Difference between revisions of "Expressing "if... then..." with "ruguo... jiu...""

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* <em>如果</em> 你 去  <em>的话</em>,帮 我 跟 她 问 好。 <span class="trans">If you go, tell her I say hello.</span>
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* <em>如果</em> 你 去  <em>的话</em>,帮 我 跟 她 问 好。 <span class="pinyin"><em>Rúguǒ</em> nǐ qù <em>de huà</em>, bāng wǒ gēn tā wènhǎo.</span><span class="trans">If you go, tell her I say hello.</span>
* <em>如果</em> 下次 有 时间  <em>的话</em>,一定 要 找 我 玩儿。<span class="trans">When you have time, you need to find me so we can hang out.</span>
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* <em>如果</em> 下次 有 时间  <em>的话</em>,一定 要 找 我 玩儿。<span class="pinyin"><em>Rúguǒ</em> xià cì yǒu shíjiān <em>de huà</em>, yīdìng yào zhǎo wǒ wán er.</span><span class="trans">When you have time, you need to find me so we can hang out.</span>
* <em>如果</em> 你 不 忙  <em>的话</em>,可以 帮 我 联系 客户 吗?<span class="trans">If you're not busy, can you help me connect with customers?</span>
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* <em>如果</em> 你 不 忙  <em>的话</em>,可以 帮 我 联系 客户 吗?<span class="pinyin"><em>Rúguǒ</em> nǐ bù máng <em>de huà</em>, kěyǐ bāng wǒ liánxì kèhù ma?</span><span class="trans">If you're not busy, can you help me connect with customers?</span>
* <em>如果</em> 不 方便 <em>的话</em>,我 就 不 去 了。
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* <em>如果</em> 不 方便 <em>的话</em>,我 就 不 去 了。<span class="pinyin"><em>Rúguǒ</em> bù fāngbiàn <em>de huà</em>, wǒ jiù bù qù le.</span>
  
 
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* 你 去  <em>的话</em>,帮 我 跟 她 问 好。  <span class="trans">If you go, tell her I say hello.</span>
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* 你 去  <em>的话</em>,帮 我 跟 她 问 好。  <span class="pinyin">Nǐ qù <em>de huà</em>, bāng wǒ gēn tā wènhǎo.</span><span class="trans">If you go, tell her I say hello.</span>
* 下次 有 时间  <em>的话</em>,一定 要 找 我 玩儿。 <span class="trans">When you have time, you need to find me so we can hang out.</span>
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* 下次 有 时间  <em>的话</em>,一定 要 找 我 玩儿。 <span class="pinyin">Xià cì yǒu shíjiān <em>de huà</em>, yīdìng yào zhǎo wǒ wán er.</span><span class="trans">When you have time, you need to find me so we can hang out.</span>
* 你 不 忙 <em>的话</em>,可以 帮 我 联系 客户 吗?<span class="trans">If you're not busy, can you help me connect with customers?</span>
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* 你 不 忙 <em>的话</em>,可以 帮 我 联系 客户 吗?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ bù máng <em>de huà</em>, kěyǐ bāng wǒ liánxì kèhù ma?</span><span class="trans">If you're not busy, can you help me connect with customers?</span>
* 没 地方 住 <em>的话</em>,就 来 我 这里 吧。
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* 没 地方 住 <em>的话</em>,就 来 我 这里 吧。<span class="pinyin">Méi dìfāng zhù <em>de huà</em>, jiù lái wǒ zhèlǐ ba.</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 13:38, 26 December 2014

One of the benefits of Chinese is that the grammar is often very logical and concise. In this article, we look at the "如果...,就..." (rúguǒ..., jiù...) structure. We will also look at uses "的话" (dehuà).

Standard expression with 如果...就

Structure

"如果..., 就..." is an often-used pattern that is utilized in the same way that "If..., then..." is in English.

如果 + Statement + 就 + Result

Examples

  • 如果 不 好好 复习,你 无法 通过 明天 的 考试。Rúguǒ bù hǎohǎo fùxí, nǐ jiù wúfǎ tōngguò míngtiān de kǎoshì.If you don't review well, you won't be able to pass tomorrow's test.
  • 如果 不 迷恋 网络 游戏,能考上好的大学 。rúguǒ bù míliàn wǎngluò yóuxì, jiù néng kǎo shàng hǎo de dàxué.If he hadn't been so addicted to the video games,he would have been admitted to a better university.
  • 如果 在 北京 找不到 工作, 会 回 昆明。rúguǒ zài Běijīng zhǎo bù dào gōngzuò, jiù huì huí Kūnmíng.If I can't find a job in Beijing, I'm going to go back to Kunming.

Colloquial expression with 如果...的话

Although 如果 can be used to mean "if" all by itself, it's often used together with the phrase 的话 to create the "if" sandwich pattern. "就" is optional.

Structure

如果 + Statement + 的话, (就)Result

Examples

  • 如果 你 去 的话,帮 我 跟 她 问 好。 Rúguǒ nǐ qù de huà, bāng wǒ gēn tā wènhǎo.If you go, tell her I say hello.
  • 如果 下次 有 时间 的话,一定 要 找 我 玩儿。Rúguǒ xià cì yǒu shíjiān de huà, yīdìng yào zhǎo wǒ wán er.When you have time, you need to find me so we can hang out.
  • 如果 你 不 忙 的话,可以 帮 我 联系 客户 吗?Rúguǒ nǐ bù máng de huà, kěyǐ bāng wǒ liánxì kèhù ma?If you're not busy, can you help me connect with customers?
  • 如果 不 方便 的话,我 就 不 去 了。Rúguǒ bù fāngbiàn de huà, wǒ jiù bù qù le.

Here's the slightly tricky thing: while you can use 如果 without 的话, it's also possible to drop the 如果 and just use the 的话 instead to mean "if." It's even possible to use neither, and let the "if" be completely implied.

Statement + 的话, (就)Result

  • 你 去 的话,帮 我 跟 她 问 好。 Nǐ qù de huà, bāng wǒ gēn tā wènhǎo.If you go, tell her I say hello.
  • 下次 有 时间 的话,一定 要 找 我 玩儿。 Xià cì yǒu shíjiān de huà, yīdìng yào zhǎo wǒ wán er.When you have time, you need to find me so we can hang out.
  • 你 不 忙 的话,可以 帮 我 联系 客户 吗?Nǐ bù máng de huà, kěyǐ bāng wǒ liánxì kèhù ma?If you're not busy, can you help me connect with customers?
  • 没 地方 住 的话,就 来 我 这里 吧。Méi dìfāng zhù de huà, jiù lái wǒ zhèlǐ ba.

如果...那么

这里,“那么”的用法是使得结构的前后两部分显得不那么严肃和拘束,起到一种舒缓句子节奏的作用。

Structure

如果 + Statement, 那么(就) + Result

Examples

  • 如果 你 不 去,那么 我 也 不 去。
  • 如果 他 知道 了,那么 他 一 定 会 来 告诉 我。
  • 如果 现在 我们 不 合作,那么 我们 以后 就 没有 机会 合作 了。
  • 如果 你 不 相信 我,那么 我 就 什么 都 不 说 了。

See also

Sources and further reading

Books