Difference between revisions of "Tricky uses of "dao""

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*我 在 看 一些 老 照片。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zài kàn yīxiē lǎo zhàopiàn.</span><span class="trans"> I'm looking at some old photos.</span>
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*我 在 看 一些 老 照片 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ zài kàn yīxiē lǎo zhàopiàn.</span><span class="trans"> I'm looking at some old photos.</span>
*看<em>到</em> 这 张 照片,我 想<em>到</em> 了 我 的 女儿。<span class="pinyin">Kàn<em>dào</em> zhè zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ xiǎng<em>dào</em> le wǒ de nǚ'ér.</span><span class="trans"> After seeing this photo, I thought of my daughter.</span>
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*看<em>到</em> 这 张 照片,我 想<em>到</em> 了 我 的 女儿 。<span class="pinyin">Kàn<em>dào</em> zhè zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ xiǎng<em>dào</em> le wǒ de nǚ'ér.</span><span class="trans"> After seeing this photo, I thought of my daughter.</span>
*我 看<em>到</em> 他 了,在 那里!<span class="pinyin">Wǒ kàn<em>dào</em> tā le, zài nàlǐ!</span><span class="trans"> I see him, over there! </span>
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*我 看<em>到</em> 他 了,在 那里 !<span class="pinyin">Wǒ kàn<em>dào</em> tā le, zài nàlǐ!</span><span class="trans"> I see him, over there!</span>
 
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*怎么 追 女孩子?<span class="pinyin">Zěnme zhuī nǚ háizi?</span><span class="trans"> How do you chase girls? </span>
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*怎么 追 女孩子 ?<span class="pinyin">Zěnme zhuī nǚ háizi?</span><span class="trans"> How do you chase girls? </span>
*那 个 女孩子,你 追<em>到</em>了吗?<span class="pinyin">Nàge nǚháizi, nǐ zhuī<em>dào</em> le ma?</span><span class="trans"> That girl, did you catch her yet? </span>
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*那 个 女孩子 ,你 追<em>到</em>了吗 ?<span class="pinyin">Nàge nǚháizi, nǐ zhuī<em>dào</em> le ma?</span><span class="trans"> That girl, did you catch her yet? </span>
*如果 你 追<em>到</em>她了,我 就 请 你 喝酒。<span class="pinyin">Rúguǒ nǐ zhuī<em>dào</em> tā le, wǒ jiù qǐng nǐ hējiǔ.</span><span class="trans"> If you can really catch her, I'll treat you to a drink.</span>
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*如果 你 追<em>到</em>她了 ,我 就 请 你 喝酒 。<span class="pinyin">Rúguǒ nǐ zhuī<em>dào</em> tā le, wǒ jiù qǐng nǐ hējiǔ.</span><span class="trans"> If you can really catch her, I'll treat you to a drink.</span>
 
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*我 不 太 了解 这个 人。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù tài liǎojiě zhège rén.</span><span class="trans"> I don't really understand this person.</span>
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*我 不 太 了解 这个 人 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ bù tài liǎojiě zhège rén.</span><span class="trans"> I don't really understand this person.</span>
 
*我们 刚刚 了解<em>到</em> 一些 新 的 消息 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gānggāng liǎojiě<em>dào</em> yīxiē xīn de xī.</span><span class="trans"> We just understood the new information.</span>
 
*我们 刚刚 了解<em>到</em> 一些 新 的 消息 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen gānggāng liǎojiě<em>dào</em> yīxiē xīn de xī.</span><span class="trans"> We just understood the new information.</span>
*从 他 那里,我 了解 <em>到</em> 了 这个 女人 很 多 事。<span class="pinyin">Cóng tā nàlǐ, wǒ liǎojiě<em>dào</em> le zhège nǚrén hěn duō shì.</span><span class="trans"> From him, I understood a lot of things regarding this girl.</span>
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*从 他 那里,我 了解 <em>到</em> 了 真相 。<span class="pinyin">Cóng tā nàlǐ, wǒ liǎojiě<em>dào</em> le .</span><span class="trans">I learned the truth from him.</span>
 
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*我们 怎么 联系 ?<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zěnme liánxì?</span><span class="trans">How do we get in contact? </span>
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*我们 怎么 联系 ?<span class="pinyin">Wǒmen zěnme liánxì?</span><span class="trans">How do we get in contact?</span>
*你 知道 他 的 联系 方式 吗 ?<span class="trans">Do you have his contact information? </span>
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*你 知道 他 的 联系 方式 吗 ?<span class="pinyin">Nǐ zhīdào tā de liánxì fāngshì ma?</span><span class="trans">Do you have his contact information?</span>
*我 一直 想 跟 你 联系 ,但是 一直 联系<em>到</em> 你 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ yīzhí xiǎng gēn nǐ liánxì, dànshì yīzhí méi liánxì<em>dào</em> nǐ.</span><span class="trans">I always wanted get in touch with you, but  
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*我 想 跟 你 联系 ,但是 一直 联系 <em>到</em> 你 。<span class="pinyin">Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ liánxì, dànshì yīzhí liánxì bu <em>dào</em> nǐ.</span><span class="trans">I always wanted to get in touch with you, but hasn't got a hold of you.</span>
 
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Revision as of 08:55, 14 November 2017

You probably learned the result complement 到 a long time ago, as part of words like 看到 ("to see") and 听到 ("to hear"). But other times it's less clear what the 到 really means. Like the difference between 买 and 买到 or 做 and 做到. What 到 adds is a clearer sense that something has really been achieved.

The difference 到 makes

Adding 到 after a verb makes it very clear that the desired result was achieved. If you looked and you saw, then 到 indicates that. On the other hand, not adding 到 makes it unclear whether or not the desired result was achieved. It can have the effect of making a verb mean "try to verb." So 做 without 到 is kind of like "try to do," but when you want to make it very clear that results were achieved or must be achieved, that's when you want to add 到.

Let's look at another example. The difference between 找 and 找到 is that 找 means "to search" (in other words, "to try to find"), whereas 找到 means "to find," that the search was successful, and results were achieved. So if one were to say "你一定要找," it would mean "you must try to find it" and "你一定要找到" means "you must find it."

Illustrative Examples

做 vs. 做到

  • 我 还 没有 做。Wǒ hái méiyǒu zuò. I haven‘t done it.
  • 我 下 个 星期 可以 做。Wǒ xià gè xīngqī kěyǐ zuò. I can do it next week.
  • 我 相信 你 一定 能 做Wǒ xiāngxìn nǐ yīdìng néng zuòdào. I believe you will be able to do it.

买 vs. 买到

  • 我 还 没有 买。Wǒ hái méiyǒu mǎi. I haven't bought it yet.
  • 我 没 买Wǒ méi mǎidào. I didn't buy it.
  • 这里 很 难 买 进口 食品。Zhèlǐ hěn nán mǎidào jìnkǒu shípǐn. It's hard to buy imported good here.

学 vs. 学到

  • 我 想 学 中文。Wǒ xiǎng xué Zhōngwén. I want to learn Chinese.
  • 我们 今天 学 了 “恭喜发财”。Wǒmen jīntiān xué le “gōngxǐ fācái”. Today we learned "kung hei fat choy."
  • 在 这个 公司 工作,我 学 了 很 多 东西。Zài zhège gōngsī gōngzuò, wǒ xuédào le hěn duō dōngxi. Working for this company, I learned a lot of things.

拿 vs. 拿到

  • 你 拿 小包,我 拿 大包。Nǐ ná xiǎo bāo, wǒ ná dà bāo. You take the small bag, I'll take the big bag.
  • 今天 去 拿 婚纱,不 知道 能 不 能 拿Jīntiān qù ná hūnshā, bù zhīdào néng bu néng nádào.Today I'm going to pick up the wedding dress, not sure if I'll be able to get it or not.
  • 他 偷偷 进 了 她 的 房间,拿 了 他 想要 的 东西。Tā tōutōu jìn le tā de fángjiān, nádào le tā xiǎngyào de dōngxi. He secretly entered her room and got the thing he wanted to take.

想 vs. 想到

  • 一定 要 想 一 个办法。Yīdìng yào xiǎng yī gè bànfǎ. You have to think of a method.
  • 你 想 了 什么好办法?Nǐ xiǎngdào le shénme hǎo bànfǎ?Have you thought of any good methods yet?
  • 我们 都 没 想 他 会 这么 说。Wǒmen dōu méi xiǎngdào tā huì zhème shuō.None of us thought that he would say it like that.

看 vs. 看到

  • 我 在 看 一些 老 照片 。Wǒ zài kàn yīxiē lǎo zhàopiàn. I'm looking at some old photos.
  • 这 张 照片,我 想 了 我 的 女儿 。Kàndào zhè zhāng zhàopiàn, wǒ xiǎngdào le wǒ de nǚ'ér. After seeing this photo, I thought of my daughter.
  • 我 看 他 了,在 那里 !Wǒ kàndào tā le, zài nàlǐ! I see him, over there!

追 vs. 追到

  • 怎么 追 女孩子 ?Zěnme zhuī nǚ háizi? How do you chase girls?
  • 那 个 女孩子 ,你 追了吗 ?Nàge nǚháizi, nǐ zhuīdào le ma? That girl, did you catch her yet?
  • 如果 你 追她了 ,我 就 请 你 喝酒 。Rúguǒ nǐ zhuīdào tā le, wǒ jiù qǐng nǐ hējiǔ. If you can really catch her, I'll treat you to a drink.

了解 vs. 了解到

  • 我 不 太 了解 这个 人 。Wǒ bù tài liǎojiě zhège rén. I don't really understand this person.
  • 我们 刚刚 了解 一些 新 的 消息 。Wǒmen gānggāng liǎojiědào yīxiē xīn de xī. We just understood the new information.
  • 从 他 那里,我 了解 了 真相 。Cóng tā nàlǐ, wǒ liǎojiědào le .I learned the truth from him.

联系 vs. 联系到

  • 我们 怎么 联系 ?Wǒmen zěnme liánxì?How do we get in contact?
  • 你 知道 他 的 联系 方式 吗 ?Nǐ zhīdào tā de liánxì fāngshì ma?Do you have his contact information?
  • 我 想 跟 你 联系 ,但是 一直 联系 不 你 。Wǒ xiǎng gēn nǐ liánxì, dànshì yīzhí liánxì bu dào nǐ.I always wanted to get in touch with you, but hasn't got a hold of you.
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