Difference between revisions of "Negation of past actions with "meiyou""

Latest revision as of 09:20, 20 April 2021

Level

A1 / HSK1
Level

A1
Level

HSK1
Similar to
- Negation of "you" with "mei" (A1)
- Standard negation with "bu" (A1)
- Comparing "bu" and "mei" (A2)
Similar to
- Comparing "bu" and "mei" (HSK1)
- Negation of "you" with "mei" (HSK1)
- Standard negation with "bu" (HSK1)
Used for

Denying and refusing, Referring to the past
Keywords

没有, 没

Use 没有 (méiyǒu) to negate past actions (to say that someone didn't do something, or something didn't happen).

Structure

Usually verbs can be negated with 不 (bù), but that construction is used for habitual or present actions. If the verb is about an action in the past, though, 没有 (méiyǒu) should be used:

Subj. + 没有 / 没 + Verb

Note that you can shorten 没有 (méiyǒu) to just 没 (méi).

Examples

我没有去上班。Wǒ méiyǒu qù shàngbān.I didn't go to work.
他们没有说话。Tāmen méiyǒu shuōhuà.They didn't speak.
我没有喝你的啤酒。Wǒ méiyǒu hē nǐ de píjiǔ.I didn't drink your beer.
她没有看到你。Tā méiyǒu kàndào nǐ.She didn't see you.
我没有吃早饭。Wǒ méiyǒu chī zǎofàn.I didn't eat breakfast.
宝宝没哭。有 has been omitted here.Bǎobao méi kū.The baby didn't cry.
你昨天没回家吗？Nǐ zuótiān méi huíjiā ma?You didn't go back home yesterday?
老板今天没来吗？ Lǎobǎn jīntiān méi lái ma?The boss didn't come today?
老师今天没生气。 Lǎoshī jīntiān méi shēngqì.The teacher didn't get angry today.
妈妈晚上没做饭。 Māma wǎnshang méi zuòfàn.Mom didn't cook food this evening.

Go Easy on the 了 (le)

One thing you need to remember when using 没有 (méiyǒu) is that 了 (le) is not normally used with 没有 (méiyǒu). 了 (le) marks completed actions, while 没有 (méiyǒu) is used for actions that didn't happen (so of course they're not completed). These two don't work together. This is a very common mistake for beginner learners of Chinese.

我没有做了。Wǒ méiyǒu zuò le.
我没有做。Wǒ méiyǒu zuò.I didn't do it.

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK Standard Course 1 (pp. 74) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 32) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy
现代汉语八百词（增订本） ]] (pp. 383) [ →buy] 现代汉语八百词（增订本） | ]]383␞现代汉语八百词（增订本） ␞Negation of past actions with "meiyou"| ]]
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed) (pp. 138-9) Anything Goes (无所不谈) →buy

Videos

Yoyo Chinese: Negation with 没

@@ Line 8: / Line 8: @@
 <div class="jiegou">
 Subj. + 没有 / 没 + Verb
 </div>
@@ Line 22: / Line 20: @@
 *他们 <em>没有</em> 说话。<span class="pinyin">Tāmen <em>méiyǒu</em> shuōhuà.</span><span class="trans">They didn't speak.</span>
 *我 <em>没有</em> 喝 你 的 啤酒。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méiyǒu</em> hē nǐ de píjiǔ.</span><span class="trans">I didn't drink your beer.</span>
-*她 <em>没有</em> 看到 你。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>méiyǒu</em> kàn dào nǐ.</span><span class="trans">She didn't see you.</span>
+*她 <em>没有</em> 看到 你。<span class="pinyin">Tā <em>méiyǒu</em> kàndào nǐ.</span><span class="trans">She didn't see you.</span>
 *我 <em>没有</em> 吃 早饭。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>méiyǒu</em> chī zǎofàn.</span><span class="trans">I didn't eat breakfast.</span>
 *宝宝 <em>没</em> 哭。<span class="expl">有 has been omitted here.</span><span class="pinyin">Bǎobao <em>méi</em> kū.</span><span class="trans">The baby didn't cry.</span>
-*你 昨天 <em>没</em> 回 家 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zuótiān <em>méi</em> huí jiā ma?</span><span class="trans">You didn't go back home yesterday?</span>
+*你 昨天 <em>没</em> 回家 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zuótiān <em>méi</em> huíjiā ma?</span><span class="trans">You didn't go back home yesterday?</span>
 *老板 今天 <em>没</em> 来 吗？<span class="pinyin"> Lǎobǎn jīntiān <em>méi</em> lái ma?</span><span class="trans">The boss didn't come today?</span>
 *老师 今天 <em>没</em> 生气 。<span class="pinyin"> Lǎoshī jīntiān <em>méi</em> shēngqì.</span><span class="trans">The teacher didn't get angry today.</span>
-*妈妈 晚上 <em>没</em> 做 饭。<span class="pinyin"> Māma wǎnshàng <em>méi</em> zuò fàn.</span><span class="trans">Mom didn't cook food this evening.</span>
+*妈妈 晚上 <em>没</em> 做饭。<span class="pinyin"> Māma wǎnshang <em>méi</em> zuòfàn.</span><span class="trans">Mom didn't cook food this evening.</span>
 </div>
@@ Line 52: / Line 50: @@
 === Books ===
-* [[Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)]] (p. 32) [http://www.amazon.cn/mn/detailApp/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&tag=allset-23&linkCode=as2&asin=B001N6R7DI&camp=536&creative=3132&creativeASIN=B001N6R7DI →buy]
+{{Source|HSK Standard Course 1|74}}
-* [[现代汉语八百词（增订本）]]  (p. 383) [http://www.amazon.cn/%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%B1%89%E8%AF%AD%E5%85%AB%E7%99%BE%E8%AF%8D/dp/B001198GSW/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345693275&sr=8-1 →buy]
+{{Source|Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼)|32}}
-* [[Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)]] (pp. 138-9) [http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0887276385/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=allset-20&linkCode=as2&camp=217145&creative=399369&creativeASIN=0887276385 →buy]
+{{Source|现代汉语八百词（增订本）]] |383}}
+{{Source|Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 1 (3rd ed)|138-9}}
 ===Videos===
@@ Line 61: / Line 60: @@
 [[Category:A1 grammar points]]
+{{HSK|HSK1}}{{2021-HSK|HSK1}}
 [[Category:Verbs]]
 [[Category:Adverbs]]