歐立言
Sentences in Chinese Hi, I have some questions concerning the sentences below: 1. 请问,你们有荔枝卖吗? Can I just say “请问,你们有荔枝吗?or ”请问,你们卖荔枝吗? 2. 我这个周末我又要加班。It's translated as ”This weekend I have to work overtime again." and I was wondering why 要 is translated here as "have to" and not "going to" (for example) 3. 不系皮带裤子会松。This one's translated as "Without a belt, the pants would be too loose." Is it common to use 会 like "would" in such sentences? For example if I wanted to say "If I had a lot of money I WOULD go to the USA." should I use 会?Also, they used the word "too" here but there's no e.g. 太 ...了here??
Nov 27, 2016 11:49 AM
Answers · 7
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1.Actually the three sentences are all right,but the second one and the third one are more common。 2.这个周末我又要加班or我这个周末又要加班 is right,you shouldn‘t add two “我” in fact “This weekend I have to work overtime again.”suppose to be translated into“这个周末我又得加班“ 得=have to (pronunciation is “dei【3】“,polyphone,“得”have three pronunciations “de【0】、dei 【3】、de【2】”) 3.Without a belt, the pants would be too loose->不系皮带的话裤子就会很松,in this sentence,“很”->“too”, but usually “too”->“太...了” eg “Your pant is too loose”-> 你的裤子太松了。 If I had a lot of money I WOULD go to the USA->如果我有很多钱,我就会去美国。 “would” usually be used in subjunctive sentence ,so usuallybe translated into “就会” in chinese。 I hope my answer is useful to you. Ada
November 27, 2016
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1.both are ok. We can understand. 2.要can be translated into :want, want to, have to, need,ask for...... depend on the context 3.如果我有很多钱我会去美国。 Too means “很” ,“太”,“十分” depend on the context
November 27, 2016
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1. All three sentences are acceptable. However, the third one is more formal because its syntactic structure is standard "subject + predicate + object + 吗?". "有……(卖)吗?" is more common in oral Chinese. 2. "要" can be translated as want, need, must, have to, etc. depending on context. "Work overtime" is not a plan or a wish of the subject, so "要" here means "have to". If it is your plan or your wish, you can say "这个周末我又想要加班" instead. 3. "会" can be used to express possibility so you can say "如果我有很多钱,我(就)会去美国。" Attention! Chinese grammar never includes tenses and moods, so Ada's answer has a logic mistake which "如果…… 就…… " is a pair of connection words(关联词)in Chinese rather than "would" will be translated as "就会" just due to subjunctive mood. If you use "如果" you have to use "就" as well. "就" can be omitted. I believe you must know literal translation and free translation. Obviously "Without a belt, the pants would be too loose." belongs to free translation. "松" can be literally translated as "loose", but I guess "loose" doesn't always mean in a bad way in English. However, as a adjective, 松 usually means in a uncomfortable way in Chinese. (We use 宽松 to express loose and comfortable.) e.g. 我感觉这条裤子有点儿松。(I think the pants are a little loose.) 这件体恤衫很宽松,我很喜欢。(This T-shirt is very loose and I like it very much.) So it says "too loose" to translate "松" accurately.
November 28, 2016
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