bangzhu wo - usage of "zhe" 着
hakkagirl
October 09, 2007 at 03:40 AM posted in General Discussionqing nimen banzhu wo! i desperately need help in understandig the usage of "zhe" 着。it indicates continuation of the action, but i'm confused when i try to translate it literally, for instance:
他 拿 着 两 张 表 去 找 大夫。how would one translate this sentence?
thanks for any help you can give me
xiexie
henning
October 09, 2007 at 09:05 AM
The usage of 着 is also shortly addressed in the following CPod lessons:
Upper Intermediate: Chinese Commuters
Intermediate: Christmas
Intermediate: Introducing Oneself to the Family
Kyle
October 09, 2007 at 08:54 AM
Sorry, that second sentence has a typo. It should just read:
游客们在海滩上躺着. without the 撒
Kyle
October 09, 2007 at 08:52 AM
My translation is similar to mark's. I'd say, "He took two forms and then went looking for the doctor."
Chinese often strings together a number of verbs without any of the familiar in-between prepositions that English uses, using instead the assumption that we know that one action naturally proceeds the following.
Regarding 着, Yip Po-Ching and Don Rimmingon's "Chinese: A Comprehensive Grammar" states:
"着 is suffixed to an action verb so that the resultant verbal phrase is used as a descriptive element in sentences to indicate 'manner of existence', 'manner of movement', or 'accompanying manner'."
For example:
天空中飘着几朵白云.
(A few patches of white clouds were floating in the sky.)
游客们在海滩撒上躺着.
(The tourists were laying on the beach.)
他笑着朝我走了过来.
(He walked toward me smiling.)
Hope this helps! =)
mark
October 09, 2007 at 04:27 AM
I think the translation would be, "He is carrying two charts and went looking for the doctor." I won't pretend to be able to give a complete explanation of 着， though. It seems to be one of those characters with many uses, and don't have them all down, nor the patience to explain them all, if I did. 比如说着陆； what your flight does before taxiing to the gate.
mark
October 10, 2007 at 04:57 AMHenning, 我佩服你。 我以为我努力学习中文博课，但是你让我知道我应该有更谦虚的态度。