ACTION VERBS

13

Action verbs

Action verbs are verbs that describe doing things. They include / mki ‘to shop,’/ xué ‘to study,’ kàn ‘to look at,’ ‘watch,’ ‘read,’ chr ‘to eat,’ shuì ‘to sleep,’ qù ‘to go,’ chàng ‘to sing,’ xm ‘to wash,’ etc.

This chapter shows you how to talk about completed, past, and ongoing actions, and introduces the overall properties of action verbs. There are two kinds of action verbs, those that describe open-ended actions, and those that describe actions that cause a change. The last two sections of this chapter present the characteristics of these two types of verbs.

13.1Indicating that an action is completed or past

To indicate that an action is completed or past, follow the action verb with the verb suffix le.

!"#!"#

Tp mki le dsngxi.

She bought things.

!"#$%!"#$%

Tp dào túshtgukn qù le.

She went to the library.

If the action verb takes an object and the object is one syllable in length, le generally follows the object.

!"!"

Tp shàng kè le.

She attended class.

Í33.1

13.2Indicating that an action has been experienced in the past

To indicate that the subject had the experience of performing some action in the past, follow the action verb with the verb suffix / guo. The verb suffix / guo

76

is used when talking about actions that the subject does not perform on a regular basis or for actions that happened in the remote past.

!"#$%!"#$%

Wn kànguo nàge diànymng.

I’ve seen that movie before.

!"#!"#

Wn láiguo zhèlm.

I’ve been here before.

Í33.6

13.3Negating actions

13.3.1Indicating that an action does not occur or will not occur

To indicate that an action does not occur or will not occur, negate the action verb with bù.

!"

Wn bù chr ròu.

I don’t eat meat.

!"#$%!"#$%

Táibli cónglái bù xià xul.

It does not snow in Taipei.

!"#$%&'()$!"#$%&'()$

Míngtipn shì xrngqrliù. Wnmen bù shàng kè.

Tomorrow is Saturday. We don’t attend class.

13.3.2Indicating that an action did not occur in the past

To indicate that an action did not occur in the past, negate the action verb with( ) méi (ynu).

!( ) !!( ) !

Wn jrntipn méi (ynu) chr zkofàn.

I didn’t eat breakfast today.

!"#!"#

Wn méi mki diànnko.

I didn’t buy a computer.

Í23.1.2, 33.3

When a verb is negated with ( ) méi (ynu), it cannot be suffixed with le. It can, however, be suffixed with / guo.

77

Open-ended action verbs refer to actions that can have duration and can be performed for a period of time. Examples of open-ended action verbs include niàn ‘to study/read aloud,’ / mki ‘to shop,’ / xil ‘to write,’ / xué ‘to study,’

pko ‘to run,’ chr ‘to eat,’ wán ‘to play,’ and chàng ‘to sing.’

13.4.1Duration of open-ended actions

To indicate the duration of an open-ended action verb, follow the verb with a duration expression. In the following examples, the verb is emphasized.

!"#$%&!"#$%&

Tp zài Zhsngguó zhù le yrnián.

He lived in China for a year.

!"#$%&'(!"#$%&'(

Tp mlitipn kàn yr gè zhsngtou de bào.

He reads a newspaper for one hour every day.

Í35.1

To emphasize the ongoing action of an open-ended action verb without specifying the length of the duration, follow the verb with the suffix D/ zhe. zài and ne often occur with D/ zhe. zài occurs before the verb and ne occurs at the end of the sentence.

D!"#$

Tp zài shuszhe huà ne.

He is speaking.

Í35.2

13.4.2Open-ended action verbs and obligatory objects

Open-ended action verbs are typically followed by an obligatory object, a noun phrase that serves as the direct object of the verb. Many open-ended action verbs have a default object, an object that automatically occurs with the verb.

Default objects contribute little or no meaning to the verb + object phrase and are typically not translated into English.

78

When an object with fuller meaning is used, it replaces the default object.

For example:

• ‘to eat’ is / chr fàn

‘to eat dumplings’ is / chr jiKozi and not

G !/ ! chr fàn jikozi.

79

•‘to write’ is / xil zì

‘to write English’ is / xil YRngwén and not

G !/ !=xil zì Yrngwén

•‘to read’ is / kàn sht

‘to read a newspaper’ is / kàn bào and not

G / kànsht bào.

The direct object may be absent when it can be inferred from the context of the sentence.

When it receives special emphasis, the direct object may occur at the beginning of the sentence as the topic, instead of after the verb.

!"#$%&'!"#$%&'

Nàge diànymng wn hái méi kànguo.

That movie, I still haven’t seen (it).

Í53.1.2.1

13.5Change-of-state action verbs

Change-of-state verbs describe events in which the action of the verb results in a change. Here are some examples of change-of-state verbs.

zuò to sit (a change from standing to sitting)

zhàn to stand (a change from sitting to standing)

fàng to put/place (a change of location)

chupn to put on (clothing – on the torso and legs)

dài to put on (clothing – on the head, neck, and hands)

bìng to become sick (a change of health)

dào to arrive (a change of location from ‘not here’ to ‘here’)

13.5.1Change-of-state verbs and duration

Change-of-state verbs have no duration so they cannot be suffixed with the duration suffix D/ zhe and they cannot occur in other patterns that focus on the duration of an event.

13.5.2Change-of-state verbs and stative verbs

Many change-of-state verbs also function as stative verbs.

80

ÍGlossary

81