Expressing "together" with "yiqi"
A primer on how the word 一起 (yìqǐ) helps us to bring things together.
Structure
一起 (yìqǐ) is the easiest way to express an action being done together with other people.
Plural subject + 一起 + Verb + Object
The subject must be plural - a plural noun or two or more nouns linked with a conjunction. You can't do things together on your own, after all.
Examples
- 我们 一起 吃饭。Let's eat together.
- 我 跟 我 爸爸 一起 喝 啤酒。My dad and I drink beer together.
- 他 和 他 姐姐 一起 旅游。He and his sister travel together.
- 我 和 同事 一起 开会。My co-worker and I hold a meeting together.
- 这 两 个 公司 一起 做 这个 产品。These two businesses made this product together.
- 你 和 他 一起 来 我 家 吧。You and him can come to my home together.
- 我们 一起 坐 地铁 上班。We take the metro together to work.
- 我 和 我 的 女儿 一起 学 中文。My daughter and I study Chinese together.
- 我 不 想 和 他 一起 住。I don't want to live together with him.
- 他 的 同事 不 喜欢 和 他 一起 工作。His co-worker doesn't like to work together with him.
See also
Sources and further reading
Books
- Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar: A Practical Guide (p. 84, p88)→buy
- Basic Patterns of Chinese Grammar (pp. 74-5) →buy
- Chinese: An Essential Grammar, Second Edition (pp. 14-5) →buy
