Expressing "had better" with "haishi"

Revision as of 08:15, 19 October 2012 by Yucui (talk | contribs) (→‎Examples)

Structure

You can use 还是 (háishì) as an auxiliary verb to express "had better" or "ought to". The idea is that the speaker has given the matter some thought, and after considering it, has finally come to a decision. The announcement of this decision will frequently include 还是, and it is often before a verb or a subject.

吧 is often placed after this structure as it's a suggestion.

Examples

  • 你 不 会, 还是 我 做 吧。
  • 我 饿 了,我们 还是 先 吃饭 吧。
  • 这里 太 脏 了, 我们 还是 走 吧。
  • 还是 现在 就 跟 我 说 吧。
  • 你 病 了 这么 长 时间,还是 去 医院 吧。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK4