Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

grammatical properties of modal verbs

12.6

中国人很能吃苦。

中國人很能吃苦。

Zhōngguórén hěn néng chī kǔ.

Chinese people can endure a lot of hardship.

For a complete list of intensifiers, see 10.3.

C10.3, 11.2

12.6.4 Modal verbs and expressions that indicate change over time

会/會 huì, 能 néng, and 可以 kěyǐ can be used in the structures 越来越 yuè lái yuè and

越 verb 越 verb yuè verb yuè verb to indicate change over time.

他越来越会说话。

他越來越會說話。

Tā yuè lái yuè huì shuō huà.

He is becoming more and more elegant (diplomatic) in his speech.

他越来越能适应英国的生活了。

他越來越能適應英國的生活了。

Tā yuè lái yuè néng shìyìng Yīngguó de shēnghuó le.

Little by little he is getting used to British life.

我越来越可以适应这种天气了。

我越來越可以適應這種天氣了。

Wǒ yuè lái yuè kěyǐ shìyìng zhè zhǒng tiānqì le.

Little by little, I’ve become able to cope with this kind of weather.

C38.3

12.6.5 Modal verbs and adverbs

The modal verbs that indicate strong obligation, 必须/必須 bìxū, 必得 bìděi, and 得 děi, are

similar to adverbs.

They cannot serve as the verb in verb-not-verb questions.

Say this Not this

你必须马上回家吗？ *你必须不必须马上回家？

你必須馬上回家嗎？ 你必須不必須馬上回家？

Nǐ bìxū mǎshàng huí jiā ma? Nǐ bìxū bù bìxū mǎshàng huí jiā?

Do you have to go right home?

我们得在这儿注册吗？ *我们得不得在这儿注册？

我們得在這兒註冊嗎？ 我們得不得在這兒註冊？

Wǒmen děi zài zhèr zhù cè ma? Wǒmen děi bù děi zài zhèr zhù cè?

Do we have to register here?

The modal 得 děi cannot be used as the one-word answer to yes–no questions:

Question Respond with this Not this

今天得注册吗？ 今天得注册。 *得。

今天得註冊嗎？ 今天得註冊。

Jīntiān děi zhù cè ma? Jīntiān děi zhù cè. Děi

Do we have to register today? We have to register today.

or

对 。/ 對。

Duì.

Correct.