Ch 1 · Lesson 10Mandarin · Chapter 1 · Lesson 10 · Grammar primer
都 (dōu): all and both, and 都不 vs 不都
sums up the group on its left: , we are all going. comes first in , and (none) is not (not all).
The short version
。Wǒmen yě dōu xǐhuan kāfēi.
Why?Hide
(dōu, all, both) sits before the verb and gathers up the group named before it: (wǒmen dōu qù), we are all going. Read (dōu) and (bù) left to right: (wǒmen dōu bú shì lǎoshī) means none of us is a teacher, (wǒmen bù dōu shì lǎoshī) means not all of us are.
都 (dōu): all, both, and it looks left
(dōu) sums up a group, and the group must already be on its LEFT: a plural subject such as (wǒmen, we), or two people joined by (gēn, and). With two people, means "both".
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒmen dōu xǐhuan kāfēi. | We all like coffee. |
。 | Wǒ gēn tā dōu shì lǎoshī. | He and I are both teachers. |
。 | Tāmen dōu zài Zhōngguó. | They are all in China. |
。 | Nǐmen míngtiān dōu qù. | You are all going tomorrow. |
In a statement, (dōu) does not reach forward to sum up something after the verb. English puts "all" with the object ("I like all of them"); Mandarin moves the thing being summed up to the left of (dōu) instead:
。(Tāmen wǒ dōu xǐhuan.) - I like all of them (literally: them, I all like).
Both at once: 也都 (yě dōu), never 都也
When a sentence needs "too" and "all" together, both adverbs go in the slot and (yě) comes first.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒmen yě dōu xǐhuan kāfēi. | We all like coffee too. |
。 | Tāmen yě dōu shì lǎoshī. | They are all teachers too. |
。 | Wǒmen yě dōu xiǎng qù Zhōngguó. | We all want to go to China too. |
A way to remember it: (yě) links the whole sentence back to something said earlier, so it stands outermost, and (dōu) stays next to the verb.
Negatives: 也不 (yě bù), and 都不 vs 不都
(yě) always comes before (bù). With (dōu), the order of and changes the meaning, and you simply read it left to right.
| Hanzi | Pinyin | English |
|---|---|---|
。 | Wǒ yě bú qù. | I am not going either. |
。 | Wǒmen dōu bú shì lǎoshī. | None of us is a teacher. |
。 | Wǒmen bù dōu shì lǎoshī. | Not all of us are teachers. |
(dōu bù) is "all + not": every one of us is not a teacher, so nobody is. (bù dōu) is "not + all": it denies that the whole group is, so some are and some are not.
Note the tones too: becomes bú before the fourth-tone (shì), but stays bù before the first-tone (dōu). The rule is in the four tones.
Mistakes English speakers make
| Wrong | Right | Why |
|---|---|---|
。 | 。 (wǒ yě xǐhuan kāfēi) | (yě) never ends a sentence |
。 | 。 (wǒ yě qù) | (yě) never comes before the subject |
。 | 。 (wǒmen dōu xǐhuan kāfēi) | (dōu) goes before the verb |
。 | 。 (wǒmen dōu qù) | (dōu) sums up what is on its left |
。 | 。 (wǒmen yě dōu qù) | (yě) comes before (dōu) |
。 | 。 (wǒ yě bú qù) | (yě) comes before (bù) |
Every one of these comes from the same habit: putting the word where English puts "too" or "all". The fix is the same each time: find the verb, and put (yě) or (dōu) directly in front of it, behind the subject.
(yě) and (dōu) are on the AQA GCSE Chinese specification at Foundation and Higher tier, among the adverbs a candidate is expected to use.
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Lesson 10 of 15 in this chapter