Difference between revisions of "Expressing "not even one""

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* 我 <em>一</em> 口 <em>都</em> 没 吃 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yī</em> kǒu <em>dōu</em> méi chī. </span> <span class="trans">I didn't take a single bite. </span>
 
* 我 <em>一</em> 口 <em>都</em> 没 吃 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒ <em>yī</em> kǒu <em>dōu</em> méi chī. </span> <span class="trans">I didn't take a single bite. </span>
 
* 他 <em>一</em> 句 中文 <em>都</em> 不 会 说 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>yī</em> jù Zhōngwén <em>dōu</em> bù huì shuō. </span> <span class="trans">He can't speak one sentence of Chinese.</span>
 
* 他 <em>一</em> 句 中文 <em>都</em> 不 会 说 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>yī</em> jù Zhōngwén <em>dōu</em> bù huì shuō. </span> <span class="trans">He can't speak one sentence of Chinese.</span>
* 为什么 这里 <em>一</em> 个 人 <em>都</em> 没有?<span class="trans">Why aren't there any people here? </span>
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* 为什么 这里 <em>一</em> 个 人 <em>都</em> 没有 ? <span class="pinyin">Wèishénme zhèlǐ <em>yī</em> gè rén <em>dōu</em> méiyǒu? </span> <span class="trans">Why aren't there any people here? </span>
* 她 <em>一</em> 瓶 酒 <em>也</em> 没 喝。<span class="trans">She didn't drink a bottle of wine. </span>
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* 她 <em>一</em> 瓶 酒 <em>也</em> 没 喝 。 <span class="pinyin">Tā <em>yī</em> píng jiǔ <em>yě</em> méi hē. </span> <span class="trans">She didn't drink a bottle of wine. </span>
* 来 上海 以前,他 <em>一</em> 个 外国 朋友 <em>都</em> 没有。<span class="trans">He didn't have a foreign friend before he came to Shanghai. </span>
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* 来 上海 以前 , 他 <em>一</em> 个 外国 朋友 <em>都</em> 没有 。 <span class="pinyin">Lái Shànghǎi yǐqián, tā <em>yī</em> gè wàiguó péngyou <em>dōu</em> méiyǒu. </span> <span class="trans">He didn't have a foreign friend before he came to Shanghai. </span>
  
 
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Revision as of 04:00, 6 March 2017

In English we might want to say something like "I have absolutely no money, not even one penny." That "not even one" is the focus of this article.

Structure

This structure is usually used for emphasizing how little of something you have. The measure word in the middle of the sentence and the noun should be compatible with the verb at the end.

一 + Measure Word + (Noun) + 也 / 都 + 不 / 没 + Verb

Examples

  • 没 吃 。 kǒu dōu méi chī. I didn't take a single bite.
  • 句 中文 不 会 说 。 jù Zhōngwén dōu bù huì shuō. He can't speak one sentence of Chinese.
  • 为什么 这里 个 人 没有 ? Wèishénme zhèlǐ gè rén dōu méiyǒu? Why aren't there any people here?
  • 瓶 酒 没 喝 。 píng jiǔ méi hē. She didn't drink a bottle of wine.
  • 来 上海 以前 , 他 个 外国 朋友 没有 。 Lái Shànghǎi yǐqián, tā gè wàiguó péngyou dōu méiyǒu. He didn't have a foreign friend before he came to Shanghai.

Structure

If you want to put the topic of your conversation at the beginning of the sentence, make sure it has a strong emphasis or some kind of exaggerated remark.

Topic + Subj. + 一 + Measure Word + (Noun) + 也 / 都 + Verb

Examples

  • 这 个 人 没 见 过。I haven't seen this person once.
  • 这样 的 菜 没 买 过。I've never bought this kind of food before.
  • 这 次 活动 我们 公司 个 人 没 参加。Not one person in our company has participated in this activity.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Dictionaries

Websites