Vika
3 questions about 猴子的尾巴 :) There is a poem in my daughter's Chinese poem book which has the following lines: 1) 谁的尾巴长?猴子尾巴长。 2) 谁的尾巴短?兔子尾巴短。 3) 猴子的尾巴长有长。 4) 兔子的尾巴短有短。 So, I have several qestions: 1) Can we both say "猴子尾巴” and “猴子的尾巴”? Is it possible to omit 的? 2) Why don't they use "很” in the sencence “猴子尾巴长。”, i.e., why don't they say “猴子(的)尾巴很长。”? 3) It's the first time when I've encountered the grammatical structure "adjective + 有 + adjective" (as in the 3rd and the 4th sentences). When do you normally use this structure and what does it mean? Thank you!
Nov 23, 2016 2:47 AM
Answers · 3
Vika, (1) 的 is implied, so you can omitted it. But either way is correct. (2) 很 means "very". Now, you got a question asking "whose" tall is long, not "how" long is monkey's tail. So if you added 很 in your answer, you were not answering the question. (3) I agree with Kaka, it sounds like it should be “长又长”, which means it's "very long". But to be honest, poem is different from everyday writings. They got limitation on number of words, and they have to sound right, and even matching certain words with the previous lines. So, I suggest you don't take it too seriously until you get a very good grip on the language and culture. It is difficult even for the natives.
November 23, 2016
are you sure this sentence "3) 猴子的尾巴长有长。" 有 is not 又 Q1:都可以,“的”可加可不加 Q2:不用加“很”来修饰,不押韵,而且字数多了 Q3:我想你的文章是记错了,应该是“长又长”
November 23, 2016
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