Difference between revisions of "Expressing "until" with "dao""
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* 我 昨天晚上 工作 <strong>到</strong> <em>十二 点 半</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò <strong>dào</strong> <em>shí'èr diǎn bàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I worked until 12:30 last night. </span> | * 我 昨天晚上 工作 <strong>到</strong> <em>十二 点 半</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò <strong>dào</strong> <em>shí'èr diǎn bàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I worked until 12:30 last night. </span> | ||
| − | * 我们 一直 等 <strong>到</strong> <em>天黑</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen yīzhí děng <strong>dào</strong> <em> tiānhēi</em>. | + | * 我们 一直 等 <strong>到</strong> <em>天黑</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen yīzhí děng <strong>dào</strong> <em> tiānhēi</em>.</span> <span class="trans">We waited until it was getting dark.</span> |
| − | * 他们 想 在 这里 住 <strong>到</strong> <em>春天</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù <strong>dào</strong> <em> chūntiān</em>. | + | * 他们 想 在 这里 住 <strong>到</strong> <em>春天</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù <strong>dào</strong> <em> chūntiān</em>. </span> <span class="trans">They want to live here until it's spring.</span> |
| − | * 你们 要 玩 <strong>到</strong> <em>什么 时候</em> ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐmen yào wán <strong>dào</strong> <em> shénme shíhou</em>? | + | * 你们 要 玩 <strong>到</strong> <em>什么 时候</em> ？ <span class="pinyin">Nǐmen yào wán <strong>dào</strong> <em> shénme shíhou</em>? </span> <span class="trans">When will you be done playing?</span> |
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Revision as of 08:23, 5 April 2017
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One of the cool features of Chinese is complements, and in this article we introduce a few of them.
One kind of complement in Chinese involves putting 到, 给 or 在 after the verb. These are used to indicate direction, target and location, respectively.
Contents
Complements with 到
到 (dào) indicates that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.
Examples
- 我 昨天晚上 工作 到 十二 点 半。I worked until 12:30 last night.
- 我们 一直 等 到 天黑 。 We waited until it was getting dark.
- 他们 想 在 这里 住 到 春天 。 They want to live here until it's spring.
- 你们 要 玩 到 什么 时候 ？ When will you be done playing?
Complements with 给
给 (gěi) indicates that you have passed something from one person to another.
Examples
- 我 今天 早上 发了 一 封 邮件 给 你。I sent an e-mail to you this morning.
Complements with 在
- 在 (zài) indicates a person or thing coming to a certain place. It is usually followed by a location or a place.
- 请 你 坐 在 我 旁 边儿。Please come and sit next to me.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- New Practical Chinese Reader 2 (新实用汉语课本2) (pp. 240) →buy
- Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (p.93-95) →buy
