Difference between revisions of "Expressing actions in progress (full form)"
(Created page with "You may have learned that 在 (zài) and 正在 (zhèngzài) can be used as an auxiliary verb to express that an action is ''ongoing'' or ''in progress''. They are used to cr...") |
|||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
| − | You may have learned that 在 (zài) and 正在 (zhèngzài) can be used as an [[auxiliary verb]] 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. | + | You may have learned that [[Expressing actions in progress|在 (zài)]] and [[Expressing actions in progress|正在 (zhèngzài)]] can be used as an [[auxiliary verb]] 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. |
| + | |||
| + | == The structure == | ||
The structure is: | The structure is: | ||
| Line 9: | Line 11: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| − | 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. The most common variation is just the "[[Expressing actions in progress|在 + V]]" pattern that you probably learned already long ago. | + | 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 "[[Expressing actions in progress|在 + V]]" pattern that you probably learned already long ago. |
| − | Some examples: | + | == Examples == |
| + | |||
| + | Some examples using the verb phrase 看报纸: | ||
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| Line 20: | Line 24: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some examples using the verb phrase 喝啤酒: | ||
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| Line 28: | Line 34: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some examples using the verb phrase 学习中文: | ||
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
| Line 36: | Line 44: | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
| + | |||
| + | Some examples using the [[separable verb]] 跳舞: | ||
<div class="liju"> | <div class="liju"> | ||
Revision as of 04:09, 7 December 2011
You may have learned that 在 (zài) and 正在 (zhèngzài) can be used as an auxiliary verb 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.
The structure
The structure is:
Subject + 正在 + Verb + 着 + Object + 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 learned already long ago.
Examples
Some examples using the verb phrase 看报纸:
- 她 在 看 报纸。
- 她 正在 看 报纸。
- 她 正 看 着 报纸 呢。
Some examples using the verb phrase 喝啤酒:
- 我 在 喝 啤酒。
- 我 正 喝 啤酒 呢。
- 我 在 喝 着 啤酒。
Some examples using the verb phrase 学习中文:
- 我们 正在 学习 中文。
- 我们 学习 中文 呢。
- 我们 学习 着 中文。
Some examples using the separable verb 跳舞:
- 他们 正在 跳舞。
- 他们 跳 着 舞。
- 他们 跳 着 舞 呢。
See also
- Aspect particle "zhe"
- Expressing actions in progress (simpler form)
