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4

Upper intermediate

The links between clauses get finer: concession, condition, escalation and consequence, and phrases such as 对(duì)…来说(láishuō) or 随着(suízhe) that place a thought in its frame.

Subjects beyond daily life — work, education, the environment, society — can be followed and discussed, and one idea now has several phrasings to choose from.

Nouns, measure words and comparison2

Nouns, numbers and measure words

1
4Every one: doubled measure words and nounsA measure word or a one-syllable noun said twice means every one of them, usually with dōu after it.

Comparison

1
4Falling short: bùrúA bùrú B means that A is not as good as B — and bùrú before an action suggests a better plan.

Time, aspect and the verb1

Complements after the verb

1
4When direction is not about spaceQǐlai, xiàqu, chūlai and xiàlai also mean starting, carrying on, bringing to light and settling.

Sentence patterns and linking clauses10

Sentence patterns

3
4Passives with ràng, jiào and gěiIn speech ràng and jiào often stand where bèi would, gěi can stand before the verb, and many passives need no marker at all.4Appearing, disappearing and existingPlace first, then the verb, then the new arrival: the order Chinese uses for something that is somewhere, turns up or goes away.4Emphasis with shì and with question wordsA stressed shì insists that something really is so, and a question word before dōu or yě means everybody, everything or anywhere.

Adverbs that carry the grammar

2
4Finally and on earth: zhōngyú, dàodǐ and jiūjìngZhōngyú is relief at the end of a wait; dàodǐ and jiūjìng press for the real answer.4Originally, it turns out, actually: běnlái, yuánlái and qíshíBěnlái recalls a plan that changed, yuánlái announces a discovery, and qíshí corrects an impression.

Linking clauses

5
4Even if: jíshǐ … yěJíshǐ supposes something, even something unlikely, and yě says that the result stands all the same.4No matter: wúlùn and bùguǎn … dōuWúlùn or bùguǎn opens a range of possibilities, and dōu or yě says the result is the same for all of them.4Since, given that: jìrán … jiùJìrán takes something both speakers already accept, and jiù draws the conclusion from it.4Otherwise: fǒuzé, bùrán, yàobùránFirst what should happen, then fǒuzé or bùrán and what will follow if it does not.4Adding and going further: érqiě, bìngqiě, shènzhìÉrqiě adds a point, bìngqiě adds a step in a more formal register, and shènzhì goes as far as the surprising extreme.

Tone, politeness and set expressions11

Sentence-final particles

1
4The ma of the obvious, and beiA second ma, written with a different character, says “it is obvious”; bei adds “so just do that, simple as that”.

Expressions (level 4)

10
4As far as … is concerned: duì … lái shuōDuì, a person or group, then lái shuō — the frame that says whose point of view a judgement holds for.4About and regarding: guānyú and duìyúGuānyú names the subject matter something is about; duìyú names what an attitude or a treatment is aimed at.4By means of and through: tōngguòTōngguò names the means, the method or the go-between through which something is done — and as a verb it means to pass.4Along with change: suízheSuízhe ties one change to another: as the first develops, the second follows.4According to: gēnjù and ànzhàoGēnjù names the basis a conclusion is drawn from; ànzhào names the rule or plan an action follows.4Owing to: yóuyúYóuyú gives a cause in a measured, written tone — at the front of the sentence, often with yīncǐ after it.4Under, in and in terms of: zài … xià, zhōng, shàngZài, a noun and xià, zhōng or shàng set the condition, the process or the area a statement holds in.4Worth it, hard to, no choice but: zhíde, nányǐ, bùdébùZhíde says an action is worth it, nányǐ says it can hardly be done, bùdébù says there was no way round it.4It seems and apparently: kànqǐlai, kànlái, tīngshuō, jùshuōFour ways to say that something seems so — from how it looks, from what you conclude, or from what you have heard.4However much: zěnme yě, zěnme dōu, zài … yěZěnme yě or zěnme dōu before a negative says that no way works; zài … yě says that even more would not help.

Practise level 4 only