Difference between revisions of "Expressing "until" with "dao""

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{{Grammar Box}}  
 
{{Grammar Box}}  
  
One of the cool features of Chinese is [[complements]], and in this article we introduce a few of them.  
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One kind of [[complement]] in Chinese involves putting 到 after the verb. 到 (dào) is used to indicate that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.  
  
One kind of [[complement]] in Chinese involves putting 到, 给 or 在 after the verb. These are used to indicate direction, target and location, respectively.
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== Structure ==
  
== Complements with 到 ==
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<div class="jiegou">
  
(dào) indicates that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.
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Verb + + A Certain Time Point
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</div>
  
 
=== Examples ===
 
=== Examples ===
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<div class="liju">
  
*我 昨天晚上 工作 <strong>到</strong> <em>十二 点 半</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò <strong>dào</strong> <em>shí'èr diǎn bàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I worked until 12:30 last night.</span>
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*我 昨天 晚上 工作 <strong>到</strong> <em>十二 点 半</em>。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò <strong>dào</strong> <em>shí'èr diǎn bàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">I worked until 12:30 last night.</span>
 
*我们 一直 等 <strong>到</strong> <em>天黑</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen yīzhí děng <strong>dào</strong> <em> tiānhēi</em>.</span><span class="trans">We waited until it was getting dark.</span>
 
*我们 一直 等 <strong>到</strong> <em>天黑</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Wǒmen yīzhí děng <strong>dào</strong> <em> tiānhēi</em>.</span><span class="trans">We waited until it was getting dark.</span>
 
*他们 想 在 这里 住 <strong>到</strong> <em>春天</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù <strong>dào</strong> <em> chūntiān</em>.</span><span class="trans">They want to live here until it's spring.</span>
 
*他们 想 在 这里 住 <strong>到</strong> <em>春天</em> 。 <span class="pinyin">Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù <strong>dào</strong> <em> chūntiān</em>.</span><span class="trans">They want to live here until it's spring.</span>

Revision as of 08:03, 20 June 2017

Chinese-grammar-wiki-dao.jpg

One kind of complement in Chinese involves putting 到 after the verb. 到 (dào) is used to indicate that the action has obtained a goal or a certain state.

Structure

Verb + 到 + A Certain Time Point

Examples

  • 我 昨天 晚上 工作 十二 点 半Wǒ zuótiān wǎnshang gōngzuò dào shí'èr diǎn bàn.I worked until 12:30 last night.
  • 我们 一直 等 天黑Wǒmen yīzhí děng dào tiānhēi.We waited until it was getting dark.
  • 他们 想 在 这里 住 春天Tāmen xiǎng zài zhèlǐ zhù dào chūntiān.They want to live here until it's spring.
  • 你们 要 玩 什么 时候Nǐmen yào wán dào shénme shíhou? When will you be done playing?
  • 爸爸 看电视 看 半夜My dad watched TV until midnight.
  • 我们 吃 火锅 吃 火锅店 关门We ate hotpot until the hotpot place was closed.
  • 我们 部门 从 八点 就 开始 开会,一直 开 中午We had a department meeting from 8am to noon.
  • 她 给 她 妈妈 打 电话 一直 打 手机 没 电Tā gěi tā māma dǎ diànhuà yīzhí dǎ dào shǒujī méi diàn.She called her mom until her phone was dead.
  • 周五 晚上 我 跟 同事 去 KTV ,我们 一直 唱 第二天 早上 五点Zhōuwǔ wǎnshang wǒ gēn tóngshì qù KTV, wǒmen yīzhí chàng dào dìèr tiān zǎoshang wǔ diǎn.I went to the KTV Friday evening with my coworker. We sang until 5 o'clock the next morning.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK4