Negative commands with "bie"

Revision as of 08:28, 13 January 2017 by ChenShishuang (talk | contribs)

Instead of saying "do not" with 不要 (bùyào), we can say "don't" a little more quickly and forcefully by using 别 (bié).

Structure

As well as 不要 (bùyào), negative commands can also be formed with 别 (bié). You could think of 别 (bié) as a contraction of 不要 (bùyào), as the structure is the same for both:

别 + Verb + (Obj.)

Examples

  • 走。Bié zǒu.Don't leave.
  • 说话!Bié shuōhuà! Don't speak!
  • 笑!Bié xiào! Don't laugh!
  • 动!Bié dòng!Don't move!
  • 过来!Bié guòlái! Don't come over here!
  • 打 孩子!Bié dǎ háizi!Don't hit the child!
  • 喝 太 多。Bié hē tài duō. Don't drink too much.
  • 喝 酒 以后 开车。Hē jiǔ yǐhòu bié kāichē.After drinking alcohol, don't drive.
  • 吃饭 的 时候 玩 手机。Chī fàn de shíhou bié wán shǒujī. When eating, don't play with your cell phone.
  • 上课 的 时候 说 英文。Shàng kè de shíhou bié shuō Yīngwén.Don't speak English in class.

See also

Sources and Further Reading

Videos

Books