freefall Posted October 15, 2006 at 02:58 PM Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 at 02:58 PM For example: 放在你们这里 = leave it here for you guys Can anyone explain this pattern? Does the personal pronoun act as an adjective to modify the 这/那/哪 + 里? I asked a native speaker if one can insert 的 in between the 你们 and the 这里 but she said no. Does that mean it's not an adjective? She also said you can't remove the 这里 at the end. I understand the pattern 在 。。。 里 but I'm used to the 。。。 being only 1 word. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FSO Posted October 15, 2006 at 04:48 PM Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 at 04:48 PM When certain prepositions (在/从/到/etc.) are used with pronouns, it is necessary to convert the pronoun into a location word. This is done by adding 这儿/那儿/身上, etc. This is particularly necessary to avoid sounding like a foreigner, since it's omission is a common mistake. Here's an example: I have his dictionary. (As in, his dictionary is over here, with me.) Common learner's erroneous translation: * 我有他的词典. Proper construction: 他的词典在我这儿. Note that the above examples focus on the location of the item, so context is important. I have a dictionary. (I own a dictionary.) : 我有一本词典. I have a dictionary. (I have a dictionary with me.) : 一本词典在我这儿. I've been studying Chinese for more than a year - full time - and I only just came across this last week, so I guess it's not the kind of thing that's normally covered early on in a course. I should note that I am most familiar with Beijing-influenced putonghua (as is my teacher), so I'm probably not aware of potential regional variations. Hope that helps. . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Altar_II Posted October 15, 2006 at 04:51 PM Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 at 04:51 PM 放在你们这里 does NOT equals "leave it here for you guys"... literally, it just means "put it in your place" here 里 does not mean 'in' 这里 together is a word, meaning 'here' 你们 here modifies 这里 in the role of appositive, to point out that 这里(here) refer to where 你们 are. 的 cannot be placed between 你们 & 这里. 的 following a noun or pronoun would form a genitive, its obvious that 'your here' is nonsensical. Also we can say 放在Tom那里 放在学校那里 since the object of 在 must clearly belong to the classifaction of location/place, some words that are not clearly indicating a place cannot be directly guide by 在. it cannot be expressed like 在你们,because 你们 does not belong to the classifaction of location/place. By using 你们这里/你们那里, its classification becomes the concept of location, hence can be guide by 在. some other words, like 学校, can be seen as a concept of location or place. thus the "这里/那里" is optional. either "在学校" or "在学校那里" is OK. but there seems to be some subtle difference between the meanings of these two expression. there's also some words/phrases belonging to no classifaction other than location/place, these words can never be followed by "这里/那里". For example 桌上. it already indicates a place, and cannot be classified to any other category. "桌上那里" is a seriously freak expression. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goldie Posted October 15, 2006 at 08:02 PM Report Share Posted October 15, 2006 at 08:02 PM -there's also some words/phrases belonging to no classifaction other than location/place, these words can never be followed by "这里/那里". For example 桌上. it already indicates a place, and cannot be classified to any other category. "桌上那里" is a seriously freak expression.- thanks, you made some really good points. just wanted to point out that you could say 桌子那里 because 上 is what indicates location. obvious to some, but maybe not others. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and select your username and password later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.