Hui, neng, and keyi

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？

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

</dev> 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

• New Practical Chinese Reader 1 (新实用汉语课本1) (pp. 160) →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