Difference between revisions of "Expressing "everything" with "shenme dou""

Revision as of 02:41, 17 August 2015

Level

A2 / HSK2
Level

A2
Level

HSK2
Similar to
- Expressing "every" with question words (B1)
- Expressing "not at all" with "yidianr ye bu" (B1)
Similar to
- Expressing "every" with question words (HSK3, HSK4)
- Expressing "not at all" with "yidianr ye bu" (HSK4)
Used for

Expressing quantity
Keywords

什么, 也, 都

什么... 都/也 (shénme... dōu/yě) is a pattern often used to express "all" or "everything." This pattern also works with other question words, such as 哪儿 (nǎr) and 什么时候 (shénme shíhou).

Basic Structures

什么... 都/也 (shénme... dōu/yě)

The structure is very clear, as many Chinese grammar points are. In this structure, 都 (dōu) is more frequently used than 也 (yě)。

Topic + 什么 + 都/也 + Verb/Adjective

Examples

我家什么都有。 Wǒ jiā shénme dōu yǒu. My family has everything.
爸爸什么都知道。 Bàba shénme dōu zhīdao. My dad knows everything.
我什么都喜欢吃。 Wǒ shénme dōu xǐhuan chī. I like eating everything.
中国酒，外国酒，我什么都喝。 Zhōngguó jiǔ, wàiguó jiǔ, wǒ shénme dōu hē. Chinese liquor, foreign liquor, I drink everything.
我女朋友什么都买。 Wǒ nǚpéngyou shénme dōu mǎi. My girlfriend buys everything.
我家的宝宝什么都要。 Wǒ jiā de bǎobǎo shénme dōu yào. The baby in my family wants everything.
她什么都告诉我。 Tā shénme dōu gàosu wǒ. She told me everything.
很多人觉得外国的东西什么都好。 Hěn duō rén juéde wàiguó de dōngxī shénme dōu hǎo. Many people think that all foreign things are good.
上海什么都贵。 Shànghǎi shénme dōu guì. Everything in Shanghai is expensive.
她的房间里什么都是红色的。 Tā de fángjiān lǐ shénme dōu shì hóngsè de. Everything is red in her room.
他什么都没说。 Tā shénme dōu méi shuō. He didn't tell anything.
我觉得这里什么都好吃。 Wǒ juéde zhèlǐ shénme dōu hǎochī. I think everything is delicious here.

Targeted Structures

Structures with a Noun

什么 + Noun + 都

什么 + Noun + 也

Examples with Nouns

你做的什么菜都好吃。 Nǐ zuò de shénme cài dōu hǎochī. All of the dishes you make are good.
现在什么地方都热。 Xiànzài shénme dìfang dōu rè. Right now it's hot everywhere.
她什么衣服都是红色的。 Tā shénme yīfu dōu shì hóngsè de. All of her clothes are red.
我觉得我老公什么都好。 Wǒ juéde wǒ lǎogōng shénme dōu hǎo. I think everything about my husband is good.
我什么女孩子都喜欢。 Wǒ shénme nǚháizi dōu xǐhuan. I like all girls.
我们什么酒都喝。 Wǒmen shénme jiǔ dōu hē. We can drink all alcohol.
大城市什么人都有。 Dà chéngshì shénme rén dōu yǒu. Big cities have all kinds of people.
你不应该什么话都跟他说。 Nǐ bù yīnggāi shénme huà dōu gēn tā shuō. You shouldn't have told everything to him.
我什么水果都喜欢吃。 Wǒ shénme shuǐguǒ dōu xǐhuan chī. I like to eat all kinds of fruits.
今天我什么工作都做了。 Jīntiān wǒ shénme gōngzuò dōu zuò le. Today I did all my work.

Negative Structures

Structures with 不/没

The negative structure simply adds a 不 (bù) or a 没 (méi) after the 都 (dōu)/也 (yě). Instead of "all" or "everything," this expresses "none" or "not any."

什么 + Noun. + 都/也 + 不

什么 + Noun + 都/也 + 没

Negative Examples

以后你应该什么酒都不要喝。 Yǐhòu nǐ yīnggāi shénme jiǔ dōu bù yào hē. From now on, you should not drink any alcohol.
我什么电影都不喜欢看。 Wǒ shénme diànyǐng dōu bù xǐhuan kàn. I don't like to watch any kind of movie. (implying I don't like movies in general)
很多人觉得中国什么东西都不好。 Hěn duō rén juéde Zhōngguó shénme dōngxī dōu bù hǎo. Many people think that everything in China is bad.
小城市什么东西都不贵。 Xiǎo chéngshì shénme dōngxī dōu bù guì. Things in small cities are not expensive at all.
为什么你在家里什么事都没做？ Wèishénme nǐ zài jiālǐ shénme gōngzuò dōu méi zuò? Why haven't you done anything at home?
今天我什么东西都没吃。 Jīntiān wǒ shénme dōngxī dōu méi chī. Today I didn't eat anything.
她什么话都没跟我说。 Tā shénme huà dōu méi gēn wǒ shuō. She didn't tell me anything.
我家什么贵的东西都没有。 Wǒ jiā shénme dōngxī dōu méi yǒu. My family doesn't have any expensive stuff.
周末的时候，我什么地方都没去。 Zhōumò de shíhou, wǒ shénme dìfang dōu méi qù. During the weekend, I didn't go anywhere.
我今天什么作业都没做。 Wǒ jīntiān shénme zuòyè dōu méi zuò. I didn't do any homework today.

Sources and further reading

Books

Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (p. 195)→buy
Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 286-8) →buy
Integrated Chinese: Level 1, Part 2 (3rd ed) (pp. 216-7) →buy
40 Lessons for Basic Chinese Course (基础汉语40课下册） (p. 314)→buy

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Grammar Box}}
-什么... 都/也 (shénme... dōu/yě) is a pattern often used to express "all" or "everything." This pattern also works with other question words, such as 哪儿 (nǎr) and 什么时候 (shénme shíhòu).
+什么... 都/也 (shénme... dōu/yě) is a pattern often used to express "all" or "everything." This pattern also works with other question words, such as 哪儿 (nǎr) and 什么时候 (shénme shíhou).
 == Basic Structures ==