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

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*你们 要 玩 <em>到</em> 什么 时候 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen yào wán dào <em>dào</em> shénme shíhou?</span><span class="trans">When will you be done playing?</span>
 
*你们 要 玩 <em>到</em> 什么 时候 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐmen yào wán dào <em>dào</em> shénme shíhou?</span><span class="trans">When will you be done playing?</span>
 
*爸爸 看 电视 看 <em>到</em> 半夜 。<span class="pinyin">Bàba kàn diànshì <em>dào</em> bànyè.</span><span class="trans">My dad watched TV until midnight.</span>
 
*爸爸 看 电视 看 <em>到</em> 半夜 。<span class="pinyin">Bàba kàn diànshì <em>dào</em> bànyè.</span><span class="trans">My dad watched TV until midnight.</span>
*今天 的 部门 会议 一直 开 <em>到</em> 晚上 九点 。<span class="pinyin">Jīntiān de bùmén huìyì yīzhí kāi <strong>dào</strong> <em>wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn</em>.</span><span class="trans">This department meeting wasn't over until 9pm.</span>
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*今天 的 部门 会议 一直 开 <em>到</em> 晚上 九点 。<span class="pinyin">Jīntiān de bùmén huìyì yīzhí kāi <em>dào</em> wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn.</span><span class="trans">This department meeting wasn't over until 9pm.</span>
*我们 在 Karaoke 一直 唱 <em>到</em> 第二天 早上 五点 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zài Karaoke yīzhí chàng <strong>dào</strong> <em>dì-èr tiān zǎoshang wǔ diǎn</em>.</span><span class="trans">We were singing at KTV til 5 o'clock the next morning.</span>
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*我们 在 Karaoke 一直 唱 <em>到</em> 第二天 早上 五点 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zài Karaoke yīzhí chàng <em>dào</em> dì-èr tiān zǎoshang wǔ diǎn.</span><span class="trans">We were singing at KTV til 5 o'clock the next morning.</span>
 
*我们 吃 火锅 吃 <em>到</em> 火锅店 关门 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen chī huǒguō chī  <em>dào</em> huǒguōdiàn guānmén.</span><span class="trans">We ate hotpot until the hotpot place was closed.</span>
 
*我们 吃 火锅 吃 <em>到</em> 火锅店 关门 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen chī huǒguō chī  <em>dào</em> huǒguōdiàn guānmén.</span><span class="trans">We ate hotpot until the hotpot place was closed.</span>
*她 给 男朋友 打 电话 一直 打 <em>到</em> 手机 没 电 。<span class="pinyin">Tā gěi nánpéngyou dǎ diànhuà yīzhí dǎ <strong>dào</strong> <em>shǒujī méi diàn</em>.</span><span class="trans">She called her mom until her phone was dead.</span>
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*她 给 男朋友 打 电话 一直 打 <em>到</em> 手机 没 电 。<span class="pinyin">Tā gěi nánpéngyou dǎ diànhuà yīzhí dǎ <em>dào</em> shǒujī méi diàn.</span><span class="trans">She called her mom until her phone was dead.</span>
  
 
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Revision as of 10:06, 6 November 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 + Time

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 spring.
  • 你们 要 玩 什么 时候 ?Nǐmen yào wán dào dào shénme shíhou?When will you be done playing?
  • 爸爸 看 电视 看 半夜 。Bàba kàn diànshì dào bànyè.My dad watched TV until midnight.
  • 今天 的 部门 会议 一直 开 晚上 九点 。Jīntiān de bùmén huìyì yīzhí kāi dào wǎnshang jiǔ diǎn.This department meeting wasn't over until 9pm.
  • 我们 在 Karaoke 一直 唱 第二天 早上 五点 。Wǒmen zài Karaoke yīzhí chàng dào dì-èr tiān zǎoshang wǔ diǎn.We were singing at KTV til 5 o'clock the next morning.
  • 我们 吃 火锅 吃 火锅店 关门 。Wǒmen chī huǒguō chī dào huǒguōdiàn guānmén.We ate hotpot until the hotpot place was closed.
  • 她 给 男朋友 打 电话 一直 打 手机 没 电 。Tā gěi nánpéngyou dǎ diànhuà yīzhí dǎ dào shǒujī méi diàn.She called her mom until her phone was dead.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

HSK4