Difference between revisions of "The "all" adverb "dou""
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* 我们 两 个 <em>都</em> 爱 你 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen liǎng gè <em>dōu</em> ài nǐ.</span> <span class="trans">The two of us both love you. </span> | * 我们 两 个 <em>都</em> 爱 你 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen liǎng gè <em>dōu</em> ài nǐ.</span> <span class="trans">The two of us both love you. </span> | ||
| − | * | + | * 你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 <em>都</em> 是 美国人 吗？<span class="pinyin"> Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma <em>dōu</em> shì měiguó rén ma?</span> <span class="trans">Are your father and your mother both Americans? </span> |
| − | + | * 我 和 我 太太 <em>都</em> 不 吃 肉。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ hé wǒ tàitai <em>dōu</em> bù chī ròu. </span> <span class="trans">Neither my wife nor I eat meat. </span> | |
| − | + | * 你们 两个 <em>都</em> 喜欢 中国 菜 吗？<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen liǎng gè <em>dōu</em> xǐhuān Zhōngguó cài ma? </span> <span class="trans">Do you both like Chinese food? </span> | |
| − | + | * 她 和 她 老公 <em>都</em> 没有 工作。<span class="pinyin"> Tā hé tā lǎogōng <em>dōu</em> méi yǒu gōngzuò.</span> <span class="trans">Neither her husband nor she has a job. </span> | |
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| − | * 我 和 我 | ||
| − | |||
| − | * | ||
| − | * | ||
</div> | </div> | ||
Revision as of 09:59, 14 September 2015
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The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express "all" in Chinese. It's very common to use 都 (dōu) in all sorts of sentences where we would find it unnecessary in English.
Contents
都 for "all"
Structure
Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
Remember that 都 (dōu) appears after the subject. A common mistake learners make is to put 都 (dōu) at the beginning of the sentence (as "all" often appears there in English). This isn't good Chinese - make sure you put 都 (dōu) after the subject and before the verb.
Examples
- 你们 都 认识 John 吗 ？ Do you all know John?
- 我们 都 在 上海 。 We are all in Shanghai.
- 我们 都 可以 去 吗 ？ Can we all go?
- 你们 都 用 wiki 吗 ？ Do you all use the wiki?
- 你们 都 要 冰水 吗 ？ Do you all want ice water?
都 for "both"
Chinese doesn't normally use a special word for "both" like English does. It just uses 都 (dōu) as if it were any other number greater than one. This is actually really easy; you just have to get used to it.
Structure
[Subject which is two people or things ] + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
This pattern should look familiar.
Examples
These examples follow exactly the same form in Chinese as the ones above. The only difference is that here we don't translate 都 (dōu) as "all" in English; we translate it as "both," and for negative cases, we translate it as "neither."
- 我们 两 个 都 爱 你 。 The two of us both love you.
- 你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 都 是 美国人 吗？ Are your father and your mother both Americans?
- 我 和 我 太太 都 不 吃 肉。 Neither my wife nor I eat meat.
- 你们 两个 都 喜欢 中国 菜 吗？ Do you both like Chinese food?
- 她 和 她 老公 都 没有 工作。 Neither her husband nor she has a job.
