Difference between revisions of "Negation of "you" with "mei""

m (Text replacement - "méi yǒu" to "méiyǒu")
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<li class="x">我 <strong>不</strong> <em>有</em> 车。<span class="expl">Never use 不 with 有!</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>bù</strong> <em>yǒu</em> chē.</span></li>
 
<li class="x">我 <strong>不</strong> <em>有</em> 车。<span class="expl">Never use 不 with 有!</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>bù</strong> <em>yǒu</em> chē.</span></li>
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<li class="o">我 <strong>没</strong> <em>有</em> 车。<span class="expl">Always use 没 with 有.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>méi</strong> <em>yǒu</em> chē.</span><span class="trans">I don't have a car.</span></li>
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<li class="o">我 <strong>没</strong><em>有</em> 车。<span class="expl">Always use 没 with 有.</span><span class="pinyin">Wǒ <strong>méi</strong><em>yǒu</em> chē.</span><span class="trans">I don't have a car.</span></li>
 
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Revision as of 03:53, 23 February 2017

The verb 有 (yǒu) is negated differently from ordinary verbs. Rather than placing 不 (bù) before it as with other verbs, you must use 没 (méi) to negate the verb 有 (yǒu).

Structure

Nearly all verbs can be negated with 不 (bù). The verb 有 (yǒu) is an exception, and must be negated with 没 (méi).

没 + 有 (+ Obj.)

Examples

  • 我 没有 问题。 Wǒ méiyǒu wèntí. I don't have any questions.
  • 我们 现在 没有 钱。Wǒmen xiànzài méiyǒu qián. We don't have money now.
  • 他 没有 工作 吗？ Tā méiyǒu gōngzuò ma? Does he not have a job?
  • 他们 没有 爸爸妈妈。 Tāmen méiyǒu bàba māma. They don't have parents.
  • 我们 在 北京 没有 房子。Wǒmen zài Běijīng méiyǒu fángzi. We don't have a house in Beijing.
  • 你 爸爸 没有 手机 吗？Nǐ bàba méiyǒu shǒujī ma? Does your dad not have a cell phone?
  • 你们 在 上海 没有 朋友 吗？Nǐmen zài Shànghǎi méiyǒu péngyou ma? Do you not have friends in Shanghai?
  • 我 的 老师 现在 没有 男朋友。 Wǒ de lǎoshī xiànzài méiyǒu nánpéngyou. My teacher doesn't have a boyfriend now.
  • 他们 都 没有 电脑 吗？Tāmen dōu méiyǒu diànnǎo ma?Do they all not have computers?
  • 这 个 周末 你们 都 没有 时间 吗？Zhège zhōumò nǐmen dōu méiyǒu shíjiān ma?Do you all not have time this weekend?

Remember that trying to negate 有 (yǒu) with 不 (bù) is a classic mistake that many people make in the early stages of studying Chinese:

  • 我 不 有 车。Never use 不 with 有!Wǒ bù yǒu chē.
  • 我 没有 车。Always use 没 with 有.Wǒ méiyǒu chē.I don't have a car.

Never use 不 (bù) with 有 (yǒu).

The Short Form of 没有 (méiyǒu) is 没 (méi)

没有 (méiyǒu) can be shortened to 没 (méi) without altering its meaning.

  • 我 没 钱。 Wǒ méi qián. I don't have money.
  • 你 没 男朋友 吗？ Nǐ méi nánpéngyou ma? Do you not have a boyfriend?
  • 你们 没 车 吗？ Nǐmen méi chē ma? Do you not have a car?
  • 老板 现在 没 时间。 Lǎobǎn xiànzài méi shíjiān. The boss doesn't have time right now.
  • 我 没 工作，我 老公 也 没 工作。 Wǒ méi gōngzuò, wǒ lǎogōng yě méi gōngzuò. I don't have a job. Neither does my husband.

See also

Sources and further reading

Books

Videos


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