Log in

Chinese Grammar: The "all" adverb 都

汉字姐姐
Pinyin
EN
ES

The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express "all" in Chinese. It's common to use 都 (dōu) in a variety of sentences where it would seem unnecessary in English.


Structure: Subj. + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
 
Remember that 都 (dōu) appears after the subject. A common mistake learners make is to put 都 (dōu) at the beginning of the sentence (as "all" often appears there in English). This isn't good Chinese - make sure you put 都 (dōu) after the subject and before the verb.
 
Examples:
你们 都 认识 John 吗 ?(nǐmen dōu rènshi John ma) = Do you all know John?
他们 都 在 上海 。(tāmen dōu zài Shànghǎi) = They are all in Shanghai.
明天 我们 都 可以 去 。(míngtiān wǒmen dōu kěyǐ qù) = Tomorrow we all can go.
你们 都 用 wiki 吗 ?(nǐmen dōu yòng wiki ma) = Do you all use the wiki?
我们 都 要 冰水。(wǒmen dōu yào bīngshuǐ) = We all want ice water.
 
都 (dōu) for "Both"
Chinese doesn't normally use a special word for "both" like English does. It just uses 都 (dōu) as if it were any other number greater than one. Chinese also doesn't have a special pattern like "neither / nor" for the negative case. Just use 都 (dōu) and make the sentence negative.
Structure: Subj. + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
Examples:
These examples follow exactly the same form in Chinese as the ones above. The only difference is that here we don't translate 都 (dōu) as "all" in English; we translate it as "both," and for negative cases, we translate it as "neither."
我们 两 个 都 爱 你 。(wǒmen liǎng gè dōu ài nǐ) = The two of us both love you.
你 爸爸 和 你 妈妈 都 是 美国人 吗? (nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma dōu shì Měiguó rén ma) = Are your father and your mother both Americans?
我 和 我 太太 都 不 吃 肉。(wǒ hé wǒ tàitai dōu bù chī ròu) = Neither my wife nor I eat meat.
你们 两个 都 喜欢 中国 菜 吗?(nǐmen liǎng gè dōu xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài ma) = Do you both like Chinese food?
    她 和 她 老公 都 没有 工作。 Tā hé tā lǎogōng dōu méiyǒu gōngzuò.Neither she nor her husband has a job.

 

Credit: mandarinmorning

Login to leave a comment~

Comments

No data available

Recommended

FreeFree
FreeFree
FreeFree
FreeFree