Prepositions and Sentence Structures

Prepositions (介词)

• Definition: Prepositions are words that link nouns, pronouns, or phrases to other words within a sentence. They often indicate relationships in terms of time, place, direction, and manner.

Basic Usage of Prepositions

1. Beijing Example:

• Chinese: 我住在北京。
• Translation: I live (at) Beijing.
• Key Concept: "在" indicates a specific location where one resides.

1. Returning From Abroad:

• Chinese: 她从中国回来了。
• Translation: She returned from China.
• Key Concept: "从" indicates the place of origin or departure.

1. Showing Relationships:

• Chinese: 他对我很好。
• Translation: He is very good to me.
• Key Concept: "对" expresses a relational direction toward someone.

1. Comparative Constructs:

• Chinese: 我比他高。
• Translation: I am taller than he is.
• Key Concept: "比" signifies comparison between two subjects.

1. Direction Indicators:

• Chinese: 向左走。
• Translation: Walk to the left.
• Key Concept: "向" indicates a direction in which to move.

1. Distance Descriptions:

• Chinese: 学校离我家很近。
• Translation: The school is very close (in distance) to my home.
• Key Concept: "离" explains spatial distance between two entities.

1. Suggestions Involving Companionship:

• Chinese: 你跟我们一起去吧。
• Translation: You come with us together.
• Key Concept: "跟" denotes companionship or joint action.

1. Expressions of Concern:

• Chinese: 不要为我担心。
• Translation: Don’t worry about me.
• Key Concept: "为" suggests concern directed toward someone.

1. Purpose Clauses:

• Chinese: 为了解决环境问题，人们想了很多办法。
• Translation: In order to solve environmental problems, people thought of many methods.
• Key Concept: "为了解决" shows intent or purpose.

1. Concerning Knowledge:
   • Chinese: 关于这段历史，我知道得很少。
   • Translation: Regarding this period of history, I know very little.
   • Key Concept: "关于" indicates the topic or subject matter being discussed.

Important Tips for Language Learning

• Mistakes Are Okay:
• Chinese: 学外语的时候不要害怕出错。
• Translation: When studying foreign languages, don’t be afraid of making mistakes.
• Advice: Embrace errors as part of the learning process.

Additional Actions

• Discoveries:

• Chinese: 我发现附近没有火车站。

• Translation: I found that there are no train stations nearby.

• Courage to Speak Up:

• Chinese: 他不敢告诉经理自己的看法。

• Translation: He doesn’t dare to tell the manager his views.

• Polite Requests:

• Chinese: 请把手机关上。

• Translation: Please turn off your cell phones.

• Decision-Making:

• Chinese: 那位司机还没决定怎么解决这个问题。

• Translation: That driver still hasn’t decided how to solve this problem.