Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

Open-ended action verbs

13.5

13.4.2 verb-not-verb yes–no questions

To ask a yes–no question about whether an action generally occurs or will occur, use 不 bù

and ask:

(subject) verb 不 bù verb (object)

你学不学中文？

你學不學中文？

Nǐ xué bù xué Zhōngwén?

Do you study Chinese?

你今天晚上去不去图书馆？

你今天晚上去不去圖書館？

Nǐ jīntiān wǎnshang qù bù qù túshūguǎn?

Are you going to the library tonight?

To ask a yes–no question about whether an action is complete, use 没有/沒有 méi yǒu:

(subject) verb (object) 了 le 没有/沒有 méi yǒu

你吃饭了没有？

你吃飯了沒有？

Nǐ chī fàn le méi yǒu?

Have you eaten?

13.5 Open-ended action verbs

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 念 niàn ‘study/read aloud,’ 买/買

mǎi ‘shop,’ 写/寫 xiě ‘write,’ 学/學 xué ‘study,’ 跑 pǎo ‘run,’ 吃 chī ‘eat,’ 玩 wán ‘play,’ and

唱 chàng ‘sing.’

13.5.1 duration of open-ended actions

To indicate the duration of an open-ended action verb, follow the verb with a duration expres-

sion. In the following examples, the verb is emphasized.

他在中国住了一年。

他在中國住了一年。

Tā zài Zhōngguó zhù le yīnián.

He lived in China for a year.

他每天看一个钟头的报。

他每天看一個鍾頭的報。

Tā měitiān kàn yī gè zhōngtou de bào.

He reads a newspaper for one hour every day.

C39.1

To emphasize the ongoing action of an open-ended action verb without specifying the length of

the duration, follow the verb with the durative aspect particle 着/著 zhe. 在 zài and 呢 ne often

occur with 着/著 zhe. 在 zài occurs before the verb and 呢 ne occurs at the end of the sentence.

他在说着话呢。

他在說著話呢。

Tā zài shuōzhe huà ne.

He is speaking.

C17, 39.2