Difference between revisions of "Expressing "again" in the past with "you""

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* 明天<em>又</em>是星期一!<span class="trans">Tomorrow is Monday again!</span>
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* 老板<em>又</em>要找我开会了。<span class="trans">The boss pulled me into a meeting again.</span>
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*<em>又</em> 要 迟到 了。<span class="trans">I'm going to be late again.</span>
* 这个周末<em>又</em>可以不加班了。<span class="trans">This weekend we don't need to work overtime again.</span>
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* 这 个 周末<em>又</em> 要 加班 了。<span class="trans">This weekend we need to work overtime again.</span>
* <em>又</em>该我请客了?<span class="trans">Its my turn to treat again?</span>
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* <em>又</em>该 我 请客 了?<span class="trans">Its my turn to treat again?</span>
* 如果你告诉妈妈,妈妈<em>又</em>会生气了。<span class="trans">If you tell mom, mom will get mad again.</span>
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* 如果 你 告诉 妈妈,妈妈 <em>又</em> 要 生气 了。<span class="trans">If you tell mom, mom will get mad again.</span>
* <em>又</em>过年了,我们<em>又</em>长了一岁。<span class="trans">It's the new year again, we've aged yet another year.</span>
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* <em>又</em> 过年了,我们<em>又</em>长了一岁。<span class="trans">It's the new year again, we've aged yet another year.</span>
 
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Revision as of 08:39, 28 September 2016

Whenever you want to express something like "you did it again!" in Chinese, you generally want to use 又 (yòu).

又 when something happened more than once in the past

Structure

Normally, 又 is used to express an action that has already happened again for (at least) the second time. It doesn't have to be in quick succession; it happened before, and now it's happened again.

又 + Verb

Examples

  • 我们 学 了 一 遍。We learned it again.
  • 做 错 了 !I did it wrong again!
  • 宝宝 哭 了。The baby is crying again.
  • 迟到 了。You came late again.
  • 喝 醉 了, 他 的 胃 怎么 受 得 了?He's drinking beer again. How does his stomach handle it?
  • 苹果 十 五 块 钱 一 斤?你 被 骗 了!Fifteen kuai per jin for apples? You've been tricked again.

又 when something is about to occur

Structure

When it becomes clear that something is about to happen again, you can also use 又. It's almost as if it has already happened in your mind. In these cases, it's quite common for 又 to be immediately followed by 是 (shì), 要 (yào), 可以 ( kěyǐ), 应该(yīnggāi), 能 (néng), or 会 (huì), and you'll notice that there's often a 了, indicating that something is about to happen.

又 + 要/会/可以/应该 + Verb Phrase (+ 了)

又 + 是 + Noun

Examples

  • 要 迟到 了。I'm going to be late again.
  • 这 个 周末 要 加班 了。This weekend we need to work overtime again.
  • 该 我 请客 了?Its my turn to treat again?
  • 如果 你 告诉 妈妈,妈妈 要 生气 了。If you tell mom, mom will get mad again.
  • 过年了,我们长了一岁。It's the new year again, we've aged yet another year.

又 for something that happened again and again

Structure

In the pattern below, 又, together with a repeating verb, indicates that the speaker did something repeatedly (not just twice) in the past. Here, 又 represents recurring actions that occur repeatedly. This one is definitely the most advanced usage of 又 here, and you're not going to use it nearly as much as the others.

Verb + 了 + 又 + Verb

Examples

  • 宝宝 出生 了 , 妈妈 看 了 看 ,高兴 得 不得了 。The baby was born, mom looked at him again and again, full of happiness./span>
  • 这个 词 我 记 了 记,还是 记 不住 。 I tried to remember this term over and over again, I still can't remember it.
  • 这个 方案 改 了 改 ,终 于 通过 了 。 This proposal has been altered again and again, finally it has passed.
  • 我 想 了 想,还是 不 能 这样 做 。 I thought it over again and again, we can't do it like this.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries