Using "youde" to mean "some"

To refer to just certain members of group, you can use 有的 (yǒude). This usage is normally translated as "some" in English. It is often used multiple times in one sentence to refer to different groups.

Structure

All you need to do is put "有的 (yǒude)" before the subject of each of the clauses in the sentence. If there is already some context, you can omit the subject, and the "有的 (yǒude)" can just mean "some" instead of "some of something."

有的 + (Subj.) + Predicate， 有的 + (Subj.) + Predicate

Also, you aren't limited to just two "有的 (yǒude)" in the sentence. You can have multiple groups doing different things, and just precede them with a "有的 (yǒude)" each time.

Examples

• 外国人 有的 很 有钱， 有的 没钱。 Wàiguó rén yǒude hěn yǒuqián, yǒude méi qián. Some foreigners are rich, but some aren't.
• 我们 公司 有 一些 电脑， 有的 是 新的，有的 是 旧的。 Wǒmen gōngsī yǒu yīxiē diànnǎo, yǒude shì xīn de, yǒude shì jiù de. Our company has some computers. Some are new, and some are old.
• 他 写 了 很多 书，有的 卖 得 很好， 有的 卖 得 不好。 Tā xiě le hěn duō shū, yǒude mài de hěn hǎo, yǒude mài de bù hǎo. He writes a lot of books. Some sell well, but some don't.
• 中国菜 有的 好吃，有的 不 好吃。 Zhōngguó cài yǒude hāochī, yǒude bù hāochī. Some Chinese foods are tasty, while some aren't.
• 这 家 店 的 衣服 有的 贵 ， 有的 便宜 。 Zhè jiā diàn de yīfu yǒude guì, yǒude piányi. In this shop, some of the clothes are expensive and some are cheap.
• 他 有 很 多 房子， 有的 在 国内， 有的 在 国外。 Tā yǒu hěn duō fángzi, yǒude zài guónèi, yǒude zài guówài. He has a lot of houses, some of them are within the country and some are abroad.
• 晚上 六点 以后，有的 人 下班了， 有的 人 在 加班。 Wǎnshàng liùdiǎn yǐhòu, yǒude rén xiàbān le, yǒude rén zài jiābān. After six o'clock some people are off work, while some are still working.
• 我 的 大学 老师 有的 很 年轻， 有的 很 老。 Wǒ de dàxué lǎoshī yǒude hěn niánqīng, yǒude hěn lǎo. Some of my college teachers are young, some are old.
• 酒吧里， 有的人 在 喝酒 ， 有的人 在 跳舞 ， 还 有的人 在 聊天 。 Jiǔbā lǐ, yǒude rén zài hē jiǔ, yǒude rén zài tiào wǔ, hái yǒude rén zài liáotiān. In the bar, some people are drinking, some are dancing, and some are chatting.
• 因为 工作，我 认识 了 很 多 人 ， 有的 是 大学老师， 有的 是 CEO。 Yīnwèi gōngzuò, wǒ rènshi le hěn duō rén, yǒude shì dàxué lǎoshī, yǒude shì CEO. I know a lot of people because of my work. Some are college teachers and some are CEOs.

See also

• Expressing "some" with "yixie"

Sources and Further Reading

Books

• Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (p. 120) →buy