Emphasizing quantity with "dou"

Revision as of 04:10, 7 January 2014 by Yucui (talk | contribs)

都 (dōu) is one of those characters that on the surface may seem simple, but actually has many different subtle uses. In this article, we will look at using 都 to emphasize quantity.

Structure

You can use 都 (dōu) to emphasis the large quantity of something, particularly a group of people. The subject should be some sort of large group (like a majority of people or things), e.g. "很多人" or "大部分".

Subject + 都 + Verb + Object


Examples

  • 很 多 人 想 工作。A lot of people want to work.
  • 大家 应该 知道。Everyone should know.
  • 很 多 书 要 读。A lot of books are worth reading If I could spare some time later.
  • 英国 人 喜欢 喝 啤酒。English people all like drinking beer.
  • 中国 人 说 中文。
  • 工作 没 做 完。
  • 我们 五 个 人 去。
  • 这些 菜 不 好吃。
  • 所有 的 人 不 高兴。
  • 我 的 朋友 喜欢 去 KTV。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books