Questions re searching grammar constructions and did I get it?

[Shadowdh]

Hi there all,

First of all I would like to ask if there is a special way to search for grammar constructions in online dictionaries or here...? I have been trying to find the 据...称 construct and not having much luck... should I search it with a gap or with the words between like 据学校方面称? Also in this sentence 一名被开除学籍的周姓男生带着数十同乡 I am thinking that the 带着数十同乡 part means something like... "he brought along about 10 of his fellow villiagers... is this correct? many thanks.

[imron]

For Google, you can use * as a wildcard to match any number of words, which when combined with the double quotation marks allows you to do Google searches like this "据*称". Substitute with the grammar pattern of your choice - “不仅*而且”, "既*又*" etc. You can use the site operator to limit it to a given site, e.g. site:chinese-forums.com “因为*所以” or site:nciku.com "与其*不如"

数十 is the same as 几十, and note here that 数 is pronounced shù.

[Shadowdh]

Thank you for the info Imron... its much appreciated...