4.12: Lesson 3 Grammar - The adverb 都 (dōu) for "all" and "both"
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The adverb 都 (dōu) is used to express "all" in Chinese. It's common to use 都 (dōu) in a variety of sentences where it would seem unnecessary in English.
都 (dōu) for "All"
Structure
Subj. + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
Remember that 都 (dōu) appears after the subject. A common mistake that English-speaking learners make is to put 都 (dōu) at the beginning of the sentence, since "all" often appears there in English. This isn't good Chinese, so make sure you put 都 (dōu) after the subject and before the verb.
Examples
- 你们都认识 John 吗?
Nǐmen dōu rènshi John ma?
Do you all know John?
- 他们都在上海。
Tāmen dōu zài Shànghǎi.
They are all in Shanghai.
- 明天我们都可以去。
Míngtiān wǒmen dōu kěyǐ qù.
Tomorrow we all can go.
- 我们都要冰水。
Wǒmen dōu yào bīngshuǐ .
We all want ice water.
都 (dōu) for "Both"
Chinese doesn't normally use a special word for "both" like English does. It just uses 都 (dōu) as if it were any other number greater than one. Chinese also doesn't have a special pattern like "neither / nor" for the negative case. Just use 都 (dōu) and make the sentence negative.
Structure
Subj. + 都 + [Verb Phrase]
This pattern should look familiar.
Examples
These examples follow exactly the same form in Chinese as the ones above. The only difference is that here we don't translate 都 (dōu) as "all" in English; we translate it as "both," and for negative cases, we translate it as "neither."
- 我们两个都爱你。
Wǒmen liǎng gè dōu ài nǐ.
The two of us both love you.
- 你爸爸和你妈妈都是美国人吗?
Nǐ bàba hé nǐ māma dōu shì Měiguó rén ma?
Are your father and your mother both Americans?
- 我和我太太都不吃肉。
Wǒ hé wǒ tàitai dōu bù chī ròu.
Neither my wife nor I eat meat.
- 你们两个都喜欢中国菜吗?
Nǐmen liǎng gè dōu xǐhuan Zhōngguó cài ma?
Do you both like Chinese food?
- 她和她老公都没有工作。
Tā hé tā lǎogōng dōu méiyǒu gōngzuò.
Neither she nor her husband has a job.
[adapted from AllSet Learning Chinese Grammar Wiki, Creative Commons License BY-NC-SA 3.0]
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