Expressing "more and more" with "yuelaiyue"
"越 ... 越..." (yuè... yuè...) is used frequently in Chinese to express that some quality or state is increasing with time, or in tune with another factor. There are two forms of this pattern, the "simple" one (using 来), and the more complex one (which uses two different adjectives/verbs).
Contents
Simple: 越来越 + Adjective
This structure expresses that something is becoming more and more adjective over time, with the latter adjective changing with the verb. The most common structure is:
Subject + 越来 + 越 + Adjective
Here are some examples:
- 汽油 越 来 越 贵。
- 美国 的 音乐 越 来 越 流行。
- 她 的 数学 成绩 越 来 越 好。
Complex: 越 + Adjective/Verb + 越 + Adjective/Verb
This structure can be expanded further by replacing 来 with another verb. This expresses that one change causes another change. (The examples make it clear how this works.)
Subject + 越 + Verb Phrase + 越 + Adjective
Here are some examples of this structure:
- 他 越 喝 可乐 越 胖。
- 她 越 说 越 生气。
- 啊，我 越 忙 越 不耐烦。
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Common Chinese Patterns 330 (汉语常用格式330例) (pp. 295) →buy
- Integrated Chinese: Level 2, Part 2 (pp. 288-9) →buy
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (pp. 238-9) →buy
- New Practical Chinese Reader 3 (新实用汉语课本3) (pp. 185) →buy
