Hui, neng, and keyi
Contents
Meanings in General
会
Positive sentences
Ability, acquired skill, required by learning
- 我妈妈真会做饭。- My mum really knows how to cook.
- 他会说汉语。- He can speak chinese.
Possibility in general
- 春节的时候，大家都会吃饺子。During the spring festival, everybody would be eating dumplings.
Future
- 他不会来。- He will not come.
- 明年一定会很顺利。- Next year will be succesfull.
Negative sentences
I do not know how to
- 我不会喝酒。 - I do not know how to drink (Used as only “acceptable” reason why to say no to an invitation for a drink)
能
Positive sentences
Physical ability, skill, inborn ability,
- 她能把桌子搬到他办公室里。- He can move his table to his office.
Loose or regain certain ability (It is not possible to use 会 or 可以 in this sentence)
- 他的手受伤了，不能打篮球。- He hurt his hand, he can not play basketball.
- 他的手受伤了，不可以打篮球。
- － 他的手好了，能打篮球了。- His hand is OK now, he can play basketball again.
- － 他的手好了，会打篮球了。
Expressing possibility (in sense of something permitted by objective conditions)
- 明天晚上你能来吗？ - Will you be able to come tomorrow evening?
- 对不起，我现在不能过去。- I am sorry, I can not come now.
Negative sentences
Can not
- 她到底爱不爱你，我不能告诉你。- If she loves you or doesn’t, I really can not tell you.
可以
Positive sentences
Physical ability, knowladge base ability
- 她已经四岁，可以开始学英语。- She is already fout years old, she can start to learn english.
Permision
- 我妈妈说我可以嫁给你。- My mum says, I can marry you.
Can - something can be possibly caused as a result
- 学习外语可以扩大你的视野。- Studing foreign languages can expand you horizons.
Negative sentences
Prohibition, not allowed
- 你太年轻，你不可以喝酒。- You are too young, you can not drink alcohol.
Main differences
会 - can be used also as a verb by itself, others can not:
- 这样做，我不会。
- 我样做，我不能。
- 这样做，我不可以。
会 - can be followed also by complement or object, others can not:
- 你会什么？
- 你能什么？
- 你可以什么？
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Only 能，可以 can express a certain level of efficiency
- 他的朋友很能吃，他一分钟能吃掉12个包子。
- 他的朋友很能吃，他一分钟会吃掉12个包子。
可以，会 can serve also as predicade
- 这样说也可以。
- 他会乐器。
- 这样说也能。
会 and 能 can be modified with intensificators
- 他很会跳舞。
- 他很能吃苦
- 他很可以跳舞
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能／可以 - express possesion of skills in general/permission and prohibition. 能emphasizes ability, 可以 possibility
能／会 When they express “being good at doing something”, 会 emphasizes „skilll“, 能 emphasizes „ability“:
- 他很会吃，你想知道哪里有好吃的，他就知道在哪儿可以买到。－ He knows how to eat, you want to eat something delicious, he will know where to buy it. (Skillful)
- 他很能吃，给他10碗米饭吃，也吃不饱。- He really can eat, you can give him 10 bowls of rice, but ho will still not be full. (can eat a lot)
Common rules
None of them can be followed by 了，着 or 过.
- 他会做饭。
- 他会过做饭。
We can use the modal verb solo, to answer the question, but not the lexical verb solo.
- Question:
- 你明天会来吗？（不是“回来”，是“会来”）
- Answer:
- 会！
- 来！
Modal verbs should be used before prepositional phrases and descriptive adverbial modifiers:
- 对 － 你应该把课本再看一次，看完以后再来考试。
- 错 － 你把课本应该再看一次， 看完以后再来考试。
- 对 － 他们得努力地读一读。
- 错 － 他们努力地得读一读。
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp.69 - 75, 224) →buy
- Chinese Grammar - Broken down into 100 items - Basic and Intermediate Levels (汉语语法百项讲练 - 初中级) (pp. 10 - 12)→buy
- Practicing HSK Grammar (语法精讲精炼) (pp. 142-144) →buy
- Chinese Grammar Without Tears (简明汉语语法学习手册) (pp. 239 - 244) →buy
