strong>呢</strong> ，不 方便 接 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn kāihuì <strong>ne</strong>, bù fāngbiàn jiē diànhuà.</span> | + | *老板 开会 <strong>呢</strong> ，不 方便 接 电话 。<span class="pinyin">Lǎobǎn kāihuì <strong>ne</strong>, bù fāngbiàn jiē diànhuà.</span><span class="trans">The boss is in the middle of a meeting. It's not convenient for him to talk on the phone.</span> |
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 03:26, 27 December 2017
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Keywords
You may have learned that 在 (zài) and 正在 (zhèngzài) can be used before verbs to express that an action is ongoing or in progress. They are used to create the Mandarin equivalent of present continuous in English. But that pattern is actually a part of a longer, fuller pattern. It's rarely used in its full form, but bits and pieces of it are frequently used in everyday speech, so it's important to know the full form, even if you don't use it regularly yourself.
Structure
Subj. + 正在 / 正 / 在 + Verb + 呢
If it's a Separable verb, you need to put the 着 between the verb and the object, or you can just leave 着 out.
Subj. (+ 正) + Verb + 着 + Obj. + 呢
or
Subj. + Verb-Obj. + 呢
It's important to remember that virtually every part of the above pattern is optional, so you're going to see all sorts of variations of it (and rarely the full form). The most common variation is just the "在 + V" pattern that you probably already learned long ago. Another common variation is "正 + V" pattern.
Examples
- 我 正在 吃饭 呢 。
- 我 正 吃 着 饭 呢 。
- 我 吃饭 呢。I'm eating now.
- 他 正在 上厕所 呢 。
- 他 正 着 厕所呢 。
- 他 上厕所 呢。He's using the bathroom now.
- 我们 正在上 汉语 课 呢 。
- 我们 上 着 汉语 课 呢 。
- 我们 上 汉语 课 呢 。We're having a Chinese lesson now.
- 爷爷 正在 看 报纸 呢 。
- 爷爷 看 着 报纸 呢 。
- 爷爷 看 报纸 呢 。Grandpa is reading newspapers now.
- 老板 正在 开会 呢 ，不 方便 接 电话 。
- 老板 正 开 着会 呢 ，不 方便 接 电话 。
- 老板 开会 呢 ，不 方便 接 电话 。The boss is in the middle of a meeting. It's not convenient for him to talk on the phone.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (pp. 54-7) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
- Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 321) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
- Mandarin Chinese: A Functional Reference Grammar (pp. 217-26) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 216-8) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 106-7) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
- 40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课上册） (pp. 157) [ →buy]
Websites
- ChinesePod: Qing Wen - The 着 (zhe) Chronicles: Actions in Progress (free podcast content)
