Difference between revisions of "Using "er" to explain contrasting ideas"

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*我 <em>不 是</em> 八卦 ,<em>是</em> 关心 你 。<span class="trans">I'm not gossiping. I'm concerned about you.</span>
 
*我 <em>不 是</em> 八卦 ,<em>是</em> 关心 你 。<span class="trans">I'm not gossiping. I'm concerned about you.</span>
 
*我 <em>不 是</em> 不 想 帮 你 ,<em>而 是</em> 没有 能力 帮 你 。<span class="trans">It's not that I don't want to help you, it's that I have no ability to help you.</span>
 
*我 <em>不 是</em> 不 想 帮 你 ,<em>而 是</em> 没有 能力 帮 你 。<span class="trans">It's not that I don't want to help you, it's that I have no ability to help you.</span>
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Subj. + 是⋯⋯ ,不是⋯⋯
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Some examples:
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*我们 <em>是</em> 来 办事 的 ,<em>不是</em> 来 玩 的 。<span class="trans">We're here to do our job, not to have fun.</span>
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*你 这样 做 <em>是</em> 害 他 ,<em>不是</em> 帮 他 。<span class="trans">By doing this you were hurting him, not helping him.</span>
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*不好意思 ,我 <em>是</em> 不 小心 ,<em>不是</em> 故意 的 。<span class="trans">I'm sorry. It was an accident. It wasn't on purpose.</span>
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Revision as of 09:14, 24 October 2018

The conjunction 而 (ér) is used to connect two sentences that are related to each other, but talk about contrasting ideas or subjects. In this manner, it can be seen as a word meaning "but" or "rather." 而 is often used in a more formal or literary sense, but it is also common in everyday speech.

Structure

Sentence 1, + 而 + Sentence 2

As you can see, 而 comes between the two to heighten the contrast.

Frequently you'll see the pattern in one of these two more specific forms:

不是……,而是……

是……,而不是……

Examples

  • 我们 都 以为 这 是 他 干 的, 事实 是,他 根本 不 知道 这 件 事情。We all thought this was his task, but the fact is, he simply doesn't know about this topic.
  • 以后 后悔 的 人 不 是 我, 是 你 自己。The regretful person isn't me. It's you.
  • 现在 要 做 的 不 是 责怪 谁 错 了, 是 怎么 解决。Now is not the time to accuse who did it wrong, but to figure out how to resolve it.
  • 我 没 说 不 是 想 骗 你 ,而 是 怕 你 不 高兴 。The reason I didn't tell you isn't that I wanted to lie to you; it's that I was afraid you would be upset.
  • 不 是 八卦 , 关心 你 。I'm not gossiping. I'm concerned about you.
  • 不 是 不 想 帮 你 ,而 是 没有 能力 帮 你 。It's not that I don't want to help you, it's that I have no ability to help you.

Subj. + 是⋯⋯ ,不是⋯⋯

Some examples:

  • 我们 来 办事 的 ,不是 来 玩 的 。We're here to do our job, not to have fun.
  • 你 这样 做 害 他 ,不是 帮 他 。By doing this you were hurting him, not helping him.
  • 不好意思 ,我 不 小心 ,不是 故意 的 。I'm sorry. It was an accident. It wasn't on purpose.

See Also

Sources and Further Reading

Books

Websites