1. An Action That Is to Take Place in a Short Time (动作即将发生)
‘要 … 了’indicates that an action or situation
is going to take place soon. ‘就’ or ‘快’ can be used in front of ‘要’ as an adverbial to indicate urgency.
The subject can often be omitted in this type of sentence.
SUBJECT + PREDICATE
Adverbial + 要
+ Verb / Adjective + Object + 了
e.g. （天气） 要 下 雨 了。
（天气） 要 冷 了。
我们 要 开 学 了。
他们 明天 就 要 去 泰山 了。
我们 快 要 爬到 山顶 了。
1.1 This type of sentence is usually transformed into a question
simply by adding ‘吗’at the end. A negative response can be
formed by using the negative adverb ‘没有’ or ‘还没有呢’.
e.g. 火车要开了吗？ － 没有。
我们就要到海南岛了吗？ － 还没有呢。
我们快要学新课了吗？ － 还没有呢。
1.2 A time word can be added in front of ‘要 … 了’ or ‘就要 … 了’; however, time word cannot be added
before ‘快要 … 了’.
e.g. 你下个月要十七岁了。 你快要十七岁了。
他们明天就要走了。 他们快要走了。
我们下星期就要考汉语了。
（NOT：我们下星期快要考汉语了。X）
1.3 ‘要 … 了’can be changed to ‘快 … 了’, without changing the meaning of the sentence.
e.g. 我们要放冬假了。 ＝ 我们快放冬假了。
要下雨了。 ＝ 快下雨了。
Grammar
Notes
2. The Complex Directional Complement (复合趋向补语)
Directional verbs (上、下、进、出、回、过、起), followed by simple directional
complements (来、去), can be used as complex
directional complements to other verbs. This kind of directional complement
indicates a certain compound direction of the action, and gives a more specific
description of the action.
e.g. 我们很快就爬到山顶 上来 了。
你能从山上跑 下去 吗？
王老师从外边走 进来 了。
2.1 Commonly used complex directional
complements are:
上
|
下
|
进
|
出
|
回
|
过
|
起
|
|
来
|
上来
|
下来
|
进去
|
出来
|
回来
|
过来
|
起来
|
去
|
上去
|
下去
|
进去
|
出去
|
回去
|
过去
|
X
|
2.2 The basic meanings of these complex
directional complements are:
上来 - to come up 上去 - to go up
下来 - to come down 下去 - to go down
进来 - to come in 进去 - to go in
出来 - to come out 出去 - to go out
回来 - to come back 回去 - to go back
过来 - to come over 过去 - to go over
起来 - to get up X
The relation between the direction of
the action and the speaker (or the topic being discussed), which is indicated
by ‘来’and ‘去’, is the same as in the case of a
simple directional complement (see Chapter 16).
2.3 If an object is present after the verb with a complex
directional complement, and the object is a word or phrase which indicates
location or place, then the object must be put before ‘来’ or ‘去’.
e.g. 力波和大为他们爬 上 长城 去 了。 (NOT: 爬上去长城 X)
林娜要多拍些照片寄 回 家 去。 (NOT: 寄回去家 X)
要下雨了，把衣服拿 进 房间 去 吧。(NOT: 拿进去房间X)
Grammar
Notes
3. Notional Passive Sentences (无标志被动句)
In some Chinese sentences, the
subject of the sentence is itself an object of an action. Structurally, it is
no different from a sentence in which the subject is the doer of the action,
except that it is obviously a passive notion. The notional passive sentence may
be used to emphasize the description of the object of the action. The subject
of the sentence is usually a definite object.
e.g. 音乐会的票已经买好了。
越剧《红楼梦》看过没有？
那本小说已经写完了，还拍成了电影。
衣服洗干净了，房间也打扫了。
4. ‘好’can be used as a resultative
complement to indicate the completion of an action.
e.g. 饭已经做好了，桌子还没有摆好。
飞机票已经买好了。
力波已经画好这幅画儿了。
你什么时候能洗好这些衣服？
5. The phrase‘多 + Adjective/Verb + 啊’is commonly used in exclamatory
sentences that express strong feelings The adverb ‘多’ is usually used as an adverbial in front of adjectives or certain
verbs. The modal particle ‘啊’is often used at the end of
the sentence. ‘太 … 了’is also a form of exclamation.
e.g. 林娜的汉字写得多漂亮啊！ ＝ 她写的汉字太漂亮了。
温哥华多美啊！ ＝ 温哥华太美了。
《红楼梦》这本小说多感人啊！= … 太感人了。
我多喜欢长城的景色啊！ = 我太喜欢长城的景色了。
6. The adverb ‘就’(3) links the previous statement and its conclusion.
e.g. 爬上山以后，他们都觉得有点儿累，就坐下来休息。
小明觉得很不好意思，就对老师说： “对不起，我又忘了。”
你没有认真复习，就不会得好分。
Grammar
Notes
Chapter
23, p.4
7.
The difference between ‘帮忙’ and ‘帮助’
The verb ‘帮助’may be followed by an object; but ‘帮忙’cannot be followed by an object.
e.g. 他常常帮助我练习讲中文。 NOT：帮忙我 X
你的中文不错，应该多帮助他们。 NOT：帮忙他们 X
你什么时候打扫房间？我们都能来帮忙。（要来帮助你）
看见妈妈在洗衣服，小英马上跑过去帮忙。（去帮助妈妈）
* * * * * *
Translation
the following into Characters and Pinyin:
1. The vacation is coming
soon, let’s go hiking in the mountain. (要 … 了)
2. If you feel tired, you
may sit down and have a short rest. (就)
3. We are also going to
reach to the top of the mountain soon.
4. Dinner is ready, but
the table is not set yet. (好)
5. Did you climb up to the
top of Taishan (the Mt.
Tai)? (去)
6. She wants to buy some
more postcards here to send home. (去)
7. The views in Vancouver beside the ocean
are so beautiful. (多 … 啊)
8. We climbed up from the bottom
of the mountain and come down from the top.
9. The pictures are ready.
You look so handsome in these clothes!
10. The game is starting.
Let’s go into the gym quickly.
11. He is planning to do
some physical exercise everyday starting from today.
12. I suggest that everyone
should learn some Chinese.
13. You can only borrow
books after you have got a library card. (好)
14. This movie’s story is so
touching! I want to watch it again. (多 … 啊)
15. I want to go skating
during the winter vacation. Let’s hear your plan.
16. Xiao Ming was sick in
school, so his friends sent him home. (去)
17. The movie tickets are
bought, but the taxi has not been called up yet.
18. He wants to work at the
bookstore starting from next summer. (打算)
19. The train is arriving in
Guangzhou in 5
minutes, please get ready to get off.
20. After the pictures are taken, he will
send them home to show to his parents. (寄)
