Modern Mandarin Chinese Grammar

Glossary of Grammatical terms

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Out of context, it is not possible to say whether the word 给/給 gěi or 到 dào or 在 zài is a

preposition or a verb. However, in the context of a sentence or phrase, the category of the word

is clear:

Preposition

我想到中国去。

我想到中國去。

Wǒ xiǎng dào Zhōngguó qù.

I want to China go

I want to go to China.

Verb

你什么时候到﹖

你甚麼時候到﹖

Nǐ shénme shíhòu dào?

When are you arriving?

Some textbooks and grammars provide special labels for words that can function as more than

one category of word. For example, the label ‘coverb’ is used in many textbooks for words that

can be both prepositions and verbs.

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