Cantonese: A Comprehensive Grammar (Comprehensive Grammars)

Routledge Grammars 13- d Cq&rnpir G-ir 4m m p h&na to camhacar spdren by narlve y & r s in Hang Kong. guide It pl~40nm...

Author: Stephen Matthews | Virginia Yip

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Routledge Grammars 13- d Cq&rnpir G-ir 4m m p h&na to camhacar spdren by narlve y & r s in Hang Kong.

guide

It pl~40nm a trmh a~nd xceasiblc dcxriprion ot th languag, conccntr~tingun & red patterns o f uw in currcnt Cdnmcu. Thi m a k it rhc i d d &rcncc mum for all learners and usem nf Canmnesc. irr~5pccti1rdlrrrl.in schmk.. col+, univenitie< and adlilt c l a w s of all qw. Monwcr, it will p i & a lasting and rcliablc resource For all fluenr .+IS of the hnguag.

The b m k is organid tu pmmotc a thorough undcntanding OF Cantonerr grammr. Art+ by hth syntarric c a q o ~ & and languagefuncricms, rhc G ~ ~ ~ ~ w r p m v ani indtpth dm rreacmenr of structw and p l a special sttmrion tu idiom and speed1 re*& Eqipbnacions are full. c l w and free uFiarpon.

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I

Cantonese

1

A COMPREHENSIVE

1

GRAMMAR

1

Stephen Matthews and Virginia Yip

p m p p k and gmemuc use ot prmidc tcdcrs with rasy dsrcar tothr

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informzti41&q quire. @mpehensiw ptonuouatba wdmn a idadvcrtirmg and aurbenm k# of ~ p l r tmni

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P r l d To G r u t

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ISBN n-415-08945-X

CANTONESE: A COMPREHENSIVE GRAMMAR Stephen Matthews and Virginia Yip

London and New York

CONTENTS

List of t a b k Ackmwledgemena List of abbreviatiom

xiii xv mi

~ p p m i h -; ~ p t i v ~ a explanation rd Cantonese and Madarin Spoken and written C a

FEm plblnhed 1994 by Routledge 11 New Feller Lane. Londen EC4F 4EE

Modifidions m the Yale system

Linguistic literature on C a m e Dictionaries Learning Cantmew

Simuhanewdy pub'shed in the USA and Canada by ROUfle9se 29 West 3Sth Street. New Yerk.NY lOWl

Q 1994 St* libthews and Ylrginh Yip T m in rimes by n m . p eb d , SmdleM. D e w h n t e d and h n d in Great Britain by TJ Presr,(padsma.)h d . Comaall

1 P b d o g y : tlw cadolme m n d sy!3tem

2.1

AIl timmrcstntd. N b n a r t d i h i s b w k m a v b e m n t d e r invented, inclwhng photocopying and record~w,or In ary inf-tlon *age w rttrieval s y m , wirhout permission in m t l n s hm the p u b l ~ h s ,

Erin111lrRpor> Cdeprtrrtg m Atblicorim a o t o A camremrd Iur th~sbuok 1s avail9llable from t

t British ~ Lihmry

~dludes b W i h i c a l references and ~ndex-

ISBN W415-08945-X (pbk )

P. Carmmwc d i i l a t s - Gmrnar. 1. Yip. ViMnk

n.me.

FL1733M8 .495 1'7-dc20

1Wi -Z.#.*d.rnrn m. r l-km*n+nadr.

k.',s -w-l

r'r.drs

m

Romanizatim

W

19F2-

1.1.1 1.1.2 1.1.3 1.1.4 1.2

Co-nu Initlal conscnants Unrelead 00-nts Nml and liquid mnsonam Syllabic nasals

Vowels 1.2.1 V m l quality 1.23. Vowel length

1.2.2 1.3 1.3.1 1.4 1.4.1 1.4.2 1.4.3

Diphthongs Syllable strurrrrre Im~tialsand finals Tone The basic tones Tone Eharrge Tone and i m r i o n

15

Vananon and change in pronundation

2 W o r d ~ ~ s n d ~ f m m a t i o n

2.1 Fwflxesand sufflxa 2 1 . 1 prrflxes

Dhitsnes a d chnhtmlivn Demmmatives Demonstratives in gpposition Noun clnlu~ticra Syntax and usage of dassifieK Measure (quantity) dassifiers Sortal (type)classifiers Alternative dassifiers Pwes1ve mns~ructirms

Comparability of syntmic categories

Verbs versus a d j a i m

6.4.3

Free relative churn

2.2 2.3

Reduplion Compwndjng

2.3.1

Compound nmm

2.3.2 Comadj&ves 2.3.3 Verbdject oompwnds 3 QwdkcategorlPs:partsdspeech~Csnt@mse

4

Relative c h u m Relativw with g4 Relatives w~thclassifier

Verbs and aux~liaries Coverbslprrpc&itione Imlize~s!post~h Claaif~ers Adverts

Verbal imd mXcrmp*s Conjunctions

H m r e : mrd order and to@cdimth B a w word order Subjea, wrb and object Verh-wbjed order Right-dklcEarior Tqicalization and topic prominence Topicaliration Double subjects and hanging topim Svmdary topicalizationiicm 42.4 Verb topkalization 4 2 . 5 Definite subjects and exi!%mtklmte~lm 4.2.6 Topic chains

4.1 4.1.1 4.1.2 4.1.3 42 42.1 42.2 4.2.3

5 Pronoans

5.1 5.1.1 5.2 5.2.1 5 2.2 523 5.3

T k nmn phrase 6.1 6.1.1 6.1.2 6.2 6.2.1 62.2 623 6.2.4 6.3 6.4 6.4.1 6.43

212 Suffixes 213 I n k ~

3.1 3.1 1 3.1.2 3.1.3 3 1.4 3.15 3.1.6 3.1.7 3.1.8

6

Personal pronouns Omitted pronouns Reffexive pronouns JIhgei

+

Pronoun jfigJi Syntaxofretle~tveproncruns Recipmcals: 'each dhww

7 Prrpositions snd t q l e d m s OflOratllnl 71 Location 7.1.1 Spatial location: cwerbs and halien

7.1.2 7.1.3 7.1.4 7.2 7.2.1

Distance a d movement

Diremion

Placement N m q m i a l relationship Cwmh 7.2.2 Nm-spatial l w a l k ~ t i r n s

8 'lhevwbplm3e 8.1 Typff d verb 8,l.I The verb haih 'be' 8.1.2 Statiw wrb 8.1.3 Verbs ofperception 8.1.4 Verb of c @ t h 8.2 Objects of the verb and transitivity 8.2.1 Direa and directional o b j e 8.2.2 Indirect objeas 8 2 . 3 Quantified o b j W 8.2.4 V e r h m cornpour& 8.2.5 Adverbla1 obj8.3 Serjal verbs 8.3.1 Serml construcriom actions 8.3.2 Dir&mal wrbs and verb?, of motion 8.4 Passives 8.4.1 Indirect pas*ves 8.4.2 Resulmtive passives

nii Ccntwrn 11 Aqxcl snd d

9 M&thIwnstration= dplrription dc q *

9.1 9.1.1 9.1.2 9.1.3 9.2 92.1

Syntax uf a d j d i v . ~ Predmtive a d j a h m A m h i v e ad@-ks

M d h c a t i m of adjecrives Reduplication of adjectives Adject~ve adjective 92.2 Adjective adjccrive - dei 9.2.3 A-B-B adwives 9.3 Canpanson oE adjmiws 9.3.1 Degreer. of w q 3 h 9.32 Equal comparisons 9.3.3 Negative and intm'qative wmparisolls 93.4 Fxcessikes 93.5 Superlatives 9.4 Complementation: annplex structures with djectiuff 9.4.1 Adjectives of ease and difku1ty 9.4.2 Evaluative mnstruaim

-

:possibClityard~lty M d a l terbs mibility and pemisslon

Ability

N-v Obltgatim

Volition: wishes and desires Preference Modal adverbs Adverbs of possibility Advwbs of n-ty

10Adveiud~ctions

10.1

Adverbs modifying the verb phtase

101.1

ffilk

10.1.2 10.1.3

e

10.2

CPmprisPn v f m

Syntactic cwstructim e q n m i n g modality Verb - &k expressingrnential

-

yauhlmouh dak verb Verb - (rhh)- verbal pmck e q m s s i e inabilii

Reduplicated a d v d

Sentence adverbs: modifying the xnttmx 10.3 10.3.1 Positicm of sentence adverbs 10.3.5 ~ d w dhquarrtity 103.3 Adverbs d time 103.4 Adverbs of fequerry 10.4 Advexha1 phrases 10.4.1 Vwwpcint a d d

l particles

11.1 A w l and the qmmor of nme 11.2 Aspect marken 11.2.1 Syntax otmarkers 11.2.2 Progresrve: &. I d i d 11.2.3 Contin-: ~yuh 11.2.4 Perfectite: jd 11-2.5 fiprientiak gwo 112.6 Delimitat~ve:lufh 112.7 Hab~tual:h8i andgwarm 113 Verbal p h c l e s 11.3.1. Dlrecrlonal particlff 11.3.2 Resulrative pmrtdes 11.3.3 Quantifying panicles 11.3.4 Adversatwdliahtual chm

i3 N-th

248

13.1

LeKifal negation: negative verbs and adjmlives

249

13.2

Adjectival negation Verbal negarbn Indchnite negahm: 'not Double negatives

250

13.3

13.4 13.5

. ..my'

14 QnantikMii

14.1 U-1 quantifimtion: 'all'. ' e v q ' and -each' 14.1.1 3y11bZv1&J.c 14.1.2 Reduplicated quantifiers 14.1.3 $6~ r i u km)

131

257 259

261 262 262

266 287

rmEih 'mch, every'

Raponses to yedm questions

'Amy'

Replies to negative questions Alternative qwstiom Whqueaions 'Who' qUertiDns 'What' questions 'Which' queaim 'Wl~ere'questiom -When' and time q w m m *Why' questions: reason and purpwe 'Hm' qai~stinns-m n n m and dpgrw Row many'rhow much' Indirect q h o m Multjrlp rlupstims Exclamatory qoeshom

Existential quantiMon: 'm' Indefinite Neaative 'xmw. no one, mth'ing' Relative quantities:m u c h l m q , littleffew Comparing quantities 'More' and 'lesr' Most 15 lkktmthi llm 15.1 yduh + noun 15.2 ~duhhn6uI1+ verb 1 . yirrh adjediive

+

15.4

15.5

huh Presentative &emen=

16 Cwrdination snd mbar8inatP d -

16.1 18.1.1 16.12 16.1.3 16.1.4 16.2 16.2.1 16.22 16.23 16.2.4 16.3 16.3.1 16.3.2 16.3.3 16.4 16.5

Codination .Coordination of words a d phrases Lists

Coordinationd d m Disjunction: 'either'

. . .'or'

Subordinatecktuses l i m e clauses Fkmm clauses Purpose clauses h c & e clauses: 'alrhwgh' Conditional s e n t m a Explbt mnditimak Implicit mnditionak Negatiw mnditionak 'if not', 'unless' Cleft sentences and emphnsis I n d i m speech

17 Q m 4 k a s

17.1 17.1.1 17.1.2 17.1.3 17.1.4 11.1.5 17.1.6 17.1.7

Yedno yeaions PartrtIdequestions A+I~-A queshim

Copular q u e s t k : haih-mhih meik quesrims EW&3ltki q ~ e ~ h$Uh-& 5 : Tag questions lntonafion and echo questions

18 Sentem mrtkk a d i n t e r l d 18 I Role of the sentence parride 18.1.1 Prormnciation: tone and ~ntonation 18.2 Synmx pl prfi* 18.2.1 T o w panicles Ig.2.2 Oause-final @des 18.2.3 Particle wmbinabons 18.3 Funmcms of the parhdes 183.1 Question prudes 183.2 Asperrive panides 18.3.3 Irrtperative and persuasive prtides 183.4 Fphemiic prt~cles 18.3.5 Exclamatory and affective particles 18.4 lnterjcm 18.4.1 Place-fdlem 18.4.2 Exclamations 19 Iuqmdlw sedmcm commands m d regaes*l

19.1 19.2 19.3 19.4 19.5

Second p e m imperarives Firw person imperatrves Third person lrnperatlves Negat~veimp%alives Indirect commands

xii Cornems 20 Csntonese gpeech m n t b p o l l t m s and terms

of ddress 20.1

Polit-

LIST OF TABLES

wnventiom

20.1.1 Re20.1.2 Thnnks zo 1.3 Apolcgies 20.1.4 Compliments 20.1.5

20.2

Intmductim Temr;oCaddress

20.3 20 3.1

Kinshiiterms Parents and grandparents 20.3.2 Bmthen. d m and cwsins 20.3.3 Relatioms by marriage

M

3.4

20.4 20.5

ChlldWlI ;md grandchildren Greetiqs Telephone expressions

Ti N m n d s an8 tinm 21.1 Numerals 21 -1.1 C d i a l numbas 21.1.2 Ordinal numbers 21.1.3 Fractions and m e s 21.1,4 Lmky and ! a h numkm 21.2 Days and months 21.2.1 Dates 21.3 Times of day Appdix:

Rornanizaticm sytems

Nutes Glcmary of grammatical terms

RefaIndex

Initial carwmanh Vowels C a m finals A s v mnrkprc in r Related partides

a mn

Particle c o m b i w ~

Terms for dder relatives Terms FCN siblrngs and cabsins Numerals

d Mandnrin

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Research for this grammar was su-ed

hy a grant fmm rhP Hongkong R e ~ a r c hChants Council (project W I Z 3 8 H ) . We w e grateful to Helen K w k , a pioneer in the siudy of Cantonese grammar. For acnng ns m u l t ant to the prwa:to Mimi Chan. head d i h e Depamnent nf English a t thr University of Hongkong, for supporting the projet; and to our research d t a n t s . Beny Hung and Cream Lee. for tlielr assistance. native antultions and expenen* in teaching Cantmew, We thank Mwra Ylp w h m emmmgement and d cm Cantonese have k n a last~nginAuence, as has Bernard h e ' s exemplary work in wmpratiw grammar. We are deeply indebtd to Thomas Lee for reading the rmnuxript and painstmk~nglyprowdmng detailed wments on each chaprer. His cuperb standards of schdarsh~pm W m g the besr of East and West have inspired our work immensely. Discussms with Thomas hmve proved to be most stimulating. We thank Cheung KwawWn and Eric Zee for theu expehx and valuable m m e m on phonology. Cream Lee. Thomas Lee. Caesar Lun and Tang Sze-Wmg hate been generous with thmr time in the final prepration of the m a n m i p r . Needlesf to sq,none d the above k a r s any reqmmiMity for the remaining e r r m and &meanings in this grammar. We are also grateful to numerous mileagues w h have discussed Cantonese grammar w t h a,espe~rnUyBob Bauer. Gu Yang. Gregory James, Tom Lai. Sam Leurrg, Leunp Chung-Sum, Kitty h. K.K. Luke, Chwn N a n c a m , Keith Tong and Q 5. Tong. We have also benefited fmm interaction wtth some fine graduate students. notably Brian Chan. Alice Cheung, Pamda Man, Kittj Smto. Raymond Tang. Tang Sze-Wing and Cathy Wmg. 'lhP Linguistic Society of Hongkong has provided a tAuaMe forum for discussion. Thanks are also due to a number of pmtient informants. notably Pamck a d Dan Yip and Linda Lee, a d W e n t s too numerous to mention but whose help with idiomahc Lhrrtonese has k e n no less vmluable. We h o p t h d their p u d e m e m at some of wr quenions mu be allayed by the fin~shedpmdm. We ate grateful to Simon Ben. Jenny Pot@ and the editorla1 teams at R m l e d p for supporting the prcjfft and bringing it to completion. Finally, we t h k our son T i a h y . w h w imminent arrival provided funher mcennves to ~omplereme Dwk. and our tmmtlws tor meir enmgement.

INTRODUCTION

ABBREVIATIONS I

I

ADJ CUlW

u

rnNT

DEG DEL

EXP HA&

LP NEG PFV

PL POSS FROG PRT

v-PRT

adjectival marker adverbial marher noun classajer mntinr~m~$av d e m e~predellmdahve aspect e ~ p e n e d a als@ habitual aspect linking pinticle neaatlvn d e r perfective asp& plural possessive marker progrtrsite q& particle verbal particle

While a number of exuellent gramman of Mandarin C h i m are mailablt, no substantial referee gmmmar d Cantonese has jet appeared in &gM. Chao YuewRen's Conwmw P d m (mifitdy written in 1947) devnter m l y a brief. t h n u ~ hval~iahls.chapter hr emrnrnm. whle Sarnu~l Cheung HungNids (1972) grammar has unfortunalely not been t r a m W. The more thomugh language m u m such as P d e r Huang and Gerald K&s Spwk Gwrnrapre deal wirh g , r a m vnly in a s p d k fash~on.and were written In rhe 1Ws: works on Chntcnese h a w & e n u d theSe for reference p u r p m . for laEk of more q p u p n a t e materials. Subsemem W l m n & In the langvage. as well a in h linguistic description of Chinese. make a reference grammar all the more necessary. The present w k $5 imended m fill this long+randing gap. The lack of a grammar of Cantonese is remarkable In n e w d the d e of Hongkong and the w e m y Cantrmese in bwiness and commerce in parteular. While many Honghmg people can communicate in English, there have alwap been some Westemen in Hongkong and 5brmd who haw attempted u, learn some Cantonese. The language has scquwed the reputation d beingdifkult for semnd language learners: indeed thesubtly d i t h n t i a t e d tones and m m n t s which seem inilially awkward. in addition to the urdamibar sentence structurrs, presenl daunting challertges. This irnpressron is unfonunate, h m w , w m in oenain her mpecm the language 15 relatively simple: there are no forms or verb conjugatiom as an E u q m n languages, for exmple. and a minimum of inflectional formsto be learnt. It u the ward order and synlactk shuctures that m t i t u t e the major pinmatical difficultis The lack of a reference -mar emcmbaW the t;sk facing learner%of t k language. One r e a s why grammars of Camonese are mt available in Emghih i s that Cans essentially a spoken language.' Grammars - mopposed to phrase&mLs - m d ~ t m a n ylake the written form d a language as the standard to tre described. To the extent that Cantonese is u-uen d m at all, it i s h e m l y affected by wand& written Chinese, wtich is based on Mandarin, as a r m l t . there 6 no clear d i m d m telmwn what is 'Cantonese' md what is 'Mandarin' (see below on the relahonship between wntten and spoken Ca-), rendering a grammar of wmten C a n m e impractimble. In the d e z a i p t k apprm& lo linguistrcs cm which t h s book is based. the spoken form of any language i s taken to be primary. the written form derivative:" lhm rejm any notnon of the

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I

I

2 Cantonese: a mprehensive v m a r wperiority d written language and the devaluarlm ot spoken Camonesz which all t m offen m l b from such amtadex In add~tion,there is a pedagogical mnsideratw~~: to l m or teach both w e n and written Chirtex s i m u l t a n e d y is doubly taxing, in that the burden of learning an m t ~ r ~~~nfmmilimr ly Imnplag~k m~llripli~rl hy r h F~h ~ l m r ~whirh ~ t ~ ,rplmrp at best irdirectly to the pronunciation. To learn the spoken language atone, ming a m n i z e d ortImpphy+is a much mwe practicable oprion; HIEE&I~ student--a n then tackle the mitten language if t k y wlsh or need to do so. Fw all these reasom, we largely ignore the written language and use the Yale Krnanlzstion qs&m as an alphabetic representation .of rtR spvken Imguw. The present grammar h intended to be primwily a learner-user's p m mar meetmg the needs ofthe W h n g kinds of readers: (a) iearners using the grammar in w n j u d o n with a language murse; @) t t r e who use s a n e C m t m socially and professionally but are h k i i g to impmve their grarnmatkal t d e d g e and the accutacy of rheir language; (c) t b with m knowledge of Mmdann who are interested in Cantonese fcr comparat~vr,w practical reasom; (d) lirrguisrs &g on aspof Cmntonese or looking for a detailed dercripticm of a variety of Chiother than Madann: (e) Cantonese speakers, suet m teacheK of English and speech thempias, whu wish lu drvrlup lhcu rnelalhgukAic-t n v a m m ul ihc h n g u n ~ ; ( f ) teachers of Endish to Cantonese weahen who want to learn more about their ~ u d e nfirst ~ ' language; (g) tewhcn a d dudrnts wf trardatidmhpretaiim tu and from Cantonese.

THE LANGUAGE AND TTS SPEAKERS thtorme is the m t wdely known and inAuentia1 variet) of Chio t k r than Mandarin. It belwrgs to the Yue group of dimlects (CanYuhwk, as in Y~thryCihpTn 'Cantonese film' and Yutrrkehk 'Cantonese opera.). Yue d i a k i s are qmken primarily m the wwthwn Chip m w m of Guangdong and Ciumngri, and in the neighbou~ing territoriesd Hongkong and Macau"amonese as spoken in Hmglcong is generafly known as Gwdngriling Wd after the w i n c e of Guangdong. Varieris of Cantonese are also used in Chnew mmmunit~esin Singapore. Malaysia. North Arnenca, Auvtratia and e h h e r e as a result ofemigrahon from rhe Guargaotq area and from Hongkong i k l f . W~thlnClina, the role ot cantonew is increasing. Far trom being replaced by Mndarm, it enjoys growing prestige as a result of the rapid economic development of the xuthern m a s t ~ dishias l led by Guangdong

province. %dents in major dties d l over China am learning Cantone%in

order to do Iwsines with Hongkong and Guangdong: Cantonese is sad to be 'heading north' (fik shhng. Zhan 1993). The wage -bed in this grammar is thai of Hongkot~gC a m e . TrPlditimlly, rhs ywfch n f C n ~ n n @ m( h~ t n n ) ir 1 h wnrlplrrl ~ nf rmm pison. hence the terms Centonc.~and GWgj5u Wd;howwer, the rnajorily of Wes&m of the language wII have more w n M with Hmgkcng htwnm. In Singapnre, Malapia and the r w e w a ~Chinese mmmunitles, there are distinctive varieties; yet the inhence of Hongkong Cantonese is strcmg, due in prt to films, te&sim pgrammes and pop smgs - 'Cantwpop'. The impau snd pqmlar~tyd Hongkmg C a m in sll t h m Mferent forms naturally contribute to its growing prestige. Compared to other Chid~alecls.Cantonese h a a su&ntlal litem NF, b ~ pral h ~ f l dwnften, althpwgh t?lld#ly littk vf this has FBen translated. The written literature imludes w r y such as the nineteenthc e n ~ r ylDve scmp edited and translated by Morris (1992). Oral Ilterature includes children's song. of wh3h a selection are transcribed with wmmentaiy in Chm & K& (1980). Reoently, written Literature in more or less dloquial Cantonese has begun to appear, mduding poplar novels such as the series Slu hhrnyfn j i ~ - ~ ' D i o afya yuppie', w h d attempts t o represent C a n m e exactly as it is @om. nKse texts include many a n t o n e w word5 which are nc4 normally m i d e r e d mqmbk in stmdard written Chinese (see the d o n on spoken and wntten Cantonese). They are: also mmked by the use of English words to represemcodemixing and even to represent some Cantonese words, for example the letter D to represent the compamtive mas m @hng&"cheaper'. Due m the low m t l s of written Camonese this new literature is frowned upm in traditional C h i m cultural arc]- but, like the use of Cantonese in pop w n p . it a w n to be generally accepted by speaken of the V g e r generation. This vernacula~style is also I-mgly found in Hongkong ne~spapers."

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APPROACH: DESCRIPTION AND MPLANAllON In keeping with the g d s of Reference Gramram serk. this vdume a i m at mmprehensive ~overas.pmvidmg reference for the student and h l a r of the l a w a g e wtnle fmgrounding the more essential of sentence! shucture for the benefit of the learn-user. As a grammar of ?he s p k n language, the bodc is intended to reRea current wage. Sevmal features d C a n t o m desuibed in eartler works are omitted because thqy are not representative of the Cantonese currently spoken in Hon&ong. For exam+, the high level md high fanlng b n r s are mnmdered to be non4stinctrve (see below on the ~omanizatwnsystem): as a result, the tone mndhi rule changing a high falling tone to hlgh level as d e m i by Chae (1947) is no longer w a t i v e . In C$.W of dwbt, the

Inhoduclion 5

4 C s r r t o m : a comprshsrrsMe grammar

usage follmwd d e c u that of the s e d author. a native Cantonese speaker born and raised in Hongkong. The grammar adopts the ckmipt~veappmach which is the basis of madem linguistics: it aims to d-k how the language is a ~ u a l l spoken, y rather than tw tpll the rpader hwK it rhnrtM I w v k p n . Fnr m m p l ~ . prolrunaahm Idili is adopted in place. of the trmdit~omlrreiIt Unkr this apprmch, there is no issue of 'cmed', ' ~ N or M'b8 C a n t o m {emept pcrhap in rPferrm.to R m - n a h v v a k e r ' s IM d t h e langr~agr, where 'pdmeans +approximatingto a native speaker's usage'). I w e a d , our fOClK i s on gmmmatlcaly.- i.e. what sentences are p c ~ s ~ hin l espoken rant- anrl MI what kind of l a w is v t e to u311chkin& of -text, lending to an emphasis. uithin the dercnptive appmach, on distinaions of register: sryles of w c h appropriate for particular kinds d mmt and associated with dimel cnt levels d f m l i l y . In rrmt a r ~ mvf grammar there are altematixe prssibilitk which belong priman@ to one register rather than another: n construction or a m m used In polire mn%rwsatignmight Re gul of p l s ~ ein the strwtmarket. and viw versa. Canlacks a m n g w i v e gramrnarical tradition prescribing or stignaatizing certain pammatical oonstruchons;' such premipliw ideas as there are tend to r e k t the prestige of Mandarin usage, with the m l t that structural patterns b m d on Mandarin may be preferred to t b indigenolls m Cantonese. Such m-um~res are included with rekrerm m their Mandarin o r i ~ i nand stylisnc status. While informed by lingistic thinking and r e s a d , the gmnmrrr aims m avoid unnewssrlmy terminology, stiEking w k r e possible to mnblished and widely u n d e r n o d tenm such as srthjecr and oh&?. N e v e n h e t ~ s rn , uniamiliar terms svch as wriul rvrh and topimIi?nrimtare inrroduced where there are no equivalents in tradihonrrl Englkh gmmmrrr:senom learners of the: languap will need to come to terns w~ththae mnceps. which are fundamental to Ihe grammar of C a m o m . The format of IIK grammar follows the eaab1'khed order of pm of speech fanliar to W&em m r s . However, this d m not imply that these categories are always appopnate for Canlonex. %me disclrssion is dewted to the proMems of applying traditional Western g r a m m d d categoriesto Chi(see in p n h l a r Eh. 3).

m.

*

CANTONESE AND MANDARIN Some excellent grammars of Mandarin inevitably influence the way one d e k k Cantonese p m m a r . C k m (1968) and Li and Thompson (1981) in p a h a l a r have set I I a~ framework of c ~ t e g o r kwhich are widely M o p e d - it only w n polnt nt rlepclrhrre - In rhsnrsslons at Ctnnesz grammar. The present grammar is intended to Re m p a t ~ b l ewith this framewrk. dthough numemus open questions remain regarding the

categoriesand nnalalyses assumad. Similwly, termimlogy which is not part

of the Western p~nnrnarica1tradition is generally dmwn fmm dcmipt~orn ofMandarin grammar such as thnse mentmned abwe. Qcm~onrrlly,terms are adoped from language typdogy and wmparative grammar, mch as the t m i n d h p r r i ~(w. , ~ R 4 1 nrd the mnmplff kh). Forthe benefitofmderswith some k m l e d g e of Mandarin, referenceis. ma& to salient similar-kk and wntmds. Some p r i ~k n ~ m l d g e of Mandarin is an i n v a l l u h l e a a ~in the~turlynfhlnmse. A l h g h t h e m languages arenot mutually intelliyible, t h e i r ~ m m a t i F a l ~iss~mlar re in most m e respecis. Their relal~omhipis Enrnparahle to that between languages within the IndwEumpean language firmilla: ths Qnhm differs fmm Mandarin to much the sanR extent as French differs from Spanish, orflvedish fmm Geman. W i l e no one would s u w that French and Spanish share the %me ~ m n = r ,this is offen in of Mandarin and Can-. Chw's comment that 'one can say that there is practically one universal Chinese p m m a r ' (1968: 13) has sometimes been taken ~0 literany. and the m i o n that van& of Chinese share the saw grammar is a funher r e a m why n C a n t o m reference gramrmr has notbeen a-ed thusfar. ~ e p h o n o l o g y a n vwabulary d presentthe most striki~~gmntmsh, the differences n n v r r r , often relatively subtle, tend to be overlooked. For example* Cantonese and Mandarin m a r to h m very similar pmssive amstmctions. Both allow the indirect p s i v e oomtmction in w h i the paaive verb rerairs an ow M d m W6 bZi

tm le ch&. (Fm)d d - PFT 'he had my car stolen.' 1

(&)

Isy

Cmnmmsr N@ Hi

yihn tau-$ ga che. I by person steal-PW CL car 'he had my car stolen.' However, in Cantonese: the noun sepresenting the agent of the adion ifits identity i s unknown) mus be m t , while in Mandmin (as in E11pli41)Ille nw111WII Irc: um~1i1tc.l.11 L j d l I 1 1 k subtle grammatical d i f f e r e m which are of inter& to the linguist and i m p r a n t m the language l a m e r ; particular attention i s therefore paid to these distinhve P a l u m uf Canlgrammar. *An

SPOKEN AND WRriTFN CANTnNFSF Traditionally, Cantonex hrs been regarded as one of the m n y Chinese d i a k & . 11 doff not h a w a standardkized written form on a par with

6C :-

a comprehwslw grammar

standard written Chinese! No form of written Cantonis taught in x h w l s or used in Rcademic setrings in any C a n t m q m k i n g community. When it oomes to the written fam. it is standard written Chinese that is taught and learnt. For educated Canmnese w k e r s , standard written Olinere i s the written bm they use in mosl contexts. E h e u e r , in mlloquial genres s h as m k , popular mapzines. newspaper gossip columns, i n k m a 1 p s s o m l wrnmunications, written Cantonese may be & When the written Canmrrlins ton many exdusively Cantonex words and q m s i o n s . nowVantorme speakers may find ~t totally unintelligible. Another ch&&i of written Cantis the inr11r;irm nf FnpllFh WnTTIF mrl nrulP-fwitrhing hetrvepn rantand Engliih as seen in magazines and bmks for m i d d t d a s s yuppies (see Bauer 1987).

If written Q n t m i s qmsmiRd hy m m n n a m l writren symbols such za charaden, the situation is complicated by addional pmblems. Many mlbquial Cantonese words lack a standard written fosm (see GY. Cheung 1983 h r a list nf emtnples)). Fw example, the verh.+rih ' s l ~ k a' s in d14h wmhttdl Yide a slick' bs n ~ 8have a c c m q m n d ~ n gEha-r nor rbes a mgnate exist in standard written Chinese. Some chamden comeq m d i q R wrtain Gnmae \mrds. expxially cvkrquial mes m y k available and used sjwmdically hut i t k n o t dear to what extent these have been aacepred for uses of untten Cant-. Still other Cantowords are replaced in writing by the -dine Fharmn in s l a n d d written Chinese. What i s h o r n rs wntten Cantonese inevitably uses a greater or 1-r number of standard written Chinese characters; if a Cantuwe speaker m&such a text aloud, the result is neither Mandarin n w Cantonese but a hybrid vrrriety. Naturally, this influence alm extends to the grammar, with the result that many features of spcken Cantonex are not found in wiling; indsed the: grammar w d is asentially that of Mandarin. Tne r e l a h s h ~ pbmwen spoken a d written -f of C a n t o m b thus extremely wmplex. For zhese reasons, n o Mle@ is made in tins hook to k l with written h s of the l a w a g e . Reference is. however. made to the liternry IInNrt? of certain gmmmatical features whim are found in fonnal registers of speech as well as in writing. For e m r q l e , in news brm-inp the, W v emay be wed without an agent: Yiuh sei mlhng t l d o u h - $ h i hin i i a n lor%-ckih. have four CL s t m l i - m i s t s Re sent back main-land 'Tmr ilk@ i m m i p n h werc repmated to mainlard (China). ' As illmlmted &me, this is a feature of Mandarin rather than Gnmnese synm (see 8.4).

Unfortunately, a wide range d m a n i z a b o n systems ate rn use for Cantonese; no standard miparable to the Pinyin u w l for Mnnrtarin has merged, and new wminue to appear.7 (See Appendix for the m r s l o n tabk listine, t k symbols used I ~ rI h e Yale, the, Intemarlonal Fkn%c A l p h a m (PA) and the system adopted by the Linguidic Society of Hongkong). Representing C a n t o m in alphabetic form s an inrrinaa l l y chailenging p b l e m , and mne of the current systemsis IWIn this b k , the Yale s w m dewloped by Parker Huang a d Gerald Kok is a h p l e d , with certain m o d i s . This is the sy?#crn used in Huang and Kok's Sped Chmwww w u m and ulhu rr~aler~nls p~uduud at Yale Universily. and in Tong and J a m ' CblloqrliaI CaAtone (1994). In Hmghng, it is u d d the U n m l y of Hongkong and by the New A s i a - Y a b i d X m a ChiLanguage Centre of t l C~ ~ IU nI l i~i b i r ~ i t s m u m and for its new Cantol~eseEnglish and Engliskdhntonese dictionariw, which will complement this book. 'rltr. Yak l l a ~ u g c l i ~ lla. l h ~xuwal ~ b d v a d t n p in additio~~ bn k i n g the rmst widely used @ern. Eirstly. nuny of its wnvenhom resemble the l n t e m a h a l Phonetic Alphabet and the Pinyin ranaanimtion used fnr M~adarin,and this will frlcilltate adapntion from Mandarin to Cantonese. Secondly, its marinion of tow is relatively e m m m a l and iwnic: rising and falling tones am shown b y rising and falling rrccents, w M are -10 hlalbw and rcmcmhr than rhc m w h n t nrbittary numbm m umd in thc Sidney Lau system:' 14m m. tam2 'think' The Yale syskm uses m tonal i n r f i c ~ t hfor the: mid level (3) tone, which is appmpiate: since this is the m m neutrsl of the tones: sei w. sei3 'tour'

The one arbitrary feature of tonal marking in t k Yale q%em Is the 'h" h r t e d after er meyowelhlihthongfor low-register tones, i.a low rising, low level and low falling miles: d h 'lwrse' (bw riring) d h 'linen' (Imv falling) mah Wd' (low level) This is an emnomizing M i c e , meaning that only h e lexical tones need be ind~catedby diacritics, the mid and low level tones b e i v unmrked. Thm is relatively little danger of the 'h' after vowels being p m n o u d [h], and as the only amltrary teature of the @ern, ~k rloes not m t the land ot burden on the learner that the numerical g ystm ( u d by Sidney Lau and some linguists) do.

8

C w f f a R s e : a comprehensive grammr

The seven basic tmes are represenred in the $ramlard Yale y w m as Ikllmm; cmtmwsa TO- in the Yale Sysran

HW

1

B a

(a

ah

ah

Bh

Wcl

Low

The standmrrl Yale system entails m ~ k i n ga diptinction between the high level and high falling tanes (the high falling tone is shown in paremin the table). Hmvever, since these two i m e s me m longer distindive for m n p Hmgkong Canmnese apeakwg (aee Mow), bath are r q m m t e d as high level in this h k . Thm nn our m, Cantonese has only six basic tones. But note that the distindion is retained in mrrent diionaries using thp r* qTtPrn

The long vowels and diphthongs are represented. rrs m most system. by double h e r s : no (long a) vs- n (short a). nai vs. oi. e.g. grsai 'meet' w. @i 'ficken'.

smr~~ p chi? t h m CL cor

' t h e a' Wng m h d& help rmt suweed

* a ~ ~ nhelp' ot

(d. Ga c k h& yduhylhng CL car very have-eyle T h e car is very stylish.')

(d. N@h M g Yih ihh a h . 1 help you not s-d 4 a n y help you.')

(e) Apmrmphes are introduced rn represent reduced torms,wch rn mj ~ h or mi'd! (a wmmon abbrewated form of mRr@h? 'whatT) and *'ohyih, a omtraction of seisahp-ylJt row-W). Note that the mmnnimtim used by the Horgkong e m e n t for sneer names, plsce names and persoml names as fnund in telephone drmm%. birth wrtificare?, etc. do not mstfh t k Yale wrn. in parricubr with re& to initial consonan&. Por exaniple, the surname written Uuu is Jirrlr in the Yale *em. This dmcrepncy is due In thc lack of n s t r i n d d i d mmnnization +em. s m y k keen from the alternative spellings of the same surname. TR or Chmh fm the name mrnanized as dfl!. Maw narrssard personal nemes

MODIFEATIONS TO THE YALE SYSTEM This grammar i n t m d v m oertain mod~ficatinmto alleviate some dificultieg and deficiencies in the Yale system as used in previous works. The= mpdifmrionr at? d e s i m pimady tv m a k the system easier tv me, and &mild nut be d i l l for u s e ~ of s the Yak system lo get uuspd to. (a) Tne high level and high falling tones, k i n g no longer dlsfinctive (see 1.4),arc M h w r ' h n as high level: for c ~ m p kstandard , Yak, h r g 'help' i s written as hie,rirr 'sky' ss fin. The sentence:parlick thn and sin are exceptions, as t h q are pronounced with a clew falling tom. @) Hyphenation i s wed ?oshow dintiow within word% for reduplicated structures,i n d u d i g A-not-A questiow (Heui-hh-htwi? 'Gorrr not?'); m p o u n r t ; such as -t compouncb (cl!arng@ ' s i n g q ' k and compleK numbers (miumwhplulzk 'thitq-six'). MI k k m T m not going' is diSingr~i~herl fmm the pmremi m- as in msy~111rk' ~ i n m m t m b l c . unwell' (see 2.1.1. 13.1).

(c) The negsfive marker M as m N#

Ed) Words are written separately u n l m there is stmng reason to regard ~ I I W J I na wumyuunrrb. F u l cmn~~plle. d & k t n uud wnl~ulynltir-ks nnr: ~ v r i i nsepamrely fmm the m u m and verb respxtively hecause they may occur sepmately:

EXAMPLES Grammatical points are exemplified in W t fnllolring format: ((go h h @ng).&hn). Romanization: Ng6h hbu lsahnwvdn d& G k : I wry hard fmd sucwed (EL g c d m i d ) 'I have difkwllyfindirg (a good maid).' Tramhtion:

W e m e m in parentheses me optional. i.e. may be omitted @en a suitable wntext. Tlle literal g k s s is intended to fsalitrrte parsing o f the C a n t o m sentence, and to enable the tramlatinn to be idiomatic En@&. The:

I@!@v ol q IWJOJ nql jo = m d lxmm v ~~~ -das ~q RBJ pm N S arum ~ Ju! ylv~3trisolpa a i a q ~'m*uql3tmj m ampnrn ~ ~ B U I IF^ W ~ 01m w A i p d d l $ m w 'ma IELUIOF 5l411OJ '(5361)

-8tmtry pm ~p q w jo iqtrrwpm m WIM J W J ~ ~ 'mdmp q x a ol m w x p u! ol p w q a l rnwpnp j m h m 'suoymqu~uorr Wleh W m'4 '(2661) WU3 P m (8861) !m13 W ''suoW1 - w g put! p q m u w *atme =E =mm m m n ~ )

w q ~uo ( ~ 1 ~9 ) m WOIUQ %uoqStwp aw uo ( ~ ~ 6S1m) W 3 XN-H '=!O aI ~ ~ u y ~ a(0662) l ~ a] uF?o pue :mum&! mtmusy, u e l s L JO ~ d ~ n : s n y h uo (!%I 'qa] -qgti~)i a e u m :.;alJlutd @mJ-axauas pus d qran uo ;aws os@)Bulouoyd m ( ~ 1 )

JO

'e wm

q

e

* ~ =~A E

i~aprmam

asarll p

mq weq ~t!murer%a s a r o l u ~40

ma3 v%oy~ ' M u 3 ul ~ w ! l q t d p3 0 s ln~xp n qulnu y

'JWOJ

p W q U! 1 x 3 a48 WOJJ pnvmdas

pus v x '(mr w m W E u q '(MI ~ 'UT) s u o w g GGS -sadol zsxp ug .saSt!dwt OM# a q traealaq Z u w w s q m lo 4u!x1w -ampm .ipmqs@u3 41w a c x r w u ~ Zuu ~ h * ~ auy a q ayl mvrp ol IFSYJT 9! 11 ' ~ a n c ~ ~-uo~reqmmol om p u ~ luasardar q 01 mcq lgap IOUq I! . = a u q u g and ol ~ @ tm q d uroq mnnqum t! uo -A spron V!I~Qju m p m ~ u o a~ qdw ~ :-a1 p r ~ e r lq d qdr.um u! p n ~I~SJ loci ~XE TG ~ ~~q e z Ac k m i q pasl 6pp!m q g n n q 'sprom ~~ rppltq -uuysxIra p x d n d a41 m p o m tw aneq p q f i sqdwrnr> paplo~cuam ro 's~avads =!leu q l o q~!h* u o ~ l ~ s u n! r npar~n4sumuaaq a n ~ qsarrmos x a q ~ 30 itrs 01 p a m q y IOU ~ ~ sawaluas 3gIumx3 p m m w w S JO ntrpd ol uo11qqm tn a m l p a g u o l q l o ~13adss mqsnll! X a q ~aaqm q d m ' v p d d d e araqm uan@ am luauo;, $0 surnrsgpu! palyap w o n

&

l U a U r G 5 V p( 7 ~ ) T q O F 1( ~ F J ) J=PoJq "om-1(,%I,) Wlg (raw) q m a t t m awqdala~('lalJ uopsra~um (.hum)

-SMOnOJ St! dd& aJlllch 4 4 jo IIUIIWJ!JJ! UB f q gaaqpJ are s+Ima ~%uoq%uo~ u! t q d r asaun~rq p saldum WOJ I uaw sa&opp pre sawaux + m a a 'q lma r q ~ '(6'1.~1 aas) 61da~ahgdau e ww WM (,Mu a*nd.) uollsanb z q p s-qurad ap w!m iuauraa* wow ylay asautnuea

w@tq

.-J.uop J 'ON.

1Hd ' ~ W H:a

ol p;r;nl n M I,IW, ,!&Pol v ol 6gpol d l a d l a d gram mmw paatr-mr

&w

P 4tm8

WJ

p u

i v i d WTJ

:v

:uunsanb a n w a u e m Kldar n m d m d d ~a q alwmll! a JOJ-a pue y uaam~ -aq m w UM* i p m ' ~ J o p pamm!u!ur v WM pemlsnm are p-1 asunuas ap puoiaq x m E p ol a l v r v q a w t n d l u e ~ ;qq@tq .sltlapnls m !y unwurorr ~ fim s! PAM .(8u!wawns) prg OI a u lq IFW!~a I!,Syuseur parSor qmutp sun1 addl ~ o u ayl a JO amlor a+~ MIU~S ~ ~ U I B X J m q a q~ul s q % q~:srmra p d h 10 , F I I ~ U ~10 almm a q ~lean= OYB A m s=+ 'w*pn~rd u q ~ a t l o ~ u gol; v ) @ u g 10 s m q JW .alg@ a ~ Skin w w m yl!m a l q f i m aq ol papualu! m my 'lorllm I S J ~ a w hq trqod.;SE qs!lzua ys!~ua tro p m q am suoqqstrsn

~~

JlwureB anraH&um

B : m a 3 01

12 Cantonese:s corrpreh-ve

gamnar

University of Hongkong. The EnglEsCantonese vnIume (Kwan et al. 1991) pmvides mmanimd -f s l y . lyhii the thinesz+English volume (Chik and N g h m 1989) also pmvides &m?rders. Sidney Lau's Cantonese-English dictionary (15'77) remaim d u l . especially for the l a r ~n ~ r m k rnf m m p i n r l wmrls and dlnratinn? lntd. and hill th' advantage of being arran@ alphabetically. Huang /1970) is a -way di&ary, w n t l y out of print.

LEARNING CANTONESE Sewral mirses m milable w h h m l d bc u d in mruumtim with the grmnrnar. Cdkqr*d C h m m r by Keith Tong and Gregory J a m . ~nthe Rwtledge Colloqu~alseries. IS at the lime d wting the mrm !*date such course, designad far self-tau@ learners, A relative@uprndate and colloquial eleme~~tary course is Ewywlal Cnmmse [1980), p r d d hy the Extra-Mural Studies department of the Chinese University of Hnngkong. Thk cmme oompt-ises w t e mpesand a b k using the Yale romanimtmn. as dnes the dder C#mese m 100 Hmm, produced by the University of Hongkong Extr~MuralStudies Department. Of earlier materials, the Hongkong v r n m e n t course by Sidney Lau is prticularly thorough, consistinp of six volumes plus glossaria and a diionary; however. much of the dialogue already soun& stilted, clsting from the late 19Kk and 196C6. A h rhuruqh, though barely mwe uptcdate, i s Parker Huang and Gerald Kok'sW a k Cmumpp~pin three volumes (Yale Univenity Press): containing substanrial terns, it is pnkutarly lseful for learners without ready accfffi to spoken Cantnnae. The IJS Poreign Service TmMute murse M l e 1970) is relatively thoraugh and m i r a t e in its treatment of panmatical prints.

1 PHONOLOGY: THE CANTONESE SOUND SYSTEM The mind systm vf Q ~ ~ isR unfamiliar T rn speak- M Eumpean languages in several respats. C a m i s a tone larrgnage in which the pitch or pitch pattern with which a syllable is pronounced is crucial to the !denriry qt the word m syllahle (1.4). The syslern of tones, with a minimum of six dialnaive pitch pttems. is alm more wmplex than thal of Mandarin. As in Mandarin. however. the pomihle oombinations of sounds am d a e d by cumparison with Eumpean into syllables in Cantlanguages (1.3). This chapter is inwnded to pmvide sufficient background infosmation for the ppmmar to be used effecrively. rather than to pmvide a p h o n o w cal analyh of the Cwtonese sound qrwm. Fnr a fuller description, see Y-R. Chao (1947) and K-H. C k u n g (1986). 5om theoretical annlysk of th$Cantonese tone gsrem ~ p c o \ i c k din M. Yip (1990)

1.1 1.1.1

CONSONANTS INITIAL GONSONAW

There are sixteen initial oonsonants, i.e.

which may occur at the k n n i n g of a mml. TIkst: a r s l ~ inn T a l k 1.1, x m d i n g to their phonetic fatures.

The Cantorrese stop pnse: m i d e m b l e d~ffrmlty for the English speaker, because their distinftlw htum are different from tbsz of mps such as p and h are dfsrlngulshed by the English. Whew n h a s t in voicing. D k i n g voiceless and h m i d . no Cantonese s t o p are datinctively voiced. Rather. the mntrasr is one of aspiration -wvhet/ler or

-.

not a bum of air is emitted immediately after oral r e k in the prwimsof anicularion. In English, this feature is alm prem in that initial g k normally aspirated and h lmt; however, this crmhast is m t a d~stinchve ane. The result is that Cantonex h as in hti 'give' may be perceived by an E n p l i m a k e r e i t k r a s p ( b w v s e v f t h e lackofwicindmas h ( W u w of the lack of aspiration). This m h i m t i o n of features - voiceless and unwirared - in initial pmtion is unknown in English, maklng the Cant~nesesenes Mdlg difinilt to recognize. Many r~rnaniEa% system add ur the diculty by representingthem as@tIk respectively; this iwludes the m n i z a t i o n applied toplace m m . so that Kowlum. for ample, .is pronourn$ by English -ken with an asprated k [khl.' In the Yale system it wtild be GduIwhng. The labioelm cmmnanh gw and kw arc roarth&ed stop. i.e. the velar swnd g or k is articulated simultanendy with the bilabial w in p a -hanggand kw& skirt'. However. there is a t e n d e w to s~mplifygw and kw lo g and k respxhvely where they are followed by o or n, e.g. p k h n t r y ' is pmnouncal gnk, sounding identical to p k 'bl'.Similarly: Gw6ngjBu + GBngjau Gntnn'

@ +@'guess'

k & h q 'crapy' jeohn-gXn-kW + jeuhw@wku 'mhber band' L*hng

+

The simplified forms are u d q x & U y by y o u w r speakers and in less fosmal speech (see 1.5). Note that the d i W m c e ill pnunclation b=tween kwu and h, gwrr and grr is a rery slight one. w the l i p are m u n k d similarly for the m n d s wand u. The alveolar affricates j and ck pose pxticular pmMems for learners and for rumanimation sysems. Fhwtically, jn its] which sounds similar to the fmal consonants d the end of the Engl~shw o r d arls (1.e. od~rmfsemems) but l ~ k the e Cwtonese stop d, it is p m n o u d wifhmrvoking. Its a e r a t e d mumerpanis Jr [I?], with string aspiration, as in dirh 'tea'. Both j and ch are pronounced with lip spread, father than mundul as i n English. The p m n u ~ a r i o nof initial J , ch and s may be sffeaed by the followringuowel. In particular, fnr some speakers, the high front rounded vouel yr< [y] rends to carse palatalktion of j and dr tr~[tfl and [tJh] vqxctiuely: jyuh 'live' + [tJy:] (mmparej&n 'earn': [ m n ] ) chythn thnle' 4 It$%] (compare cldh 'tea': [hha:n

A similar p l a t d 1 ~ ~ r i oaffects n s. which may syij 'W + by] (compare si 'try':

J ktow yu:

[si:])

The mid rounrkrl v m e l wt may a& cause pamal p ~ a t a l ~ r a h oor n these consonants. as in dietmg king', @' 'mnw', &q kant'.' The sounds

resulting from this palatalbation s a n d similar to the oorrqmnding

Engli$h aaffricates. as in C ~ W I nndjrdgr. I This pronunciation should not be u i w l for] and rh thmughout, hnwever. as the palaralizcd mnam will bc mry u w ~ t i v e - l i k eif used before other vowels, a5 in jortk 'do' nr chdh 'tea';s c h misprcmunoatiom me in f a d charactenstic of Emgl'ishapeaking leaof Cantnm. Note alw thal the mv%x m n d s characteristic of Mandarin ch. di and sh are unknown In Cantonese. There are tsw semivowels whkh occur sinitiak:

-Id be distinguished fmm yu m in ssui 'finmy' ~hvhiFhq ~ m t s the high rounded vowel. Initial w is a h d ~ s t i w lfmm r k [url m d whim is pan of the 1 a R i v e I a r m m a n t sgw and kw: as noted abwe. these are wanhlated s t q , in whi& gfk a w w minds are formed simultansously . J,

Tn final *on. i.e. at rhe end of a syllable. s t u p are u n r e k d . For m m p l e , in fm! -law', the 4 i? f m e d hy the mgue muchi4 the dvedar ridge hehind the teeth, but without mr being released. In ngmp duck'. the lips are dmed as forp but rot opened again. This neutralizes the contrast M w n ar;firnterl and uwMrated msvnants, nnFe u n r e h d wnsonants c a n m k aspirated. Also, the labiielars kw and gw are not h n d in final -ition. Cnnsequently. there are only three such unreleased stop -p, -rand -k. The= a n be d i l t m Q i ~ ~ n g u i sall h ,three tending to wund like a glottal stop m an Endish speaker. They are neverrheless dislinctjve, as in the following set:

Some speaker5 rb not distinguish hetween unreleased -r or -k in f n l l m g words:3

baat

haat;

eight

hundred

tak north

b5t pen

These w o r d pin are o i b n pronounced with the same h a 1 u n r e l e a d conmants, usually both rr; -t. The mange from k to d has k e n noted to be a parallel phenomenon to the change from -ng to +I (1.1.3): Roth cases involve r e reahmion of a wlar as an alveolar m s o n a n r (see K-H. Cheung 1986). Hence Mk CAP 'jam car = trsffic jam' rvauld sound the same as sm dG 'lost car' if the final is pmnaunced or perceived as an unrel-d

4. This p

h e m e m seerrs to be prwalem amonp speakem of the youngs gerntlon.

with a low falling tom. then sounds the m e as the negative marker rhh. whib the numeral rirh 'five' h distinguished by its low nsinp tone.

1-13 NASAL AND UCWIO CONSONANl3

1.2 VOWELS

1

The three nasals, rn, n and ng are d g h t f o n v a r d to pmmnce; it i s meir diitribum which raises problem. Variation and angolnp change also I rmmpliitc the pichire. Initial ng prments some daficulty for Enghsh speakem: a l t h @ the m i n d is asentially that in English sinx, pronouncing it in word-inhal m t ~ as m in ngdh 'I't a k a m i c e . M m u e r . there i~variation k t w e e n ng and zem initial: ngirrilduuh 'ww'. ng&ml&nn 'CO mpwp'nnp TXI'. 'duck', etc. Cumnrly, many Canmnese speakers of the youngx p e r a t h & npf ~ p n a y r ng n in casual speech, using instead a glottal qop as in dh for &It 'Ume'. etc; conversely. those conscim of the ' m r r e c t ~ ' of initial ng in words such m ng6I1 use hypercomsl form such as n p ckyfihn formclryirkn %fee (see 1.5)." The mibal n is pmnairoed as a I Ry younger speakers, and hy older speakers in L s formal s p c h registers. Thus neTh "you is p m n o u m d rs 14ih, nlkn 'year' as Rkn. This t h a n e to I is still curreded as an 'ermrermr by some older language t e a c h . The n pronuncimon is still used in highly lormal registers and in some rraditional fom of slngng (wntemporary Canm-pop, however, often u s 0. Initial n- i s preservedin the demonstrative Form ni 'thh- for many speakers. Rut also vmimsly pmnumoed by other yreakers rrs yi. B or tFi:

ni p 'this' + li go. lei gn,yS gn nrdi'these'+ lid& ldrfi.yid n i b u h Kere' + Wmh. IEidouh, yldouh All thrm nasals are f w d in final position. However, the distindion b e t e e n n and ng is merged in certain contexts for some speakers, e.g. sdnrt 'mountain' w. m~ 'alive, mute‘ are both pron~runceds [Sen] (see1.5). For some speaken. this o a u n only hefore front consonants sin -(g) jbi 'give birth', while for 0th- ir is independent of the oontext. e.g. hnh+g) 'student'.

3.1.4

SYLLABIC W A L S

Tahle 1.2 ihrnw the eight ank u d in the Yak *em, i l r l v d i b t h long and short o (see 11.2). Note the foflmuing: (i)the table, following the I'aL wstem, b e $ nnt d i n w i s h m e n th&mts of r , zr and w~which are dknguished in P A i d some mmnimtion qslems; (ii) all these mvels have a mre&nt quality t h m g l n u t , rather than being diphthongized as their equivalents often me in En#&. For Cantonese diphthon$s, m 1.2.3. T-12

Vowels

rn

Cerdral

HW

I

yu

u

Md

e

eu

0

Back

am

LOW

The vowel systems of Hongkong and Guangzhou Cantonwe are c c i m p d in h (IW3). 121 VOWEL QUALITY

i as in dm 'string'. yiIu*hot' is similar to English p] in m.but the tongue p i t i o n is slightly higher. Before the velar a r m a n t = -k and ng as in lihk ' m g t h ' , Ilng 'ury', it is mute l i b the vmwl m n d in En&h late but is shrrer. e is a mid front

vmvel, more open than i. as in Imtg 'pretty. nice' and I&

'clevef. yrr is a high munrkd Wnhal m e 1 [y], Similar to French u o r German E bur pnounccd funhcr forwmd m the mouth- ae in e y i 'bmk'. d j h -thin'. I n British E n g l i t k &SBI sound b a after r. as m nibe. is a munrled central vowel, with two pronunciations according to t k following consonants: @u

A few syllables cm&l of a n m l consonant alone. m or ng. g.lhffe are k m m as syllahrc n n t n l ~ Tne . main examples are the negttive marker mh 'not'. the numeral @I! 'W, the surnames N#$ and N#I, and the verW noun n&-wrh -misunderstmd(ingj~. The syllable &I! is widely pronounced as bilabial fib. mp!hlly Ry thme p k e r s who do not nsz initial rrg (see a h m d 1.5). The surname N#,

(a) Wore t k velar m n a n t s k and ng, the sound is 1 4 m in jmk 'wear' w d c l m g 'sing. [elis allsa lncd in rkc few wads ending in -ru, such a the noun I!Eu 'hot', the verb @UII'slide' and the: dassifier d h ( ~ 9 d& fa 'a Rower-).

18 Cantonese: a m m i v e m a r

@

phonology 1s

(b) before rand n. as in sarn *belreven.and in the diphthong ani. rn in dui Ww', the m n d is Gmilar TV F m eu. w not unl~kethe wwl in British English her but with rounded lips.

oi cmi 014

Gi sBi pu

with dightly

Gml

gaau

o is similar to the vowel in British En$& hor, pronoun& rounded Ilps, is in cRdR 'si~', lohk 'go clown".

'west'

ei

s5i

%f

'waste'

mi iv

hi tiu h6u choi vnh

Wcr'

hengK 'W

uu

oi ui

Tump' *good. 've@ahb' 71red'

vmvel of E n g l i fwd. as in gri 'andent'. It is ako pronounred with slightly m u n M lips. Refore the velar msonnnts k and ng it is lower, as in sriIik "frrmilii', and can be difficult to dhtinguish h the stin h e r o. e.g. ChJak 'study' w. ddrk 'measure'. bring 'empry' w. hiim 'healtw.

Note that the long diphthonp mi and mu are distinct fmm ai and mi, just as m is ddistinafmm n (12.2)- Thtrc are no tfiphthonp: nore thal err as in sarn 'letter' is a simple m e l , and mi as in chCui 'blow' i s therefore a diphthong.

n is a Imv central vmvel, as in &t 'new'. It resembks the vmvel of English m n or German ha?.aa is longer m in Man 'hill' (m 1.2.2below) and more open than n. Tt resembles the h g a in 'British Englishjdm.

1.3

u resernbk

Long and short n are dlstincfive in dosed syllables, e.g. s i b hew' TS. 'hi.The d & & applies equally to diphthongs containing a sounds: thus, @ 'chicken' with a shorl diihthong conh.;rsts wZh @ 'street'with i i a long diphthong (an$ the s m tone). 'The actual difference in length depends on the syllable: m a clmed syllable such as haak 'dint', the low w u e l in Cantonese may be no longer than a s h o n one in English. The: two vorvels also d~fferin quality. short a is s~milarto the vowel of English cur. while long nn is naore open. like that in fmher. But m t e mar the difference in vowel quality is not found in diphthongs rrs in *chicken' and mi Ptreet'. Note that mrrranimtions pnerally do rot distinpnsh betrveen a and mr at the end of a syllable, e.g. the classifier M and particles such as B are pmrounccdwith a long vowel, but wntten with a as the length d i i is not dininctive in this The length of other vowels varies aoowding m envimnmenr. but the difference is not dishndive:

bns

s? p x m " & 'mu& fu +master'

SIm sTk 'know' dohk measure'

fiik 'bksHing'

The following diphthnng [sounds consisting of a wmbimtion of two vowel sounds) occur:

SYLLABLE STRUCTURE

Likc M n M n , Cnnmnc~has n relatively sirnpfe syllnble structure: the pxsible wmbindons of sounds are severely remitted. No omsonant dmers (consecutive consonants) occur," hence syllables typically have the fcnm (C)V(V)(C): (wnsonmt) - ~nwsl- (vowel) - (conmnnt). Moreowr, only two x t s of consonants can appear at the end o f a syllable: (a) nasals: -m, -n, -ng (b) u n r e l e a d maconsonants: p , -t, -k

Traditional descnpliom of Chinese did* the syllable rot into individual m n d s (phonemes) but into m b m a t i o n s which m a m m the kginning and end o i s y l l a b h initiuls and h l s . The lnm'iak are the mwmants d~scwx.din 1.1, Ihe fi~lalsare the mmbinatiom of wnvel m s o ~ n t which may occur at the end of a ayIlaMe. I ne w i n c e m tnis cla.mcat~on s that only a oerrain number of kyically possible combinations actually oaur in mtablished molphpmes. For exam*, -Ip and -up occur regularly as finals bul *-@IF does not.

+

V+i v+o

lu

V+m

im

V+n V+ng

in ing ip

Y+p V+t V+k

it it

I

Our ofa v i l e si-ollr combinations of vowels and final consonantsr rowels, only fifty-fvurm r . and some ofth-. such usar, are very rare. These gaps, and the p i e d i n a t i o n s . appear in the Table 1.3. Note that all the sirnpk vowels (i, a, yu etc.) occur a s h a l s . with t k exception that a &es w t contrast with QU in final position (see 1.22 n b ) . for standard morphemes. Allhough #hisrepremnts the conventional (essentiallv thrm for which Wblished characters exist), additional finals occur in cdkrquial ~ e c h : (a) in onomatopaeic sounds, e.g. -em and -UP: 14m-18m-leih lick-lick-tongue 'lick one's lips' fb) in loawwords, e.g.

Whptmip tiu bop-bopi"~ 'beat bopbop' (hear?)

a, 4n and m:

heui wi!t (verb) 'go out md have fun' hbuten (adJ.1 Wends wlrh' him ( r m n ) 'prmp'

These are not induded in Table 1 3 as t k y arguably do not fcnm p r t of t k hesound system. Nevertheless, they show that the range: of +Me syllables is extendable, as argued by Bauer (1984). 14dditioml a l t i o m a ~ p l yto which tom can occur on which final? For example, the finals ending in u n r e l e a d conmnonnmsd l have lwel basic tones: yat 'one'

gigh level)

yaht

'day'

foms Mote: urn-ekued consonants are now widely seen as abbreviated munteiyrts of the three: level ma%which n m r ill OM m t e m Only six tones are clearly diYmUive in Hongkong C a n t o m ; an example in

whim the whole range of tones is distinguished is the syllable pa:

1nph k u t l :

ySu ' m r r ~ y ' , 'md7(irl uul~q.x~u~~rzs)

High rising Mid level: L m falling: Low rising:

f l u Wint' (noun): yau 'thin' y h h 'nil', 'swim7( w b ) yAuh 'haveve;' F r i e d Low level: yauh 'rrpin'; 'right (hand)' Note that in many mxs. taer or more words ChmWphOneR) exist w i t h the same tone. m e s t are distinguished by (a) the different parts of speedr to which they belong, and (b) armpound expwsblls in which they -. The system d six tones g+en abow:awmes that the h i W and high falling t a m are notdiktindive, rrp$nt which k ggreed b y r n m t M h m (see KH.Cheung 1%). There is currenlly umickmbk mrhim in the r e a k a t ~ mDT these tolwes.Many speakersuse them int&ngeaHy, rn m sin or A n 'new', hiiqhe~or luhtH& 'air.' T k d s are mwl m m l y pmmunxd with a high level tme, especially by youngr yeaken in

~mglton~~~mseguentl~,~htoraesareml~shwminthisbwk~ltha high level tone, whereas c b i m m h x wing the Yale system show m e wirh high l e d and othersmith h ifaling tones A high falling tone is, m e r , a'iindwely nead on censln sem&al pmms such as dn and am,and -times a h in mnbxteclfoms mch as sir'w$iJi 'th"irt)Ftm';t k e arc the only r w d s shown with h i falling trneg m the text (xeds 18,21).

(low level)

S y l l ~ b l en6ing ~s in nnreleased mwnams do not gemrally h w rising m ta111ngaaslc tunes (e.g. there are no worn suar BS *ydM). MR n risingzone: may aocur as a result of tone change (see 1.42), as in M U - j d t ' w a y = lucky day'; ~rthn-pft' p m a d q = seventh day of the Chinese New Year (also k w w n a.everyMy7sbirthdayk @hk-@ 'pickday = pick a lucky day'. Some of thse changed tone brms have become the usual spoken forms of words, e.g. nirtt* 'butterfly'.

Id TONE of Cantane~i s considerably more wmplex than that of The tonal Mandarin. which uncontmversially hrrs four distinct toners. Exactly how many tones there are in Cantonme depends on hmv the system is andysed. A w d i t~ u tllr. ~ 11udiliV11u1 C1&5mtiu11. (?dm~ly~&Im &ilk:distirzt tones whereby the checked syllables are consideid as bcfonging ro categories to be:contra&d with other tonal caregones. Flo-r. the d i m

lA.1 M E BASIC TONES Linguists p c r a l l y disringuish the basic or kKkrrl tonts, k d rdllhl Ulr: word is pmwnccd in isolation, from the chmtged or sandhi toms whim m r only when a word occurs in p r l i d a r phonological and mrphologicol mwxm (lA.2). The Cantonese tone sysrtrn involw t h e pitch lwek: high, mid and h.These three tone! exist individually w levet tones. which are datively easy to p m m m and serve as p ~ l ~oft reference f for the other three tones which fall or riso fmmmn lcvcl to amthcr. T h i s gircs n system of six rnnes, d i i l l t i n g a $ n variant the hiih fall@ tone (shown in paremtheses) rrs k c n b e d in 1.4 above: High:

Mi$:

' - 0) -

phonology=

Althmgh the system shown here is essentiallysymmerricsl. the actual pitch mmurs of m h tone rlrp mi. In rhinase linguistics it if Fvstvansry to divide t k p i t h r a n p into five levels and daraaerire tons in t W m of their s l d n g and ending pitch levelxR

H@ lwel: Mid level: Lorv leuel.

55

H~gh nsing:

35/23

33

Low ris~ng: Low frrllil~g

W13 2111 1

22

Note that swne mner h a w alternative representation5 in different @ems, e.g. the high rising tone is sometimes qxesznted 8s 35 and d m e s 25. Sirmlnrly, 23 and 13are h l h IIFA fnr t h lnw ~ rjsjrp tm and 21 and 11 for the low falling ton% Two particular a y m h e s in the tonal system shwld be noted: (a) The high rising and lmv rising tones in fact k g i n at arolind the: same pitch 1evzl.Y a d are didnguished by the pach level to which they rise: the high nsing tone is marked b y a very steep pitch gradient. and hence emily r e w p d . whik the Imv m n g rone tses only to the pioch of rhe mid level tone."' The name 'high &I!$tone' is therefore rribbding in thnt it rises TO the hgh l e d , rather than begnning high and rising further. some linguish psefer the term mid mnp tone'. (b) T k low falling tone is not simply the reverse of the lmv nsing tone, but starts at the ptch of thr bw lpwl m w nnrl h q - 6 fiinher, mdmes ending with a 'aeaky- v& quality, @ally for male speakers, e& the b o t h of the speaker's pilaA rnnge i s reached. The relatively slighl fall in pirch makes this tone diffimllt to distingrrah fmm the low lwel tone for the foreign learner. Furthermore. the tow falling tone is m e t i m e s prw nounced at an even pitch: 11. klorv that of the Imv level tone. As with the: hnunp m e a . t h e r r f m - Y is the ending r a m than the WrIing pitch u~hiEhis distincrive.

Note that the m t r a l

tone assigned to many pmnrntid words in Mandarin does not exid rrs such in Csnrmese: although many grammatical wmds have the mid level tow (a distinct trine). such m the pcmexid linking panicle gp and the experiential z q m t rnarker gwo. others have higkregister tones. mch as me adverhal(166. a m tne: pwgv%~YeaqwX marker g h Traditional desajpciorus funher distinguish t k er*ering tones (hi. level and low) whim occur bctore the u n r e l e d wnsonal~u-p, 4, -k. As pointed out by Chao (19d7), these are: phomicany equivalent to shon imntiarions of the high, mid and Imv level tones, i.e. sit& lose (money)'

.matter. share the mme low level rone, d M n g only 111krlglh. Some transmipthi systems continue to distinguish these tones, unnecessarily w m p l i n n g the system with a totd of nine or ten numbered tones. and srh

I 1

/

1 - 4 2 TONE CHANGE

In many varhies of Chinese, the basic toms change in pmhmlar environments. Tome sandhj is the change in the tone hought abwt regularly by the &ectsufadj~~ent im,a s t h e M a n d m tlird ( d i n g ) t m b e m m m arisng tone when it is followed hy another third tone. In Cantonese,lone change is restrictedto one main v s s w h i c h K notregularin this -, h u t m r s due to a number of mn@x~logkal and m t k factors. For the= r e a m . the antorex 1s p m l l y -d to astomramW than tone mndhii The funaims d this tone draw are highly wmplex. IIhe rnam tonal c h a n oaun ~ in cmpnmds and r e d u p l i d In which a m i d h i i risine, tone resuk. it oavrs p m a n i y where the sxmd syllable of a mmpound or r e d u p l i d word h s a tone:

-

p yauh+j&yiu left right 'about, approximately'

*h + ~ h h & d f i silly tather silly'

W I Bthr.~Imid lwle of JWUA 'right' is Imv level, lr manges re a rising tone in such wmpound expressions. Similarly, the adjective & has a low falling tone,buf when reduplicated the searnd q l b b l e tales the changed tun% Fur most -ken, the rewilting ming rone in the same as the h i h risine, tone; for others. it is r a m lower. k i n g centred on the pitch of the mid level tone hut rising pe~~eptihly as the vowel is pmnounced. In the Y a k spem it 1s w ~ l Z m 1 ~~1t 1p ~~ w l lbyMtllr. Iriglt 1 i s i ~ ~turlc. g The regular row-change phenwnenon appears in varium typa of & u p h i i o n (m2.2). In reduplicated adjectives with the [AAB] panern the tane of the m d element ofte~lunrlzrgws the dmr~p; kbhm-k$hm&g + k8hmkdm-ckng 'in a mad &' lahplahplyuhn + IrrhpWplphn ' m y , $ i p n & l ' In red~rpIicateda d w v e s a d verbs with the sutk 4.5 and in o n m a t o &c reduplicath, the syWk regularly tali- the &mged tone: Cikfkii-d&+ h h - W d & 'rather fat, chubby'

hhhn-hhhndd 4hhhtkhfi&i tamer itchy' mlbng-mihng& + rrihng-mlngdCi 'understand roughly' dh-ssheng + s8h4&ng -sloshing sound'(ar in raining) d ~ h k d i h k e n gi dihkdik-ei~g'tidtmg sound' (of dock, watch) In tenhtive or diminutive verb r e d u p l ' i h , exceptionnly, i t is thcfirst verb w h i d Eakes the changed tone, due to contraction of y& (see 2.2, 11.2.6): EI )fit SI i .s k i

w one try

'have a try'

bohng yxt h h n g + Mrg-Wrg weigh OM weigh 'weigh'

24 Cartoneae: a rnmprehansb gamrnar

hiF t taih

-

ai-tiih

mention CM mentim kntionabit'

mahn yiit m h n

ask one ask 'ak'

-

m6n-mahn

Thin pkmmencm also s o n where the adjective is reduplicated m iadjectrve] ydl [adjedive] (e 2.2): @hg

YX

cheap one 'very cheap' Ni di

pehngt@g-@hng Amp

p!ng-p?hng & m h ybhn daih ge la. ihcsc CL dathcs h p c h m p ail1 no orre lwy PRT PRT 'Nobdy will buy these dothes, h m w m c h e a p they are.' 8hm @t Rhrn 4timAhm 'very sweet'

R e m i siu dou timrihm @m, hbu h h @ a. s'he smile till so very lovely FRT 'Hr'q miline sn sweetly. Really lrrvely.' Tone change involving conof+ 'one' a h occurs in mummtive amstructions where [,m damfier] is reduplicated (see Whitaker 1956): when the: dyrSt be' i s m t r a c ~ dtore , change amnsin t l a w d ing c l a & e r resulting in a high riwng tow. yat p i pt ~i -.yW g6ui geUi one sentence m e Sentence yat dihp y5t dihp t pt dip dihp

one dish one d~sh yntgauhyatgauhaufl-,ysrg-Augauh one lump one lump

d In both m m of tune change with m M o n of y& 'one', tbe W syllable is lengthened. Note that while rwd speakenchange tone regularly in these: casa.the processis not necesmrily oMmgstoryforall q m ~ k mThe . change:of tone &en adds a t w h ofmlour and l i v e h n ~ to the uttenmce. Some 4 s may mmr with either s basic or a h n g d tone. whether or not they are: reduplicatecl or p r l of a compound. In these m m . the: changad tcm forms tend t o be more mnquial, as ~ngmh-phn-slh/gowhjohn-sf'in the OM dm'. In where the noun is & as a container c l m W (h.Z.2). the: original tone i s retained:

-

pt hahp jyiigiili!~'a box ofc h o m W bid ni go hsp 'thisboK' y ~dil~p t clmi 'u dish ofue@~blef' hrt g6 jek dTp Yhln dnW

Fu~rhcrmore,marry instancw of changed tone: me assonawd aith h i l i arity or intimacy. Chao (1547) notes that tone chmp has'a morphdog~cal

meaning, nnmely, ? h a t h i i m t h i n g ( o r p r m n . k f r e q u e n t l y actiun).one often speah of" '. Forexmple, it oppties to reduplicated k~nshiptcrms: bA%4W-bs

ms-ms

-

@%a gbh-@ 'ekler brother' daihdaih 4 d3ibdAi 'younger brother' gi-j61+ jaih-jrf$ii 'bttle boy' taa-taai mi-rn wife+

-

m&h-ma 'morlm' jt-jk + jkh-jE 'elder sister' muill-mmh + hih-mi5 lyounger sister' Itul-ltui Ibuih-W~tleui 'little girt'

'father'

-

-

!a'II+W

or he*ew' niece'

Note that the fim ~yllablblem l l y Fhrrngw t9 l w falling t m and the dto high rising or high level or remains unchanged if it i s a high tone already. These temrs of a d d m obligarorily take o n the c h a w d tones m daily qmkm Ontonme but -In unchmgecl wwhen t b a p m in wirren texts to be read aloud with Cantonese pronunciation. Tone change alm applies to surnames given the familmr prefar a- or the epithet h h 'old' (20.2) and Mlm of familar people:

-

Chhhn + A-Ch6n. hM7hAn; Jeh A-Je, &h-J6 ~ih-t3uh ,cih.t5u matter-hmd 'boss' Whm Enngtish names are referred to in spoken C$ntorme, they typically end m high rsing tone:

Fanny + Wnnl

Ndip 4 NFK

Many h - w o & a h q u i r e the high level or high rising tune. e.g. i n s u r a m + y i n ~ ; o r d e r + WA. Even names of familiar d+cb in m e ' s daily lives wke on h e changed tune (see Y-S.Cholng (1969) f o r more examples): chihdhmh mahn fronthack dwr

-P

c l ~ l h n h u hm6n fmnthck door

tin ttii + tin t6i sky balcony ' b a h y on rooffop'

26 m

e

: a wmpnhcnsivt grammar

-

j3u Wlk, run' + l w h 'md' jh-louh 'walk' bur j6~-16u+runaway'

@uh tiuh + yhh tlu

ail

a

'Chinese doughnut'

SMne

appear quite u n p d i e :

M m y i ~ h4 hbahm-ytl salt-fish salted fish' ( a h slang, *&ad body') Another contrast is that between the adverb gom meaning 'a, so' (9.1.3) and the form gdrn with the demonsrrative meaning 'like t h i s l t w (10.1.2). B d n g d i i r e n t w,they mw d~fferentgrammatics1 functrcms.

Another phenomenon inuolving me change. found in oertain dialects of Guangdong prov~ncebut rarely in Hongkong Csntunm. results fm mmctmof the aspect mrkw -16:

Sijaj-faahn M a'! eat-PFV-rice not-haue PRT

-

Sik-mhn &-FFV-r&

me1 a? not-have FWT

1.4.3

'Have you eatml'

The resulting verb with high rislng tone mcorporata the meaning of -id. As can be seen, tone change invdves altemat~ombetween a mid- or hv-rqjwr m d the high rising m e . l3ekw are m e m q d m of tone change which are rot as regular and predictable as the ones s l m

above:

-- -

Mid level: v p l n * p h e *g&g 'take p h o t d faat-siwyh 'fmgtic' Low rising: phng-y5nh -friend k 1 4'hddl Low leuel. wih-yih 'meet-dlsam =conference' atte~ldn d n g '

Law fdling: siikrnhh-yhb 'm oil'

@yh

-

I

'fill up with fuel'

-

PrJCih

'work day shifts'

+uh yeh -,jouh-@ vmk nighl

'wdc night shifts'

(Contrast the idiom y a h r j m k y e h p u k kork day and night' with low level

ron€s.) Note that the tone change is not automatic; i t is a sign that the mmbinmon is W e l i d , i.e. a fixed combination, often with a specidid meaning which c a n m be +ied from that of the two parts:

ge

mallap LP Wle company m a n w ' s maid'

16uiXyh 'woman'

jouh-pt

i m of t c w v m k i mmding to tlleir phonetic

One r e h t fador is the tone of the following syllable. There is a natural tendency to a n t i a m the next mne, affectme t h t m i n t pirrh contour of the I k t For emmpte, in si-si-mdhn-lrrdhn +gentlemanly' the first two flaMes both hwe high t o n s but the s e d sl may differ from the f c 4 si in Ih# it Pill tend b dmp vff duringthe -1 in antioptinn d low fatling tone of rrrdhn ~ m m d i t e l yfollowing it. A -d f ~ o isr & c h a t l m : tlle natural tendency for the p~tchlevel of a syllaMe m dmline during an urkGiven a mmbeT vf wnmtive syllaWeswntaininp a high tone. the m a 1 pitch level will not be identiwl, but WIII be p r o nwnoed slightly lower each h e (see W u fW).F w example: company

Similarly, m veth&jecl compounds (2.3.3) the original tcm uf the object noun may change:

j w h yam work day

a l d

environment.

An imppnant function of this tone c h a w is to i n d i i a compound: the changed tone indcates that the word forms a compamd expraslon with the p r d m g word. This alternation may be camped to the difference in m ktween Mdck Mrd m d h.kMrrd in Enghsl~,t k single stras on Mmkbird indicat~ngthat the mxnhmtion i% a sillf$e canpound noun. Fw example.

yhhn 'pm'

TONE AND NTOFYrTlMU

T ~ Em

I

findhn maid

AIthou* M n g the mme high tones. giung in @insyuhn wii be p nounced at a lower pit& tlmn @ng in @ n p i due to dml~nation.This doa mt affect the wwgitim vf the ~pnes,which is relattve to t l surrounding ~ tones sarher than absdute. aew, a w m a n P Im tone may be pre nounced a t the: same pitch a m ' s high tone, or indeed higher (as shown in Fok 1974). As & m e is a tonal language where pitch is used to difFermhate WX'I%, intonation a t the level of the sentence is -4, al leH by comparison with English. The lwk of sentence intonatition pattern is of aucial importance to the pronunciation of Gmonese tones. I f an English intollation pHtern is supenmpased on a Cantonex xntence. the tone of individual words may be obwnrred or w e n changed mmpletely and may result in incomprehersibility. For example. the fololloning qwstion has a falling rone both on the penultimae syUaMe @tin and t l fiml ~ p r t i d e Ah. which will be last if it is pronounced w1t11a ris~ngquestioni n t o n a h :

PtronolDgy 29 L&h

y

h h MBhgwok yhhn

arc A m c k You're American?'

1.5 VARIATION AND CHANGE IN PRONUNCIATION

#? I

p a w n PRT

As menhoned in mmy of the a h Wim. there is arktion between individual speakers, social gmps and grwp in m y ~ c t ofs pronunciation. Such varkion is a fact of all k n g u a ~but , is p r t i c u l d y &king in C a m , p ~ l -dw y to the lack of a widely mmgnned Wndard form of the lmguage. In p m h l a r of a phonetically k e d written form. to limit the raria~m.TIER is often mid to k -confusicn'ofmnds, as i n d i t e d by afternative forms such as ngmchyhhn for &i&flhn "safe', N@u]fira for AI@U ' E u w ' w h i i are 'incorn' in the m-e.e h t t h e words origidly did not have the inhid ng (sse note 4). S o r ~ of these KRms at the -It ot hypmmwtirn. as they typically m l t fmm

D q h the ~ m s h a i n t simposed by tom. some parterns OF i m m b n can be discerned. espe~~ally m the wx of questions and mtenoe p c l e s , which may be pronounced with a variety of lntonatiun patterm (18.1.1). These pttems are noI well understood; Kwok and Luke (1%) and K-H. Q~eung(1986) are mong the few sources to disthem. One c ~ intonation~pattern i s the c sharp rise found in efho guebtbns (see 17.1.7 for the relevant discussion). Another d h c t i v e pnern is an emphatic response to a question which often invdves ptch chnge w i t h a word:"

A: Lkihsek-mh-seIrl& mmiha7 y b n o t - l o v e y r mummy a? 'Do p u love your mummy?-

B: S%k! kwe 'Sure I do!'

This rising intomtion pattern on spk k c l e ~ l yd~stinctfrom both the high rising tone and the changxl tone. In e m 3 pnm depends on the basic tone ofthe syllabk on which it k mperimpoped;on a m ~ lml d tone such as i~ ilstrongly before levellingout at the end. Note that the w e 1 IS lengtheneda m s ~ d d In y d e r to mrry this pttem. The same pattern is used in providing assurances: A: Ng6h Mi di y& h€ il jouh dakjnh-dak a? I give CL thing you do okay-notirkay FRT 'I'm @vingyou something to do,okay?

B:

~m!

ta*

okv

change.

Nore that tli-

'Sure!'

A: Liih wM14hWSih Em lbi H E u n m g a? you mll-not-will return come Hongkmg PRT 'Will you be m m g bexk to HongkongT

B: ~ G i h ! will 4 artainly will!.

Anothcr pmcm, with a lcngthcncd wwel md rising intonation, may be applied in q h o n d such as dim, where the ris111gtone IS emggemtd (17.6):

D i i m syun a? how do PRT 'What shall I do7'

l

speakers using what they perceive to b e 'correEt' orprewige prcmu~ation. While the younger g e m i m of speakers (relative to the time of w~ting) has generally h t the lrntial ngthebmrd. many speakensill retain it and may have free variation w thew use d one or the other may be determined by the relevant registen. e.g. llse ng in formal registers and careful and zero initla1 m informal register! ma -1 speech. Many speakers have strong rim a m Torrect' prvnunaation. and some words such as Itih m y l x txto nPiA by some teachers. Recent studies IYeung IW). Bauer 1W2. &urge& 1993) have shown that this variation is quite seematic. following variables such as age, d m and gender. This distribution In many cam c l 4 y indicata s w ~ r d change in p-. Fur examplc, nt the hrne of wrlrin& very few speakers d the younger germahon use nfik for 'p': assuming that these speakers Hill n d switch from I& to m+h as they g m dder. it 15 likely that the nexr *gc or sound h g e will mxur whereby dl speakers w ~ luse l Kh. To this extent. to a~rrectthe pronunciation k h R &tempting m reverse an mevi-

Di-im g5i a? how explain PRT 'Why?'

wumd Jlnusm u l b ~ upput ~ lu bt. r m h rmd WIsystematic. m they affect individual wmck differently. For example, many -ken will pnounoe the sffond person pronwn as Ifih but we n in aiduulr 'hm'. Such a W n i s ~n f h r d~wkrmxlskd ~ u n cd h m in ~ prcgrm: rather than affecting all the words concerned at one fell s q , n affects one word at a time. eventually affecting the whde vocabulary and completing thc swnd ch~ngc.'~ The w i n changes and swrces of variation are as fdlows:

(a) n ir I, rn in ncim + Urn 'think': this change is so advanced that the words conoemed are generally shown as Iin thii bwk. n is h a r d primarily in formal registers wch as singing m d d i n g of written reJrtf. The dl altematim was f i ~dkumed t in Wmg (1941) and the phenomenon has been around for several decades (we 1.1.3). @) g w e p, m in pd ir gok 'counq': thii change is alm v q widespread. However, it n subjmt to corsidmble srylisric

-

variation, with many ~ k e using n gw in 1w c a r d myk rlndg ekewhere. One wnseqwnce ofthischange i s that the syllg w ,with its many grammatical fumuiom, hecomff homophonous with thecla&kgn(yee 1.1.1). (c) knw- + h-, as in krldrng + Mng'cmzy' ie a prallal &an@ (m 1.1.11. (d) 4 + 4. as in hnak + Boor 'hundred' and Mk -t bm 'nwth' (see

1'12). (e)

k + h. in the pronoun kP~rih(see5.1).

ng-i. [#I, as in ng6h -+ 6A 'P,ngkhn +k h n 'eye': m y y~lnger s p a k m do mt p n c r ~ r r e rhii 1nitk1in m i d speech, m U y r e w n g fi with a g l m l stop. Fw other qelrem, there is free variation between the twh e.g. og&?m~6* w Gamdom 'just now', n@k or ak ' h w ' and the tendency m uw h y p e m forms with initial ng tor words which do not have i t originally tor sociolinguisticr e a m (see 1.1 "3). (c) q + m. a5 in n.gh + Ifih 'frvp' ( d i ~ n w i i ~ hhydit4 hw risin~t c m ~ f r m the neptive rhh "no'). This change q i p m to predominate m g -ken who do not me Initial n~ (see 1.1.4). (h) ng-+ II. In .Gnng t .Gun 'pmduce': t h s change i s widqmad espxidly when preceded by the long vowel m. I t m r s more s p w a d i l l y dter slwn a w d other vowels, e.g. sciw-mihng 'life' may be p r ~ n w m d a ~m-mihg.This Fhange mum m n y v m d s

(0

to b e m e homo~lyms.e.g. srSarig 'dim' sounds idemthl to siron 'hlv and sOn Mng-mihg hew life' warld he pnmoumd as $anmikng (we1-1-3)-

Note that the last three changes(f-h) all i n v o h replacementoFthe velar m a 1 ng. I f brought to m + r i m , they m l d wentually lead to tlle losg uf Illin swlld TIUII l11cI U I ~ U U ~ .

2 WORD STRUCTURE: MORPHOLOGY AND WORD FORMATION Morphdogy is noncemed w t h the internal structure of rords - their form and campifion. &tones? would be described rypolopelly m an iwlailng languap, following a M i t i o n developed in the nineteenthEentury nnd m ~ ~ l r v r i wby x l S q i r (1971).

w h m h y Irm@impmp rl* XP mflecti~lal.agglutim~rgw isolating in tlleir w r d amre. Chinex in general, as Sapir noted, is one of the best mnmples of tlle isolating there m l~nle,i f any, inflertinn, wrl e h syllaMe la n menningh~lform (morpheme) in its own right. None the k s , the pucity w simplicity oT morphotm m Chinese has often k e n mwgmted. prtly as a result vf cwnparimn with Eumpean languages and partly through the perception that emdl written c h m t e r r e w r i t s an indewdent word. The dm that words are single syllabls has been termed the Mwmyllalnc Myth by de Frm& (19841, while there are few inAecriol~s w deriwtwnd affixes. rodupliwtion and compounding have been neglecred. Reduplmtion reders to the proces whereby a morpheme is repeated so that the orignal mtrrpl~emetc@her with itg +tion form a new word. Reduplication i s pnicubdy complea. applying to several prts of -& and performinga number of d~stincl g a m m tical fundim. Compwnding i s also a very productive meam of forming mns, ve& w d adjectives. Broadly Mnecl, i t w f m to the pmwss that puts two or more rncrphemes togetl~erto form a single word. h e morphemes are free. i.e. they. can independently as a 4while m l m are bound. i.e. they cannot occur independently but kto attach to anofher morpheme. There are three man meam by which words me h d in Cantone4e:

m:

-

(a) nffixation (prpfiwes and solRxes: 2.1)

(b) duplication (douM~ngd words or syllables: 2.2) (c) curnytlvndillg (&LIIG;II~I;VII cd imdcpnldtl~l( V I U I ~h Cu1111 a -11plex word: 2.3)

2.1 PREFIXES AND SUFRXES F'refmm and suffixes are 1wm11ybolmd fomcr which do not occur indepcndently. P r e M are attached to the beginnings ofmcxpkmm and d i k e s m the ends of morphemes. However. whal we comider as and suffixes in Cantonese may sometimes m a r as independent f a . Thus

116u-di 'good to look atk&

they m quite versatile m p m d with affixes in other hguages. Cantonese has relatively few prefms and a small number of mffixes used to derive related rwrds from stem. These are l i e d and illurnred in alpl~abeticalorder below. 21.1

PREFIX=

*@

to w

M u d h k ' g o d to eat' hau-mbhn 'n-ell~ng' hbii4r1'frinny, smrdng'

and k i t d i p terms. denmng familiarity

su-e Gik) a - U i 'Mr Lai'( h i l i m note charged tone of a-Ying (familiar rorm names such as M&-Ymg) *mbh ' p d m h e r ' a+ 'elder broth& a-yi 'aunt' ( a h w d generically by children for adult k a l e fnends)

fdan- 'ant-', 'counter-' form verbs, adjectives and nouns:

Ihahnxhsk 'unpredictable' Ilahndlng ognhmble' jth- 'msy' fomK ndj&

cmnteF*tt&

' m u n t e r ~ P(verb)

meaning

yih-tgi

' a s y to read, readable'

meam 'old' literally but when used as familiar t m s d address

)&A-

(20.2). the literal meamng is lost: buh-ydr~h'mate, hirlrly' 16uh-@h 'wife. hooey' (collquial)

The negative prrfix m- is d d e $ to adjectives and verbs:

f&m-waih tmtomsdl Yeel&k' (verb) fh-min tumfaoe 'hang countenawe, rum against m

m-syftfuhk'unmmfortable. sick' mpeidtik *Torget' (lit. 'not remember') d l d ~ a ' 1k1 ~qualird' 1 e n 4cw' (lit. 'not see') e

' (verb)

ap f m m-is distind f m n the negative fib marlimg mmce mh. althwgh the distimcm may be d h h to make in 1ndividua1mses (see 13.1). ~ r exm@e, w verbs p ? l i x d with m- may lake the a s p 3 marker@ whirh k iinmmpntihlc wth h h (1 1.2.4):

(zdj.)

NMh mgn-jb jek g8u.

faan-buhn

I

bPFVCLdo& 'I lost my d w '

p 1 t-

'rebell~oud(adj-)

burner-1'

. . . able':

Ibhn-mbhng 'unfbrgeAable' Ibahn-dn 'hard to find'

with the

yih-win %asy to find'

L6uMnn 'W hh-giing 'bed.hubby'

fhn-@I

fin-gHt turn-bone - a i l .-h--

Ibahn-t5i 'ugly' lhahn-&g 'W-sounding' lbahnsihk 'bad-l&ng Ihhn-mhhn Melly'

IIrahn- alsn forms negative adjective m i n g u n

is n prpfix used with n(20.3):

Q-

fam-gin*

&--g

(noun)

I ~ u - I ~ u I I ~' ~ ww G ~ ~ z ~ f (- w t fn f)d

fsan-mihn 'opposite side. reverse' (noun) h& 'able' fmms adlectives:

MPhn 'pitiabk' Wwu'detestable'

hM$hng m i b l e ' h & k m teliable'

hh ngoi 'lwsble. olte'

h b p' d d M '

h&- *good-and ,%?dm-'difficult' wim verbs of perceprion form adjxtives w t h w i v e and negative wnnotahms rrspectiuely:

y61
Uih mgeidsk-j6 U17 yw forget-PFV PRT 'Haw you f~~gotten?'

+ noun, literally 'having [a property, amibute]' d CHJIJ;II~

is a very pmductive

ad~tivu:

$uh-tin-fahn hamheavzn-prtinn Talented. gifted.

yiuh-hohkmahn time-knowledge

'lemd, culture&

ysuh-w"' hmayle (person)

'styli&

All t

k forms can take degret modifiers such m h h 'very', @ 'quite',i

etc.;

di

yhh-tfwfahn

qrllre b e h e w m p o r t i n n 'quite memed, g3ted' dub, the negative fmm of ybuk (15.4), forms djdjedives similarly

baahwfmt

yuhngfaat

solwway 'solution, way wt'

Y"usage,way of Using*

-friar a

h q p r s in a discontinuw sequence with dfm Cvp~~ng) 'how' and gim Cw%mg) 'thk way' In &scribing or questioning a &te d being w the way an &ion i s performed.

Ng6h h6u &~qHi hi3h ktrnh t h leng I much want see DEL her how prertr 9 very much want to see how k u t i f u l she really is.'

M. way

KCulh

a h Jfn@ lClh lam a? !$h 'e how tnck you way PRT 'In whd way did he trick p?' -grS '4H' i s a personal suffix. demoting a spGa1ist in a field: jW

21.2 SUFFIXES

The major sufFmm are listed d

i

g to their word &.

deih is the plural mffuforming pmnouns, but is not wed with nourn. with the exception of $hn (see 5.1): r @ M e i i 'wetus'

Elh-deih 'you (@tal)"

khihcleih 'they' yihn-deih '(other) pople'

-dmh meam 'degree' f m n g abshad nouns denoting measurements when attachd to adjectives:' @-hlh

t31ldegm

chhihnml~h long-*gree

'height'

'length'

Imhndouh

ji-mhg-dwh

dimlt-degree 'level d diffrcully'

km-name-degree 'degree of fame'

tai~faar ==-w-§Y point of view'

naveti*

'special&, expert'

'-list'

d-@ picrum&

wmngohk*

'painter'

'musician'

6hylhn-hhkjg lingu-&

souhhk* mathemt~an

'Ir~guist'

'rndl~ematician'

mlsic-ian

The sufiix -*suggests a oertain distinction, x i these term are not applied

lightly; wdgd. for example. suggm a professional artist rather than an e.g. w y v k k amateur. jya@ may be w e d by the field of -nix. jymgij

mumuom wrr.

forms names oT relighs (cf. below, dimmion of -jyw '-~m' which f m s d i i f m t iddrg-m);

-gaau '-ism'

t3iink-gaau Christ-ism

'Buddlism~'

'Cliriata~~ily'

H d n m &nfuciusim

Buh-w T&

'Confuciani'

'Tagism'

Way ofthinking'

Yandouh-psu

Mhhhn+pau

jmkfaat do-way k q of doing things'

India-ism 'Hinduism'

Mormon-ism 'Mormonism'

method': W k W 'way of sp5aking'

si~syutgs

BuWheim

-fwrI whikh as a wum meam 'law', serves cs s suffa, meaning %my,

gllll&i%t

F

spmalin

lhfnnl think-way

Faht-pau

-@ 'mhine' is a prductive suffix whiih continues to form new words:

28 Cantcneser a wrrprehensnFe grammar sei-yT-g&

Su-y%wgEi

washclaha-machime 'washing machind dihnsih-g hlevklon-m&ne "television set*

m-sound-machine Wio' luhkylng-i

~~~~~mahine 'video cassette recorder'

Wordsaudure 37 -jf m

n obligatwily in a m a l l number of wordx

leuht-ji 'che41ut' jhg+L 'seed' hhn-ii1-' ke-jf 'eggplam' (yst) fa1111-ji'a member'

yin-ji ~ w a l m v T sJ+ 'lion' hai-jC 'Aopidi' faat-jl k h t h , m e t l d h i - j i'scallop'

*hnjrn-gEi laserdim-machine fm-machine 'la~r-diw:player' Yaw machine' -hokkformr names of freldc of study:

Wfih another gmup of words, -j€is optional:

& m i - h o h k 'widogy' sarnlfihhohk "py.chodm id-hohk -phil-y' mal~tl€ih-hohk'physim' &hk 'mathematics' ycjhyihn-hohL 'linguisti' -jdiis a dirninutim suffix. X-jm: maning 'little X':

j y Q i forms n a m e of ideologies or principles:

fig++

bihE-jdi 'baby' swjhi 'hkleP

mSau-jA; %.;lla~' t6i-)SE 'little table'

16uhpbh-jC 'lime wife' ( a h slang for 'girlfriend') hd@ing-jC 'husband. hubby' (allso slang for 'boyfriend')

-jrii is also sumKed to m e s . typically suggesting intimacy or Fnmiliirily as with thr namm d children and teen id& Fmt-@i (the film star Chow Yun-Faat) Wah j B i 'Andy Boy' (the singer Andy Lau Dak Wah) -pis an agentive slrCfix also u d in Mandarin (ye). indiwtinga personwho perforns an &ctim. S i M ij6 t3uhfl ja Pmtfft-person invea-pmwm 'demonstrator. protesterr 'inwsc#' daaikwh-j€ "rry%erm-Pmn 'carrier of a dim'

hohkja

bmd-person

htmhr'

-jtis the Cantonese w t e of Mandarin -zi. but is not used as widely as -zi in Mandarin, which serves primarily to g+e a word two syllables:

Canfu~dpm r(ri

dang hhaih mah t beih(-@)

Marrduhk zhUa-d &ng-zi

We'

aezi

?.he

ubzi

3mk.

bl4

'nose'

'std

saam M r u h m 'three: dies' lail+(j~mmple' m6uh rnihn ji pr mduh m h he hoe' (mole the t m h g e ) p~hngchhn-jflyi cummune-ism 'mmulriun'

kMijysyi --ism 'soeralism'

I & ~ ~ ~ g l d ~ k ~ ~ i ykhnmtihjytiyi enjoy-pleasu~m perfect-ism 'perhimism" 'hedonism' d h i is the female l e n t m y a n of -jdi for h u m n tenrrs:

Wh&l€ui 'hby gifl ffi-ltni ' h r i k n i r l ' (lit. 'Rower-g~rl')

sailouh-lhi '@Is' (children)

-1Su is a colloquial suffur fw males, combining with nourn or a d p c t l w : !gvt6~1&1

de%w "(wdem) foreigner'

hiMaph

%pie=-+"' 'lng dmt'

flubchin-laU p-mo"ey-p"y guy' fingdi-b Wind-wter#

' v a n w '

-pbh is the h a l e oounterpan of -k

&ivbh doil-woman ~t0re;p(wedem) wom3i-1~

mi3ikyihw@h modiatelmm-wcm3n 'matchmaker'

daaih-thh-p6 big-sm-mch-man ' p r e p n t m a n ' (metone change: pdh baat-pbh (vulgar) eigllr-woman ' ~ ~ owoman, sy p~$' (d.b m t - g m "y3

+po3

word shuctue 39 4 denote an oganimtion: chEut-an-& 'publisher' If31ill-Wmg-dh 'uavel agency' -fi h f c a m s . oontrasring with w mnre spanallzed epert~wpemse:

+ (KCo

h ) which implim

keh*

ride-er

'@key' r4pi n plane-ist 'pilot" dlitgak1 design-

'designer'

-sing us w independern wad meam -mmre' or sex'; it mlnnes with d i e r e n t p ~ r bof speeEh to fwm ahtract noum denoting the nature or state of k i n g of the atem: +big a t t d e d to adjdjedives:

n&iih-him ' r l a n ~ m i f i - n&$ih-hid- 'dart@ juhngyiu 'important' + juhncyiwing 'importance' yihm-julmg 'scrim' + yihm-juhng-sing &riouswss'

-sing a t t d e d to verbs: @a + fit311 H 1 ) g memory' M l n + d m i h w s ~ ~'bwnclness' ~g

'(p)

n d u h 'mother + m6uh4ng m h e r l y nature' @hn W m n "4yihn-sing 'humn nature' sau 'lxast' sawsing 'beastly (animal) nature' muhk 'wood'4muhk-sing '& nature' &i W c P &~+ilig 'aqua(&

-

4ng alm forms adjectives in other

"bone'

W Ltone' 'hwr' 'steamed b r e d 'm' (mot v e g e m e )

-thh is a h lsed to hplace -s m miliri!Mn (7.1 1: Cenmn@se

m-tiuh &huh ngoih-t3uh dllhn-tiuh Ituth-E~uh

Mandark zhtiitnu nki-tcu whitou qidntw

Iltou

Many words with &h

flub have p-table' y6uh hme

have

'this .end" ?kte d 'cmtnde' 'in front' 'Inside-

m b i n e with ~riuR to form a d j e c h s :

t&t$uh see-]lead

y5uh l&-rA&uh have think-head 'full of (good) id='

pai-tluh style-head

$uh lb&-&uh have comehead 'have fancy hckgrm~nd'

'Mi,classy' #uh

and l o c a l m , as an alternative

cheuk4uh fmture-hmd

'full of attmxtive f e r n , marketable'

-sing anached ro nouns:

-

Cuntonesp .Wandwin gwat(4uh) pi~ou muhk(-tbuh) mutax sehkt-tbuh) shitou jIlng(-thuh) zlwngtw maalmduh dntou wuh-tau yi~tou (narc ~m h g )

-

( w e adjeaival &a).

- r M m q m n d s to Mandarin -IOU, heing rebted to r k k 'head' and applying to x&ms Mkpditems. As with the suffa. -ji above, the distribution in Cantonese and Mandwin $ws mt dwap wind&. In many words wllich in Mandarin requ~rethe suffix -m, the Cantonese -rd~this optional: in &hem. both Mandarin and Canronese require the su&

The Lct that C a n r o e m k e s Isfi mrensive use of the suffixes -jf and -rd~rhthan Man& d w s d -ziand &u d a t a to Illt: wnl* ill 1hlt-s a11d final m n m a m s . Mandarin has lost m n y of the fmal mmmmts which are ~ e r in dC a m . w d has iwr ton- moppcsedto six In Cantonee. Hem-, Iluz ptublatt 4 LMmqdI(dkl~t;dl-mddid*-1 b mime severe in Mmdann: the addihm of suMrxes compensate for UISS (Li and Thompson 1581: 44). Cantonese i s thus not under m much pressure to W d Iromophony by having dnyilabic wwds as Mandarin is.

&i is a M m ad-.

x dwith r e d u p l i t e d adjectives m d ?hiveverbs. Used a the resulting fol m has a dirninuhe meaning sim~larto '-ish':

I I

agdt4ng chbhnwhhn +e 'uiCim cycle' h&hmhhclci

rnashn Yaw‘-

sng-F3w

itchy-wish

'a little itchy'

scared-xared-sh 'a bit scamd'

mihng4ngdG

jFpd€i

understand-understand-bit ' u n w a n d rwghly'

know-know* 'know a tit' (about facts)

stun&n&i

zii-d.-&i

bdieve-belieue-bit 'believe: a bit'

knowknow-bit ' k m a bit' (a-

4%a t t d d to nouns:" l i h W m g ge sihhHk histor-ic LF moment 'a L ~ ~m~ i ~ ' i c chybhn-kbuh4ng n@ih@i whole-world crisis 'a 1aisis'

8 prrson)

Note the tone h g e of the semnd reduplicated elemenf (1.4.2). Reduplicated adwith the sufh & rnw a h l x used as adverbs

geihseuht-sing (ge) mahnlhih tcchniqw LP pmhlem 'technical problem'

IRih 6 h h W i fan IS. )Ql gl o ~ ~ - i sdwp h PRT

gmijit-sing p behng seam LP illnes S e a m 1 illness'

' S l q well.' N@h &kG jiingyi ni s5u @ Fk. I so+& like this CL song PRT -1'm not roo keen on thrs mg.-sik Style' forms

verbal s ~ o c e s '-, -ify' b a causative sufh forming verbs from nouns and adjectives:

W i e d to furniture, d i n g , etc:

-fa $0

-2 'coloured' is used with mIwr rerimwhen they Mually denote whurs:

mhg& 'red'

h a & 'bk' Ihahrn-sik 'blue'

m h M n g behng slvw dk?lk 'chmnic disease'

luhk-slk 'green'

The &x -$Fk is not uPed in the numerous m e t q h r k t and idiomatic uses of d o u r words, such as hdk meaning 'dark, secret' as In hik n i %lack market' and kirhng 'h,fashionable' as in daaili hZrhrng flhn, litelally "big red perron', i.e. 'smr' (in enterlamment cirdes, politia. etc.).

I

with nouns:

f&fa

dihnl6uh-h

me-sutta.

wmpurer-lze

'incinerate, crernete'

-complte~ize'

heikehk-fa drama-ize 'dramati~e'

-sing combine with different Btema to form adpctives functioning like -y in lucky and -aI rn in seasonal (we also 4n.q fwminp ahrtrad n o h s under 'Nwn wfies', ahme):

En#!

-

-sing attached to djeuivcs:

ngdr 'malig'

ngdc+ing lk malignant tumour

knaliiarn turncur'

c h hb

ugly-icc 'make ugly'

Wordsbucase 43

in& cPten with the +ng amsrmction ( c m p m b l e to Man$arin bd: 8.3.1) bemwe they are rwt used transitively:' j E m g HEungg6ng mhnthih gwokjsi-Fa. government pur Hongkmg pmblem ~nternarionakize 'The govmmear h Inmatlbnaliing the Hm&mg q e ~ o n . ' Jingf6

g gin sih fiwhpfa? why pc~t TL mutter cmnplicate 'Why c o m p l i t e the matter?' Dfm@ai h

(9.13, may be infixed intonot only single morphemes but also morpheme boundaries, compound wwds m d phrases

a single rno'pknx

#with

-

kuhnjeuhn t l e u h n - m + h n 'downrighl clumf gihbhn m, stingy' gu-@i-hbhn 'downright h g y ' y u h k m n 'ugly' 4 yuhk-gdi-spJn 'downright ugly'

- g m f I b e l ~a stml (e.& a verb) and another afF~(e.& a

Verb forms with the mfix -fa m n also tunchon as nwm, m m q m d i n g to nominalimrrons In tnglish:

keuih ~5i-gw8i-jb h6u loih la. slhe di-I-PW very l q FRT 'He died a long time ago.' (Didn't you k n m

Janggwdc ge yihndoih-fa China LP m o d d m

i n v d m n t LP plural-ize

Di

'Ch~na'smodernimion'

' p l m l i o n of invemhmrs'

auhji

ge

whn-fa

In addition, the asped marken @n. jyuh, @. gwo. ht%(w ch. 11)would be regarded sutunder most criteria. In prricular. they am bwnd fwms (i.e. they may not occur without s uerh), and may rr4 be separated from verb? Verb1 parhcles (l1.3), by comrast, do not behave comistently s w f h x e s : although m l l y oecuning directly after the verb whrch. they modify, they m y be separatd from it by the negatrye mk or the modal h-k:

Ng6h bi5ng mh d h 1Cih. I help not V-PRT y ~ 'Ican't help you.'

or 1

N&h Wng l&h mh d6u. 1 help yw not V-PRT ? mn't help yw."

A few v&-prtjde combinmons mtra be seprated in this way, e.g. syij . .MI w d d f g . . mhn%laate':

Mi k i h s i k gwai

ear

saai h.

devil all

FRT

The d hhave been eaten up by him.' (Toobad. notlling left for yw.) -@with

oompound vmmk: 4

da-pwai-ybh rnll-dwilentra % damn ms& of time'

ma-@h what-stuff 'what'

+

mB+-y€hlkihp? whatdeuil+mff PRT what on earth is thk.1'

li&h

+

Wn~gdih? which-dnil-place 'where on earth?'

*ybh rnucr1zrha b waste of time'

whiil-plm Svhere'

@.may be

Mher expl& words. m y more offensive than the r e l a t i d y mild be used in infUred similarly. Gwdi is rery vmwtik and

Kkuihdeih qii d8k MI. they lose can up They can afford m lose.' N&h ding inh m n g6 jahm I b a r not V-PRT that C L '1 can'r m d that smell.'

mihn

CL & by him

w mad@:

many other con-

meih. smell

in 11.3 are thus clearly not suftixes. a l t h q h The verbal prticles -bed MUIwritten rts w h in thc Yale s p t m .

Gu$i ji

dwil know PRT a l l y tlw d ~ ; knows.' l (i.c. I d d t know.)

M i tRh jI

ah?

devil not know PRT 'Only the devil d o m ' t know.' (i.c. Ereryhdy knows.) mhnp I&% heui! J t ~ i l with ~ l s u go 'Only the devil will go with yw.'(i.e. I won't go with p u ) M i

In colloquial Cantonese certain arords may be infixed inside a m w p h m e (stern). The expletive M i '&I, gk&, llsed to emphasize adjectrves

such as q&m for rhetorkal etTects: re?

word smchm 45 m&ty& 'what' (17.3.2) may he inserted into oompwnd w m k . especially m m w n d s , with the meamng ' W h do wv rneanT w 'What's the poim?' to achieve a certain rhetorical effect:

B: 5ik-sii-dei je. know-know-ish PRT 'Just a little.' Dkctiond verbs (8.3.2): @uhn&hk

.tist-fd' + &~hn~-sPuhng-lohk-

LI*h:

Ni paaih these days mg$h (often shortened to mF& or M)can alm be Mowed by gwrii in all wntmts: morwver. the w h l e cmqAex infix ma-gwli-yPh, whweby $mir cs m n mr-and -ym, can be mnxed prducnvely. Ihe tdknang mdem illletrate different pmsihilities: Chwnpmt(y€h)-pSi@? sing?vhatdevihong 'What do you mean. singing?'

CheungmBt-gwfiiyel-@?

An-imqflh)-gw5ii-slm a? indimewhatdevil-hean PRT 'What do yw mean. bimd?'

Mtgw5i-@I-@m a? i n d i ~ h a t ~ l - s t u f f - h e a PRT rt 'What do y w mean, hi&?'

sing-what-dev~l-wuff-wmg 'What do you mean. singing?'

In some Hher rhetorical expesims. with a different mmnce-finaI particle:

@

Gwsan lEih matye1 sih a? m m you what husiness PRT Tt's none of )pour WEB.'

can be suhtituted for m-rph

Eih gw5i m i ah? concern p u &vil bmimess PRT 'It's nme ofyour hvsiness.'

+ Gwiian

2.2 REDUPLICATION Reduplication, the doubling of a word or sflakde. is a characteristic a d productive feature of Ca~~mese. It is particularly important in the mod~ficationof adjettiws (9.2). H-, many wrrrd c l a m can be duplicated:

-

Jek-jek (maau) &u leng. (Eat) all p r e y They (the ~ l sme ) all pretty.' SJWWwrfu (8.1.2): sik 'know'

h h l b h n g6ng p. ( d i o ) very hard say PRT 'Tlrwe d+s sham are g h g up and h w n , it's hard to say.' Adjeaiw~19.2):

dl\

-+

. . -.

s"h-&l

silly-~lly-ish h t h e r mlly'

wan

-

&n-wind& dkydky-ish 'a little dizzy'

Spseui + srlp-s8pseui 'trivial' or ~ p s s p p e u k r u "miscellanwus' i Ccinpre the following:

YHt g~ yuht gsau s.4 b m k mtim @l&h one CL month pay fwr hundred ddlars management

$. PRT 'hying four hundred dollan of management fee p r month is ~Mdihd~.'

Ii,l d u

dp-dvul

fee vmy !tivial

N&h y h h k u CIFI tSp&+wi#ni ge #h yiu dam. I have wry many miscellaneous LP stuff need dump 'I h w a kd of miscellaneous stuff that I need to dump.' As these examples show. the fudm of reduplication are h a e m p e o u r r . TI iypiCally Writ$ 16 mud;$ the ~ i af the~umd. as g ill the GX d adjectives, but reduplicatmn of classifiers demes quantification. Reduplication also occurs in A-nd-A questions (17.1 2). h d u p l i t i m &n musts a changc of tnnc. I k d u p l i c d adjceFircs wirh the m x 44 take the changed tone on the m d reduplicated

syllahle (1.4.2):

+ &-snide7

A. LCih & - h M ~ ~ I yw know-nor-know slide'Do yw h o w how to ski?'

@piu s€ung4un~lohk-lohk. C L share &3rlSe-d@mp

-

J

' h o w a liule':

=? U I PRT

Rih Lt

4

Gh-fM fat-m-kh 'rather fat'

~

A diminutive farm of verb is a h formed by reduplication and tone change. in this affecting the first reduplicated syllable. These f o m

word me quivulent to (oroontractions of) the mnstruction [verb -@? - verb] (sae 11.2.6):

yh-rn m

w+yat-Sou --t S b - m U hs-

-

These exprewith sehg form n w r y prcdric?ive pwnern and rrmy f u m i o n synktically as verb, m n s or adverb, erc.:

*-A

IRih jouh m a K i +hmyging4q a ? (verb) d01 whaf here rnumhle-mumble-mse PRT 'What are you mumbling for?'

munt-nne-rmlnt 'have a count' Similar@with h k n g W :

tii-lhlmgtfti 'take a mu+ of looks' @ n g l f u h n g + n g 'exchange a owple of words'

-

Rcdypliratirm a h m r s in lhc & ocrm m ia [adjcctivt -)GI adjecti.~] which serws to e m p h a s i ~ the adjeaive, and the ccmtcdon ofpa caum the first adjediw to change tone: cMh fit ddh late me late 'wry late'

-

chfMh

Wngseun c M d h diW meihgei dw. CL lener late-late stifl not mail am= T k letter hasnr arrived though it's very la@ aheady.'

Ft

~h yeh late n ~ g b i one 'very late m night' Go h i

kwk-knwk-swnd

kbh-k&&g chuckle-chuckl-nd "make) a chuckling mnd'

3 my'

&@it&

gohk+keng '(make) a knocking m d '

si-ySt-si--t s k i

"ablmh'

$7

- **

+yeh

d m meih fm iikkei. lwtyet back h m ~ 'My daughterstill h m ' l returned home thou@ it's so late at night.'

a dilvghttr l8wlak $till

leng yW leng 4 Ihg-leng %ry beautiful' Wuili dAhn1rh &u I t ~ ~ - k n t g s711 l ~ u ipukifi. she groom till pytty-pw then go date 'She makes b I f up lxmn~fuflykcfore going on a date.'

Reduplicatmn also appears in rnwmtopxk e q m f s h , often with tone changed the sarmd syllable (see 1.4.2): ngfthng-ngbngmg murnble-rmmble-I& '(make) a m u d i n g noid

N@h ychmashn e n g d6u di gohk-&&ng. (noun) I evening hear V-PRT some k n m k - k d - s o u n d 'I heard a knncking m n d at n~ght: K h i h @hng-I@g h h s h g yahp lsh. (adverbial) mumhle-mmhle-noise so walk in oome 'He ~ a m ei l l making a mumbling noise.'

slhe

Go Mhbi siu d m Mh--8(resuhmive mmplement) CL haby laugh till chuckleshudile-swnd KFllr baby in d ~ m k l i ~ away.' ~g Further rypes of reduplication o m l r in b d q d l k register, the language m mrl m d hy small h i l l ; in prticular- the @ect of vwb-ohjm w m p n d s may be reduplicated: heui @ti* ge street-street 'goout'

yhn Inai-lfiai drmk milk-mrlk

lmhk lei-lei

fm+uhgsu

Eatch h i i h i d e Play hide and mk'

*P'

'drink milk'

or ganuh-@su-jyl

Children also reduplicate c o r n n m s (tMt-tMt-gdu 'doggie-d kinship terms, as in yi-yi'aunhe', @h)@ 'grandpa', eC. An idiomatic type of trduplicatim involves the pottern verb - @ verb - mtih or adjedive -gmii - adjective - mih which is quite pmdrrtive in wlloquid f i i ~ t o n e s for e rhetorical pl~pixxs: ~ - + w ~ ~ t h ; - , d i t ,,m n ; ~ h i i &U ,,A; IEA I& (GI,,,~ pckvil-phwse PKT anywhere also m-need go PRT 'What's the point of ping? T h m ' s n o need to anywhere.'

48 Canfflnese: a comprehensive mmnar

Word sbmlure 49

S i h k g w f i 4 h k - d h mi?? Lihn ySt yW d6u m h h . eat-devil-eal-hwse FRT wen m e dollar also rot-have T o way to eat. Haven't got a dime.' pehng B maaih Mi l&h a? dkxp Iril x l l Lu ytu PRT 'Did she sell (it) to you at a Eheaper prim?'

A: Keuih y6uhuhm6uh dlc: lia-lwl-limc

B:

Rhng-gw8i-p41ng-mdh, jvhng gwai+ flm. cheapdevil-cheap-horse still eqmwive-W PRT 'Nor only ilocheqxr but w e n mexpen*ve.'

23 COMPOUNDING Very b m d y defined, amrpounding is the ownbinnth of two or more independent morphemesto form a single new 4. the meaning being not always predictable. For exampk, chring-!?uhng ' w a s h 4 = showerrand

23.1 COMPOUND NOUNS In c o m p n d w u n s the head noun (of which the compound denotes a type) m;ry appear in either inihal or final position. The following mmplm have their head in the final pasition: pu-dim wineshop 'h*l'

$u-lbuh

$hn-lihk person-mngrh 'mm-power'

maht-lihk materialmgth

hEung-hi Tragrmt-water 'perfume'

hEung-pln fragrant-lmf 'Jasmine (tea)'

h6-g -harbour 'h-r'

h6i+ng

wineflat ~tislnarnt'

TBWTCe5'

sihk-)?In -eat-ripreue = m k e ' rre owrjpwnds -e they refer to sill* events and behave like single words in the ways d e m i i d helow. In oontrast, chijng cbdh 'make lea' and srhk yarkk W e medicine' are not wnsldered compounds but treated as a phrase wnsistiq of a verb and a

Snme crmrprrundnnunti like fnnd and animal re-

diraa ob*.

In the initial pc6itions (rree Y-S. Cheung I W ) :

In Cantonese, as in Endish. compwnding is a very pmduaive means of fmminp nollnn. n d k h mrl v d r i Thpre m. M m i t - ~ r d d r yww to differentiate compounds from nm-compwnds regardless of what criteria one invokes; the controversial linguistic issues related to m m p n d i n g in Mandarin are diwsped in Li and Thonpm ( 1 9 1 ) k l o w we d w s s t k pmpetries of ~ompwndsa&ng to their pns of speech. Nouns (2.3.1):

Adjectives 0.3.2):

g-&h l e m d 'holiday' g0u-h rall-1'tall and sturdy'

Verbs (2.3.3): glm-cahlate 'estimate'

SVutgwih mow-cu~rd 'idrigerator'

h8k-baahk Mack-white %lackd-white'

sea-vlew 'w~iew'

h a w their hewl nnunna

flh-mg Wraw 'raw fuh'

bi9hk-m pigmat-dry 'pwk jerky'

chni-@m veptahle-dq Ury vegetable'

ngiruh-yrihke mmeat-dry 'beef jerky'

e-gUng chicken-male

chicken-female

TcmXer'

"chicken'

iuo-sm

jy iyo-ra

pi~inale 'mde pig'

@la

pig-female 'female p i g

hahppk unitework

Note t h a i the Mandarin coumerp?rmof the animal nouns have the m e w

"w'pemte'

order,e-g..

In addition. v&-c@m compounds wch as diu-yd 'atchhsh = fishing' are h~ghlyprodudive (see 2.3.3.8.2-4).

WEB

male-chiin 'mterer

mu-ji femalhcken -rhiikrn'

&i-b%k w e s t n m 'northwest'

Other examples with the k a d in the initid pos.rion: fih4u rest-hand 'handmil, annrest'

Note the m&r northhlth.

A m m m fature ofwmpound nouns is the change oftone, whereby if

+

the sewnd element of a compound orighally has a low-register .or mid level t m , it h g w the midhigh rising tone (see: 1.4.2):

(c) n m adjective. jihselfprivate

ji 'reswrce' + Iluh 'material' 4j$Ifa 'data. informatition' j m @ m 'middle' + yihm 'person' +jhngg@m+m 'middleman' As in En@ @en h d w g&lmetse, where the change to a single

-

'AM' thh-ngoh stomach-hunger

shas indicates that the compwnd f u n d m ss as angle word, the s e d element of the &tonee conlwm~dloses its original low-register tone to shw,thw it 1s m longer an ~ndependentword. f h r p u n d nmn5 may also be formed by raking one syllable (not n e m a r i l y the first) from each of two hisyllabic nwns:

-

Hmngg6ng Slup + M g + 'Miss Hongkmg' Ajzu Slup A jt 'Miss Asia' HEungpMg Daaihhohk 4 G6ngdaaii 'Hrmgbq Uniwrsity' JCi~rgmbhl~ h i h h o h k + Jfingdaaah 'The Chinese University" This is primarily a deviw

of

wrirten Chinese, much used in political

CMltexps:

Jurrg-Ghg mahntzh 'the ChinwHmghmg q u ~ i o n ' (bunggmk 'China' + Hhnggbng 'Hongkong')

of the points d the w s s , emthest wmirrg before

'hungry'

+ n w n t adjective: chi-Sm hSk4rn crazyheart black-heart 'infatuated' 'malichm'

fa) adjective

slusSm small-hemt 'careful'

fB-am varying-hean 'philaldering'

adjeaives m y be j u x t a p e d to form an (b) adjective + adjective: adjective expressing a oomhination of chamerirtics:

h&u-hur~~g-hul mouth-thirstneck-thim ~ h i i '

23.3 VERB-OBJECT M3MPOUNDS I

Tl~r.yrvi imrvrpmdirnm vi d~&&t (* 82.4) in a crcm p o u n d verbs, known as vd+b+t wmpr*lndr;. The resulting m e m ing .often does nor fully reflea that of the object. mrresponding to an intrmsitive vcrh in English: duhk-S* study4~wk Wdy'

G q

h-g-huh walk-mad

@uh&ui swirwter 'swim'

'walk'

Adjecrives are farmed fpom various mmbinatioms:

jiidaaih self-big 'armgant'

jau-mkifiuh wrinkkyebrm

Trown' In cdher mes the ambination hm predictable from the two pts:

Iwk-book 'read'

faat-ptihhei

g,"smper an idiwnatic meaning, which in not

haapchw sip-vinegar 'be jedws'

ySmih3h drimk-tea 'have lea' (denotes going to eat dim sum)

j5u-tbhng leave--

'skip c l a w '

52 C a r t o m : a mmprehensiw g a m m a chEut-mhu wt-r;at %heat' (in examinations, etc )

Nu @ chi Mhng leave a-few time cl& 'skip d m s few times'

Mi-

(d) certain idiomatic verbobject m between the verb amd nwn:

open-kmte ' ~ C U t m ~ t i G n '

~

n may & take a1-

object

ng6h Whhei produce me anger 'get angry at me' hi

sihkydhn-faahn eat&-rice 'live off s m a n "

Despite the close relationship between verb m d object suggested by Mi meanings, these wmpounck may be separated in v a k conlexts:

(a) qmt mnrkers mdverbal prticla (1 1.2,11.3) mbetween the verb a d ohject: duhk-@-Hudy-PROG4xd

The) awl%' y8ukh&&i swim-DEGwater 'have a swim'

duhk-@hnsy[l studyfinish-book 'finish studying' @uh-faan-& swimagain-water

'go swimming again'

(t+ certain d ito thz noun may be inserted:

9uh-fi-dui wimearly-wzaer -gofor a morning swim'

y5mhah-nihehiih drink-nfter~~oon-ten 'have afternoon tea'

ddm khih simmer him mush'&~im hill\' ( t m p l o ~ )

(e) the m p o u n d r

he split up hy tt.q5raIiing the W

t (see 4.2). e.g.

duhk-sryii 'study': yatdihng yiu duhk d8k h6u %n wAn hnnk +finiWly npprl 'il~irly ARV wll fimt fird Syii

d b hiru guns. V-PRT good job "You muy study well in order 10 get a good job.' ylk-nsdh 'emigrate':

heui-yeh-gaai gn-evemngsheet 'go for an evening walk-

Chln m d i @hn g u n dG, mshn jauh yatdihng money nwneed eam so much emigrate then definitely

a h k w yeh-jak 'have eaten I-night wngee' (idiom: meaning to have s e m d me's qpimriceship in a matrid art) =&uhveui swimdry-water 'play malljmg' (idiom: refento motion of mixing h i ) (c) an e x p m s b n of duration or frequency may intervene (82.5): duhk l h h n g go jiin&uh dully tuzl CL hwr 'sludy for rwo h m 7

k h i fiuhy~S fry him squid 'Are him' (employee) (alternarively : ckhasr k#dk ybrr. with tone c h a n ~ )

Ehbu

qii bmk

yiu

flh. (film)

wed emigrate

.Never mind earning money. we have to ernigmte.' f i n - g m 'slaep':

Chbhm-msahn m u h gam h6u fin. (film) Imt-night not-have sleep good slsep '1 didn't sleep well IH night.' -V oompwnds should be dlsnnguished hpm mmpound verb, winch are nc4 separable in any of these ways:

54 C -

a cwnpehemlw grammar

&amdm burden-heart

paanam

mre-Reart

v

'km e d (about)' dn-sihk seek-eat 'make a living'

rsuh-ji

thmw-mrces "invest'

These wmgounds may not be sqmrared. except by the iniixed mdwh 'what' (2.1.3): D B a m m S p B m a? 'Why wwry?* I auh-mstyeh-gwsi-ji? 'Why on earth ~nvewl' Certain 6are variable, e.g. w~aiy& 'retire' snd ylhmdkn 'ernigmte' whiih may k sqmratcrl or nnt: tari-j&y% or teuiy8uj6 'has refired' ylhjClmihn or yihmbhnj6 'has emigrated' It shwld be med that verbobject oompounds can function not only m intransitive but also as m u n ph-. They can occur in s u w t and object p i t i q s where noun p k s m r :

Chht-mZau h6u nghihhim cutcat

ga.

very dangmw PRT

Cl~cdik h~ vcmy tlm\g~~q-.~

Ng6h h h d u n g thih ch€ng*m ni yeuhng y9. I not want mention irrvite-drink this CL thing 9 don't w n t to mentmn having a banquet.' When a verb-objeci c o m p n d is sepclrated by a c l d e r or measure phrasc. the i d i i n t i c mcnnings arc ofwn low

Ngshdeih #mjb h h d6 biii chlh. we drink-PIT very many CL tea 'We F e k many mps d tea,' K h i h silk-+

Euhnp. w6n

knt-PFW two hmvl 'She ate two bowls of rice.' the

faahn. rice

W h i i ~dm-chdhas a w+&@t mmpound means having dim sum i d b mahcally, ydm g h hZ &MI refers specilkally to drinking h Similarly, sihk-faahn as a ve&+bjwS w m p n d denotap havhg a MI, sihk giY wlvPtr fmlm refersspecilkally to eating rice.

3 SYNTACTIC CATEGORIES: PARTS OF SPEECH IN CANTONESE Thii grammar is arranged p r i m m i by pmmaricsll categories (pwm d speech. such as nouns and verbs) and sewndarily by functional and mtional categories (action and motinn. oomparison, etc.). Thh grammatml rqa1117Mmn k 1arply fnr mpl rrmv~nipnrp.nf Wwtpm wa+m mi+ romed to the= wregories, and some explanation of the catemies used is d l e d for here. l i k e the m o n m y l l a h i c ~ r othe f lanipurge{see h.I), the difficulty of distinguishing pmts of hin Chinese has often been maggemhi, sometimes eve11 to the p i i t d denyng that Chihm distim parts of sp#ch in the Western sense. Camtvmese is nd very &rent fmm English in thkisrespect. The d u d statusof -hs (3.1.3) as verbs and prepositms has parallels in English: d s such as $ i furdion both as prepmitiom (as in a * I& party) and as mmjunctions (as in n@r WY /&).I Similiirly, the f a a that rn adjmtivm may be used PS verbs. as in$&-p 'ha hemme fatter' IS hardk more remarkable than the f a a that English verbs such as run and cur may k med as nouns. or that box or shell may be used as verbs. Bcdh English and Cantonese allow limited roawrsrSm of one part of spemh to another. H m r , the rwn languags differ with respeu to the range of psihlilities of m i o n . For example, while any verb in Cantonese can a p p r in suqiect and object positions w i h m Ehange in fwm. v m in English generally take on afhes if they are to appear In these positions: cnricix criticism; swim t swrmmnK &stmy +

-

clestruction.

EngIkI1

Swirnmi is good for you. He accepts ywr criticism. The detilvnionofthe ciry is a a d stwy.

Canmm Yhhdi

dmi Kih sSntC Mu. p u r body $ood 'Swimming k g o d f o r yam body.' swim-water

for

K h i h j i p u h ltih ge placcPpt ycu LP criticism 'She accepts y w r criticism.'

s k

56 Cmlonese: a comprehensive gramnar Cantonese a l l m an extreme case m n - a d ~ v mrnpounck e

-

+

Syntd-

of wnversion involving the use of

leng 'good-looking' j6i "boy' lengjsi 'handsome boy' yihng 'stylish' jbi "boy' a yihnpjdi Ltylish boy' k k .clevrr, m a n leui -girl' + kkleui ' c h r girl'

+

+

'lie resulting nouns may he rsed as adjectives, l v h i has no pralleh in

Endish: U i h go jsi gG wi wo! p r CL son quite good-looking FRT 'Ywr yrclly 4 - l w k i n g ! ' K h i h h6u yKhq!jgjB he very gylish 'He's really got styt.'

lm! PRT

The cmnpwnd adjejearvs may k used as v&

to denote change of stale:

Gam loih m6uh gin. lengjii-+5 w! so long m-have sm handmw-PFV FWT I t ' s k e n a while since I saw yw. y w k bemine quite @looking!' LGh &hng go IFkkFui-j6 wol (I7Jad.J you whole C L clever-girl-PFV PRT 'Yw've turned into quire n mnrt link girll' Svch-of~rrprrsentmremwhythepmdspehm difficult m pin d m . iwming a wntrover?ialarea in Chinese linauisk. On the dther had. the u& d proper noun as pdicativr a d j w In Cantonese dwi have parallels in English: U u i h go yhhn h6u a-KTU p1 S/he CL p m very ah-Q PRT 'She i s very aha!' (Ah-Q is a character in Liixiin's mlwtm only a r e s for spritual ~ t i s l c t i o ndespite being regarded by orhen as stupid)

SyntmicaIly, h h o-KLN is wmpclrable to M u lengjdi and n-Kiu can take my degree modifen thd am adjmtivem take. I n English. with n x p i to style or art. brand names arm proper names, tor example, can w r m the same predicative positions:

That suit i s redly YSL! He3 so XO! (TV ad.) Jack and Annie are very k Angeles! Similnr wsn arc pmlble In Mandadn. e.g. rl4nk6ngf&hdng A\lh WE sky is very Greece'. I n these creatim usages the pmper m w sand For charzwmWic pmpenies uith wh~chthey m conventionally associared.

3.1

57

COMPARABILITY OF SYNTACTIC CATEGORIES

The extent to which C h i m pm3m3es the same range d pam of speech (syntwc mtqmies) as the In&-European languages has been tte subject of much disaersion in linguirhm. The Chigmrnmatical M i t i o n recognizes a rather different set of a t e g o n e . Hmvevcr. ior E ~ ~ g l i h speaken i t is clseful to describe the language m terms of the familiar categories d Eumpean languages. n a u(1947: 41) makes some rehalit remarks on this q m o n : While Chigrammar proper should deal only with the ~ r n m ~ c a l f e ~ t u t f f&ch om found In thc Chinw itself, nn En$&qxziklrrg student cannot help k i n g cmvamd h t how English grarnmarical categork will be translazed in Chirme. This is a perfectly healthy of mind, proviM the student remembers the FWI tha cvcry gnmmatical feature d om lamyage does not nemsmily cwr~spondto some familir feature of another langua~.

Thm, while the drapter and section headingsof this book are d & g d to help the reader to find ways ofexpreswq what i s expressed by the relevant English parts of speech. they are not intended as a claim that these cakgorie exkt in Cantorrese; indeed. there are several cases where the equivalence is questionable. 'Ihus, when wz speak of 'adjmtives' we refer to the wwdf which are ehpressed by adjeaives in English and winch may te lhought of zs adjpdlecnves in learningCan-. the t6e of the familiar term does nm, however, imply that they should be regarded m a dktinct category in analping Cantmlvlese on its own terms. The M k n g &ions review the mimportant of t h e q m i o r w of ~ p o i ~ d e n c Iet .will he seen that there are alternatiw view. which occasion some mntroversy within specific mdels and theories of grammar. The arjassion invMvescomplexIinguishc arguments, and hence bcmmes relatively technical at times: readers not wnoemed with g e m 1 linguistics may peterlo p~over thee q m o w and use the famil~arparts of speech hlWlTly af CollWnRnt labels.

The hstinaion between verb and adjmive is wt clearly drawn in Chinese. rt can be argued that hoth bElon8 to a single category of predicats, and indeed in traditional Chinex grammar. adjectives are mated as mtive verbs. Alternatively. verbs and adjecrives m;ry br: hated as q m a k cmegorie; statiw verb are then iiltermediate berween the two. sharing pmpertIeswith both mregories. I n many respects verbs and adjpdjeEtiws behave dike. Bath can take gspeft markers and verbal partick (see ch. 11).

68 Cerrtom: a wmppehensive gamnar AdpCm8

Mi-j6

MU+

paylgiw-PFV 'hm paid1Pi.m'

thin-PFV 'has bemme t h i n k

tai-gwo

l~~-gwO

BEXP

pretty-EXP 'used to be pretty'

'have seen before'

*durn'

h a m fm happy back 'be haWy again'

nhk mi eat V-PRT 'ed up'

Wnpu Sggj ditty V-PRT 'all dirty'

wllnhn firm return k k

These may he seen as cam ofcomw&m. involvingw e d an adjective as a verh to represent a change of stnte. Thc distinction k M c n ndjoctivcg and zhbuc vcrtn i s prtiollmly diPfi cult to draw. Words which might seem to be a d j x t i m can take obi& like trans~tiveverbs, such as the word suhk w s u h k d i k l i m ' and &jPtlng Ng6h mhaih h6u whk k&uih. I ma-be very familiar him 'I don't know him very wen.' !%n

GhgdGk yu

Ktuih h6u Gnjeung di Mi. she very n v n w CL daugRterc 'She's very concerned a* her daughters.' Adjecrims used as pdicates are normally modified by an adverb such m hdfr (see 9.1.2). However, this criterion dws not distinpish adjectives u ~ nddhnwi l 'q~rr', w l l i c l ~inlay ahu

k modified with R6u pronding that they represent gradable mnoepts: h6u j0rigyi

h6u tilhngyi

very like 'very much like'

Very-

'wry much agree'

rurtner. reduplicarion of adjectives with &i stisti= wrh:

SIarirr I& $7k+'k&i, F-ji& 'know a little' m i h n g - d n g 4 'undemmd a

such as qu&ions with extent wmplemena s$kng or slhng (17+3.7)crcaa wlth either v e r b or djdm: Tgiihsh

sP

&IQ

dlm.

m-DEL wash ehtent how 'Let5 see how well it's washed.' T5i-hsh Muih lolg sbbng dim. see-U~L srhe pretr)r extent now 'Let's see.hnw pretty she is.'

To summarize, if verbs and madjectiniuesare f m t e d as disfimrt tategorim. as in this hook, then it mmt be gcknowledged that:

[a) Adjectives and verbs share many m m m chma3mkIia. and may w a r in many of the same constructions. @) I n particular. adjpdjwtives denotingstatesm y be u x d as v e r b verbsoting change of state. (c) Statbe v d x . in Ihenarrow mse lsed here (see 8.l.Z), me mterm* ate kmem verb and adjein their gmmmlical pqxrt-les. 3.1 2 V E W S AND AUXILIARIES

suhksik Ian* rnahntaih. new Werrmr lwed very farniliat-knw China-HK q 'The new p e r n o r must be familiar with the ChineHongkong quesrion.' h6u

rnrm Snlivc =dm. suc11usn lrkg ji'rly'i

M1443blimesi~ &&ch-d6i(+in) -a hit crazy-

(4.2.2) also applies to m e

Whereas English auxihafv verb such as ran and will are distinguished by morphological d syntactic pmpertk. their Cantonese counmpam behave for the n-mit part like m k wrbs.' Functiollally, there are modal auxiliary verb d as wfih will, wwld'. hd@i 'can' (12.1). Unlike other~erbs,they do n d take w d markersw verbal partick, and must he m p a n i e d hy a m i n verb to form a mmplete -ten=. Auxiliwa es used done only when s main wrb is c h r l y given in the wnteht: A Bingo wdlh j i i e ni jung y&hn ge jSk? who would like this kmd p c m PRT PRT ' W I wwld like a p m like that?'

B: K&h

jauh rrMh laak. she then would PRT 'She wwld.'

.A" A-UUII

dmiuyil-s1I1 m11t h u l - d d d v Ah-Levn another-lime sure makemoney 'Leun s sure to make money in the future.'

B:

Ktuih jauh &nghaii dung 1s he t h ofaurse w~ah PRT "He'd like to. of a m . '

GO j&i Ghngyaht Wu CL xm always all

finjywl~

k i h la-dauh.

follow

his

dddd

Them always gws a m d with his dd.'

The cmerhR m y take aspea markers such a s p and verbal prtides such a3 ddu: Whether prepositions exist in Chinese i s a130 an open quesrion. FunEhonally. the rde of prepmitiom in exprepslng r e l a n d p s henveen m I n phraws is played by rwo diit'erent types of d: 'cover% and ' l o c a l i ' (see 3.1.4 below). Covcrbs are so called b u s e they typically arur r q r t h ? r with amher verb the m h and its nhjm wrving to modify the following verb:

Aqmvniurkp~s (11.1)

Ng6h lihrrgg8n

w~th-FROG her 'I'm talking to her ' Ulh

K

Ngdh mhng ktuih paakgsm. I with him date-FROG 'rm going out with him.'

Ng6h gin-hii k h i jwh-~1. with-HAB her &-work ?'m wed w working with her.'

Although the cwmh f d o m like a prepmitional phrare in English. this pttern resembles the serial verb wnstructlon whih is a basie feature of Ch~msesyntax (8.3). The question thus arises whether the coverts llre functioning as prepmitiom or merely as verbs. The main Cantonese wwrb at isue are: -to'(giving) g *for' (helping)

things

hlll-gwu rrgdh UkEl f'an rnelh? at-EXP my h e sleep not-yet e you ever slqd in my hwse?'

Verbol parn'cles (1 1.3) tGhg mh I with mt

Ng#

h

talk

I

Uuih M S &huh ylmpdnmg. she a1 there rake-photo 'She's wer there taking a phdo.'

bM

k € i h g6ng *h.

I

heung - r o r u M (direction) hihng 'with' (topetherwith)

h i70. towards' gan (jjwh) W h , following'

waihub) Lfor the sake of w h 'with. wing'

gihg 'via' (itinerary) hhi. hhng 'at' (location)

yuhng 'with' (inshumental)

The meaninp given above refer to the 'pqxdional' functions of the wverbs. Many d 'them ako haw: distinct mean in^ as main verbs, e.g. hPi 'give', wdn Smk for'. g.3~1 Lfollow-. glng 'pas by. Even in thew contexts where they corrapond to prepDsihonsin Englisl~,h e words behave like Yerbs in many rffpeas. Apart Fmm tuhng. they may readily m r without a fdlnwing velb:

Luhk Sang ylhga hhi hohkhwh. Luk Mr now at sehbnl 'Mrluk is at schwl now.'

Itih yw

d6u V-PRT

hewin go

'1 m n T go with you.'

Ngih rX j6i I d w;d my CL hoy at all *All my six6 are ahad.' LRih g h mhih ng6h yw with V-PRT me 'Come a l m wth ~ me.'

rlgolhguvk forrigixmntry heui

go

la. PRT

They may alm be r e d u m in an A-not-A qu&ion. dpctiva: L€hi

tbhng-fnh-*hng

n@h heui a?

yw with-not-with me 'Are you g c i n with ~ me?'

go

PRT

The potential conshuctwn with dak (123.2) may m h h tbhng mk H h &-fin. not wilh ahle yr*1 many 9 mn-t marry you:

N@ I

like verbs and

r with cove*

(film)

Ng6h hh hsl d8k HEur~&lg &hng I not at able Hongkong long 'I can't Iive in Hmgkongfor wry long.'

jyuh. live

The use of reduplicated adjectives as adverbs (10.1.3) also omrrs d i f y ing WWM;

GI

(go)

you

(CL) sister PRT

hiru-hivdti deui ng6h good-gmdish to my, 'Bcg w d tu IIIY ( ~ I I I ~ ~ zi>lem. I)

LEih @aigwsai-da

mfii

1%. (hlm)

Since d a can be used independently as a noun meaning Yaoe', the h l i z e n whir41 mwin them a n k argued to be nouns (see Y-H.A. Li 1Y9n). T k typical locative StNCture allustrated above may t h e 6 be analped as p r q m i t i ~ n ~ ~ t i vert-mm-pMpmi.tion. o n , prepc&ithHmumoun w wrb-mun-nwn. The u s of thm construet i m i s && in chapter 7.

h 8 ILkk~ la. homePRT

pod+-ish at 'Be good a d sfay home.'

ycu

ml

All thew properties are of verb rather than prepoaihs. Whd lhry s u m is that in so far aa ~ ~ i t i c v & m in (hntn-, t k y arc a subclass of v e r b which may be raed as r n t i o n s . Alternatively, the muerbs may be regsrded as verb in dl their manifesrahm, in which case thcir hmwkristic llsc rn invariably invdvcs a semal vevb constnMion (=a g e d hy McCawky 1982 wth i q x c r m Mandarin).

An important part of speffh absent in Englishare the noun ~~, also k n w n a6 measure words. I n English, measuressuch aspound and* are dearly nwm, and are llsed only wim unowntable (mass) mns,as in a pound of md a fml qf clorh. Can&ikrs are a distinct catem of words w h i i are u x d n d only to expmss quantities of mass nourn. but also in cwnting and referring to wuntaHe nouns:

mfi

Teuhng bohng ng8uh-phk tvm pound ax meat 'twopoundsdhoef l~nguistimas k d ' t m r s m elrpressions of The words kmwn in Chilocation which may. and in m c n s ~rnusr, be accompanied by the morphenw m r h 'face' .or bihn 'side' (apart from Ileuimihn. hihn or mihn are u d interchan@ly): seuhng (mihnllbihn) 'shave' chlhn (mihnlbihn) 'in fmnt of yahpmihnlbihn 'inside' lhih-m~hnWihnkith~n,among' I n general. the= expe&ns

hah (miinfbihn) Wnder' hauh (mihnlbihn) 'behind' -1-rmhnlb~hn 'wts~de' deuimihn 'opposite'

serve two main functions:

Sam jek g5u thrss CL dog ' 1 hree dogs'

Mwzmer. in the m of cwntable nourn, the choirr of dawfier is determid by the noun, jek goes with gbu 'dog'. I n addition to these wunting and quantifying funhorn, classifiers are grammatidy r e q u i d in w a r n contexts such as with d e m m t t a t ~ v e s(6.2.1): n7 go mahnmh this CL prohlem 'this problem'

g6 di h o h k r n g those C L &nt

'thwe studenb*

F l a m e r s alse haw moreW m -pedalid n r& ' i g functions. such m in possffsiveconamaim (6.3). relative c l a m (6.4) and in the expression ot quanhtmhm (14.13.

Di fR hsl p m n Cl. Rowen at inaide The Rowen are i d . ' YslqMm y h h hhu di3 TB. Id& haw: very many Rowers There IWofllmwn inside.'

m,

@) fonowing a noun like -m. In this hnaivn, t h q are typically w d in conjunction with the locat~vemverbkdi(3.1.3). Thus the hsic expressionof location is coverb - noun - locali~er: IGi Uh lvrul~bil~~r a~ WU behind 'hehind you'

llai l w l ~ k l w u l& ~u i r ~ ~ i l ~ ~ r gt x h m l .oppcsire 'opposite the school'

Cantonese rn a number of -om to exadwrhial mod*d o n ; there is no single -s of forming adwrlm c c m p a b t to -Iy in English. The drsesr C a n m e mmes m forming adverbe hwn djwlivts i s the use dreduplicated adjectiva. with w withnut thz &x -dei (9.2.2), m adverb (10.1.3):

meahndan hlahng dcwsllozv walk 'EV glWW

hh-ha&

fan skep

'deep well' s i m such reduplimted forms are also usad as adjdives. reduplication canwt be termed categorically a meam of f m i n g adverbs.

H-er.

64 Cantmese: a c a n p r e d grammar Adverbial mdifiamon of verb is also enpressed by diediva in specific cofmT4tions:

(a) the comnwtbn [verb] - dnk - [adjective] (10.1.1): Go $ dak mi faai. n driver drive ADV m fast "The driver's going too fast.' (b) [ ~ c t i v t-] gbm -[verb] (10.1.2):

Go sailmhjsi Mu daa-g @m &-W. CL kid ~"ery big-woice so speak-things The kd spoke very loudly.' Adwmkswhich malifythesenterm(a9oppwdtotheverbph~done) may be divided irrto two a d i n g to thcir fiacement in the sentence. Advetbs ofquanrily & 8sjllhng'stnt'cmd dlW 'also' must wme d i m l y before the verb: L&h juhnp y M h d u h sill All? y m still Chink not-have m a m r PRT 'You sill lhink there's d h i n g wrong, do p?' Time vmds reduplicated to form alvab of frequency, e.g. 1Nm-IUln 'every yeaf (10.3.4) also mme before the verb. A s e e d gmup of sentencedwbs sudr as ylhs 'now' and w nalsw 'perhap' are sometimes k n m zc? 'rnov&le' adverbs, slnce they may come either inmediately before the verb M at the beginning of the sentem:

Ngbh yiIg.3 f%an hohkhaauh la. 1 now return schod PRT 'I'm gohg m r0mw: nhga

di

Ihihjfii yuhl

Wh

yuht

CL girls more come more ' N m v d q s girls are i d n g l y capble.' naw

Whghnggon.

@le

There are rwo sels of items in Cantonese whjch are hSul here as

v:

-

(a) verbal partides: [vwb] d6u. j4h, saai, ea. (11.3). m in Mu d6u 'recave', sikk #kn 'finish eating'; (b) sentence pnicles: o, & ma I.etc. (ch. 18). 'J he Mandann wor&3 ~ o n ( L 1 n to g me verlxd pTkk {a) are d m m q h w W s in Li and Thompson (1981) and termed rewrltatlne some l i I 5 t i stdie. T k e partick resemble those found in En@&

a.

phrad re* & a9 $11 up and put S i m man of the C a n t o m partideawncerned ~ l s exist o as verbs. e.g. &Y 'arrive'and fmn ktum',it might be argued that they do not c w i t u t e a distinct syntsaic c a w . However,several particles am nor used as d, for enample f i meaning 'nwAf mrl Mrr rlPrrcTing rrcomplbhment. In ths mpxt, the mrus of these i t e m i s mrnparableto the particlesof English phrzsal v&. many, such as up and are also used as prepcsirions. b u 0 t h such m m v and mn (jn ~ritkh English) a m m. The r-kh set of pnicles @) w h i m u r primarily at the end of a smtam are one of the mon d i w i n a Ieatures af Cantonesa to indicate - h a typ=+ nx+i m q i r d i n n q nnrl w q i m . Mhidlnal h o r s and emotional wlounng. T h e have no direct counterpolrt in English, dthwgh comparable in function to queshcm tags such es ri&l vd dv p?In htframewprlis i t has k e n argrd that the p h r l e s belong to the category COMP (Complememiw see e.g. Law 19BO; Law and Neidle 1W)The category COMP in synmdic meory owitaim ex~ressiomlike the English conjun~f~an iht.which has m counterpan m Cantonese; this ecqdementarydistribvt~cm lends some plaus~bilityto the analysis of prticles sentenccfinal mmplementizers.

&.

. .

Spoken Cantod m s nc4 wdib m , v n phrases as English does with onb (many wnjunctions used in witten Chido not occur in speech). Conjundion i s typimlly exprmed by juxtaposition of phrases, withwt explicit marking of their r e l m i d i p . In t h a e a=,the m e c t i o n between the cmjoined items must be infertrd from the wntent of the phrases and the m t e x t . A juxtapoaitlcm d two mum or verbs may be read as mmjur&ion or disjuncrion: L€ii hsli Yin.ggw& yhh-m6uh QSnchlk p i h d u h a ? yw in England have-not-have relatives friends PRT 'Do)w have r e l a t l n or friends in En~land?' Such juxtaposition is especially 1d fried e q m & m s . following phused of share p i c e : m h i h maaih ga mhh h6i dii h y gel1 price n6t-have nfall "ng and selling prim' 'nonse w fall' SiMil%rty, a uentenoe oorsiYing of two juxtaposed clpmtd a mmlitional sentence (= 163): Lein mn seung ~u ~ I U hew ge h. p not want ako w d go PRT PRT 'Even if you don't want to go, yw &ill have to.'

such m the

may be inter-

66

a awnprehersivegramnar

-

Although there is no g e n d p u r p conjunction ~ mrrespding to t h . there are more sgerific wnjunclions sld w y n n d ' h m ' and SZ?+.ERA 'alth~gh*. TheSe, however, diRersubwmtiallyfrom therr English wunterpartn In that they require a matching conjunction in the fotlowing m h rlmw:

yawdh. miyihn

. . -1

'kcawe.

4 SENTENCE STRUCTURE: WORD ORDER AND TOPICALIZATIION

. . so'

. ..daahnhaih 'dthmgh .. . but' ji~hgwb.. .jmh 'if. . . then' jauhspn . . . dCm 'even 3. . . Sill' smllhm knqwn as dwbk codmrtiom;similar mnstrucThese tiom. such zs d W g h . . . hwt . . . are a conimon feature of Chinese speakers'Errglish. These sentence rypes a d the usage d cmjunchom are ( l i e in Ehapter 16.

mm,

As a language with little pmmatiFa1 relies k i y on word order m e q r m grammatical d a t h such a subjecf and WeEt. As a result. word -is W y rigid, ac rt 1s in Engliuh f a similar reasom. Like other irolating languaw. Canton- has the W+ d order [sul$ec&verh'bject], or is said to be an SVO language (4.1.1). The main sources afdwiatmn from this rigid order are:

(a) [subjem-vat] (b) [verbsubject]

mdet (4.1.13: order or subject-wrb inversion (4.12);

(c) righldstocation,which i r r v o b ptting an element last w W n g it acpnrotcly from tkc & of t h c ~ c n t n c (4.1.5); t (d) to+akAion: the possibility of making variws elements af a sent e r n the sentence topk by plGfingthem first (4.2). Another W

c

d feature af Cantonese is known as t o p i ~ p d n e n o e .

The diiinction bdween subjm-pmminm and topbprcaninent l a n m wm introduced by Li and Th(19761, who amsider Mandarin Chinese as a prime example of a topiqmminent language. T h i s distinction k an e l a h t i o n of an insight exprmd by Chao (1%8). who noted that the baric Chin= mtence strucnm:m n s h nm ofsubjea+icae, but of t-ment. 'Ihe topic & a phrase which the crmnrpnt says mmthq a b t . The sentence topic in this m s e n e e d not be the subject, and indeed n#d not bear any grammatical reldim to the m r n e n t :

-

B6r &h, deihtit jeui faai. sea PRT undergrmnd m m d fad 'As far as m G n g the h a r h r is m d . the undwground is fa$te%.' Gwo

The relationship between g w M 'mising the h a r h r ' and the undergound k m g his a m a n t k one oi assomnon: t h s 1s a -1 top~cc m e m relationship in ~~, which in English can only be enpressed by an elabotsde p e r i p h r ~ swith as far as . . . Note a h that the topic in the C a n t o m example i s w e d from the mmment by the polrticte dh and a slight p u s s . The pmcnce cf such gramrndical m m t m t h s makes h r o n e s e a 'Icpb-prwnineri? langwge. The value ofthi classificanon is that m t relates weral other prqmtk to the r d e of the sentewe topic. A number of grammatical features relak to the mle of the topic in the semcturt of the

Sentencesbwiure 69

m t e n c e , including the m i & of suhjea and objed pmnmu where these refer k k m a topic already m e n t i d cw ~llnrlerctood (4.2.5) anrl the &nt that subjedsrnlst be definite (see 4.2.4) z6 well as topicalkahon mmlmdiom t h - h (42).

4.1

1

By amrrast, 'the object ( u n k topicalized) m w l M l w the vet%immedik l y ; Ille uily iie~uawhvfh may inlerwnr. m ~ particles and expresr;iom of duration or frequency:

BASIC WORD ORDER

order of the simple sentence: subject-. Since there are no dat~ncnons or w,even in pronouns, the awd order alone indlcares grammatical rehiors:

K&ih yihprq duhk *hn

b~ nhn Ym@. l m - F ' F V e ~ g h t years w i s h 'Tve been learning English for eight years.' NgWeih gin-gwo gQi &chi mihn. we see-EXP a-few times face 'We've met a afew times.'

same rime, me frc&m c# wid Order Is ia* w m h n In Englkh. In m l a r , several regular patterns d m a t e from the SVO form:

N@h Ymggwok meih

am-

1

heui-gwo.

1 England nor-yet guEXP '1 haven't been to England.'

Ngi5h fik-frlk ws &I %hllg m8aih. I C W L picture all warrl buy 'I want to buy d the piaura.'

I,

@) O t + x < w b j e c r m hoplcalimrlon d rhe objea: see 4.2)

Ganyaht gp sung ng6h yii$ng mfiaihjd la. tmlay LP fnnd I already buy-PFv FRT 'I've already b g h t food fortoday.' Di

Sam d h C L clmes xu

I I I

1

saai la. aTl PRT

The clothes have all been d d . '

Note that the sub@t may or may not be pml. As In Engtish, the subjec~may be separated hthe verb by dverbs Wih

gWngyahr

d a ~gang

du

ge.

always all speak joke PRT 'He's always makingjok.'

s%e

phm]

4.1.2

I

ph'w

ERESUBJECT ORDER

(1) with verb a dm:

GBmyaht laihjb h6u an d m 1 Ep16uh. today come-PW very many big shot-guys 'A ~ c aot t q sntxs c a m may: dit-gwo @i go ssilouhj$i lohk gaai. befm fall-LXP a-few CT- Fhildren dpwn street 'Jn the pst quite a few chlldrar have fallen down onm the street.' Yhchihn

(2) O h -her

Ylh@

verbs:

W-gin

Hh.

fall-FROG rain 'It's mining now.' I

(gEi chi = frequmcy

With &n 9 ~ of sintransitive wh. w b t q p a r s m be the wljea mars after the verb:

now

dother edwrbid phrases:

(bwrhhn = duration

I

At

y tnpicalizatwn (4.2.3) and in

( ~ u l f i n- v d l prtide)

N&h hohk-j6

Iwe me

'She loves me.'

(I) SliI+m+hjm+erb (in d r shuctiorrswith & (82.3. 14.1) ):

syii.

marker)

slhe already study fmsh book 'She's finished her d m . '

Khih ngni ng6h. s%e

X C L 111ark~~ke75, verhl

Np5h f"t>li-j6 ySt go beimaht. (jd = I dismver-PlT one CL s e m t 'he discmered a secret.'

SU&IEFT. VERB AMD U3JECT One respe~tin w h i i Cantonese prnmar resernbk English is the d 4.1-1

N@h ngni M~nh. I love himher 4 101% hw.'

Ng4h hah go s?ngkk& fong-ga. T next C'L week tmke-leave "rrnp i n g ar leave next week'

me [ m b b - ~ d ~order ] is a h available: Y6l1 lohk dSk M u hih. d n fan ABV very blg 'It's raining hard.'

-

-

orders are pcmible with the

and $--verb

Similnrly, both verbs*

fdbwin&' dB dpam & E MI d4u @i. blow big uind oul not V-PRT gtrPet 11 m w tm i o d y Ihai wr: cuulddl gu uul.'

Kghmpht d4

yestaday Y '-

h are known B ergdye wrk. Awarding to the 'mgative' analysis (see Y-H.A. Li 1 W for Prlardmin), the nmm phrase bearing the role of theme or of the action i the underlying objed of the predicate, hence mrs ormrrence m k r the &, in p i t i o n . in Ihe ( n ) msenrenoer. In the (b) senmm, the game noun

The verbs involved m (14) a

ling di dEk h6u danih. wind Mow ADV very big ~wind E is Mowingw o @ y miside.'

Npihmihn mhde

T

(3) dlh verbs of ,

Glim

p

p h r a appears (see 4.2.5).

d b p p m l c e and -ce: halsingia

yat

gihll gwaai

morning

mefter

A1 a RIGHT-DISLOCATlOM

'A phwk ~ p m tday.' d

hhdauh.

K k ~ n i Cijb

she die-PFV father 'She h a her iklher.'

~~y~

KEuh *h slhe

gi-jb. die-PFV

father

'She b t her hdnx'

Tht: u~wrlalla&, is ukm usrxl allwl s;;;b USA a an emphatic e

l

particle (113.2): N p h G hhih Id hunger die her PRT 'She's swing!'

yshn la1 die people PRT 'Everyone's~todd~!' Muhn ski

bore

Thc (1 4) me dcmly related: dl in& verbs w h i i denote u which undeFgoea the hmgz Ehwge ot state or location. The noun of state is invariably e x p m s d as the subjed in E q W ; however, it may in Cantone either afler the wrb (as in the (a) emmph below) or before the verb (intmduoed by y h h ifindefmii), B in the (b)exam*:

-+

a.

(a) G H ~ Y ~ yw gihn gwaai tday h e p p e n - W one strange m a w 'Somethingshanb happened today.'

-

(b) Gamy& today

e u h yat gihn gwmi have one CL -ge

d~ famiQj6. matler h a p - P F V

'Samething shmge hnppxbed today.'

(a) Thh

Wn.

go

upon

CL person

Y3n the smge appeared a man.'

H h E k wo. Eb! W - ~ T y o u 'Yw're so man!'

CfhYn ghh.

G6

M6uh-liu-dou &, k d m PRT CL book 'Prerry vaatols. thal book.'

Wh! PRT you 'You're w!'

lmg wo, di s b n .

quite nice PRT CL dothes 'Nothid. thase*'

m.

As these examples mgge3f this word order is rypicany used in ex&ma-

~~,AmIht:p~CBLr:;Splauollhhtmph~rmdthca~ldded to mmplete the sentenoe. The same position m y a b b e used for djem:

Yhh-dub

mhih a,

have-nut&= buy PRT 'Did yw buy that d

a

& 7 a

Note fhal the d i s w gubjeQ w f h am the sentence pm-ticle, w h i i dnormslly c a m ai the end of the mor clause (18.2). is a h a common position for m d d vmh a d adverb (see 1X1,1X2). w h l d ~are often added as & e n h e : Krhh n@wwn@am jungp tauh $ung. siht m h i h she justjm wbPPV first prize sure buy

giim daaA nk

8, wiYk (TV) big IIOUX PRT wiu She just won Mprize; she will sllrely buy a big hollse.'

n

seuhq &Eutyitu-jb yiil wr-pFV

-

Another departurefmn the t y p h l SVOword ordm in mlloquial@ is +k4$bca&m. Typicany. a nmm or pmnoun w h i d ~is the w e c tof a clause appears at the end of a senrena in a d l e d dkkmwd e o n :

GHmyaht dEutyihmj6 y%t 6uh ayah. rday w-PFV one CL shark (4) wifh the verb d 'die':

subject. i n d d by ydrdr 'have' if it is indefinite

dl.

h a p - P F V one CL wnnw '!hnething sh'ange happened this morning.' this

(b) Yauh yHt gp f i n chEutyihn-$ h i i tbih seuhwihn. h m one Q person appear-PFV at wge u p 'A man appeared an the stage.'

SERltenceshwlme73

72 Cantonese: a mrmeterrsive grammar A: U i h @he hsibin a? your brother is where PRT 'Were's your brmher?'

B: Fm-j6

am,

dGm~. rerumPFV home probably 'Gonehome. probably.'

4 2 TOPlCAUZATlON AND TOPIC PROMINENCE C h o (1'368) dLi and Thompson (1978,1981) pcinted mi an i m m t oontmd between Chinese dE n @ ! in the s t a h of s u m and topics. I n English, i t is apmrmiid requiremerrt that every sentewe must have a mbjex~.Hence. a mbjecr dws not dwsys reprrsent the performer of an m i o n (ugem) or what the sentence i s about (t@t); when there is no such mtional s u w present. the expletive w *dummy' mbjea $ i s used, as in Ir irf&d&n ro mh. I n Chi=, there is no pronoun corresponding to JI in t h i sense, and many s e n t e m lack an oven subject' The role ofsmtenrp h m r , is central to Chinese grammar. The notion of sentence topic with reference to Chinese is a grammatical notion, referringto a position in the senteme with particular properks (nwmally the initial powtion; an e-on 6 -dary topicalizstion: see 9.2.3). It should be dimingushed from the noflm of d i m r s e topic, whih refers.to the o w d l topic of a text or m a d i o n i n the everyday mse, a d is equally applicable to all lanpuagw. Zi and Thompson try to relate the sentence topic to the dismurse context by requiring that i t represent 'old' information, i.e. something already referred to In the text. However, a 'new' topic d dismurse may be introduced as a mtence topic. N w is the s m e m topic m l y what the sentence i s 'abwr. although this is typKarly m x i case.. A more geReral OeIinitKm grven by Lhate 15 usetul: 'the topic s m the sptial, temporal or other framework in which the flredication hdds' (Chafe 196). That is, the topic spsifiw the time, place or &cumstto which the rwt ofthe sentenw applies. As Chao (1968) p n t s out. the notion ropic-comment includes that of subpxt+redicate: w~thinChinese pmrnar, the subject-me con&on Is a spedd case of r q h m m m e n r . Hence, lf no orher elemenr i s topicalid, the subjed bemmes the topic by default. In a simple with the order s u b j e d e j e c t , such ac ngdh ngoi Wuih illlstrmxl in 4.1.1, the subjecr vgdh smws sirnu-1y as the rcpic.

m,

T o p c a h d m in general refers to the placement of a wmd w phrase d the begirmingofa sentence or clam making it the -topic. The effect

issimilar tothatoftheEmglishconstrucrwnarfm.. . u m f m a s . .

.b

cmame&For a m p l e : Chin n&h M m g

lBh h h dbu laak (film) help you n d V-PRT PRT ;As far as mmey's c m m e d Ican't help yw.'

money I

In d k m & m of Chinese synlax sentwith t m l i z x d elements e m often g l m d in this way, although i f nfrm dnm nnt rmdt in w idiomatic English tram4ation. The m& m m u n and s h i g h m r d form of topbliition is that in which the abkct af the verb is displaced at the beginningof the sen-:

Ni

di yeh mbuh y3hn sit ge. this CL sluff m person knows PRT 'No one knuw this &uW &%q 5

Eih fcmg h4i bin a7 CL ppcr )pou put at where PRT 'Where did you put the piece of pqer'?

Tqicahmtion of an &jed i s also widely used with& a djed, where the i m p l i t subject a unknown ar g e d i

G m yhng p #it MI yTnmi g6ng ge. such rype LP th~ng not shwld say PRT 'One shouldn't w y such things' Ga c N jfng h6u la CL wr make good PRT The m f s k

n repaired.'

Note that E~ngl~zh typically uses the passive to make the the subjed (and thmby toyic) of the mtence, where Cantonese simply topicalizes the object. Such topblizafions thm often rorrwpond to passives in English. Li dThwnpm (1976) note that the rebt~vely&-ICted use of the e v e is a further c + w a u e r M c dq m q n ie tn xi languages: it should be med, howma, that Cantonex also has some passive comtructicm which are not p0psile In English (8.4.1). ~ n e ot me main communicatrve tunmm ot ~ q n c a ~ i ~ ~Int m , Cantonese a in Endish. 1s to contrast the topicalmed wwd or p h m with anmher which is mentionedor implied in th; wntexl: Syii Baak Dahk ng6h sehngyaht tEng ge, listen PRT. Schubert I always

jmh slu b la. then little-er PRT '1 listen to Sdrubert a lot, Schummn rather less.'

S y l Maalm Schumm

74 C m n e s e : a wmwehervsivs m

a

Sentence shdue 75

r

A Qlx4dasrelationship holds k h w n bFjh and hninjek in the following exampk jauh mi heu-gwo. tlwn nof-yet go-EXP 'I went to H o n g h g University y C h i University yer.' (Note the formation of G&@mih k m g University': =2.3.1.) 4.22

~

~ buty1 haven't , been to me

fmm Rmgqt@ D u a i i k ' H m p

OOUBLE SURRXTS NW HAM(;ING TOPICS

One of the more s t n i n g "ropic-prominent' features of Cantonese is the pmibility of srmtcncc * m having no grammatical rtletion m the predicate:

ge mkl jeui yih eung-fang. LP areather most errsy m t c h a l d 'It's easy to catch a cold in this weather.'

(TVed.)

now

The topic ylhgige E e i i s nd thc subjed of any w+-tion,but m d i i e the ammstances ('in this weather') to w h i i the predicate 'It's easy to catch cdd' applies. A .subtype ofsuch sentences are sometimes known es douMe sub@ cnnmructionc. ss they a p r to h m two rn-

HEungghg 18uhp gwui dou di. Hmgkorrg Rat-price dear tlll die Flat prim in Hongkung are ridiculws.'

Here, Hmllgg6ng is the topic and liuhga the sub+&, Heungg6ng serting the frame in which the sentkto be ~ n d e m m x l . ~ Such ropics are not the subjed or objea ofa verb, but have s l m r connection to the ptedicate which f d b , such rn a part-whole

relationship: C h i a h j h 4 ng6h yl# gm1 d h h h sli p. {radio diiogue) Chiuchow-ese I one p h m also not know PRT "1 don't know a single wwd of Qliuchow (d~alecr).' FIere the t q i c C h h h j d w i and the *ect pn geui are relby a pmt-hde relatiunship. Sirmirly, thew is a part-Mole relathship between ngh riuh yd 'hve M'and @ & %mv many' in the tdhwing example:

fl lsuh g& & b?i MHmlh silk a? five CL fish kave how many for mummy eat PRT 'athe five fsh, how m m y shall I leave for Mummy?' Ngn flub

Eih jeui p g y i @m kin in a'! l x e r p m m l ~ k e drink which CL PRT 'Whichkindofbeerdoyouprefer?'

B-

I

I3

Tn a n d h e r form of *calieation.

the topjc wmes after the s u w :

U m h Hhngghg ]ihn-h Cihulahng. !#he Hongkong only hww K o w b 'In Hongkmg she only knows Kowloon.' have a grammatical N d e that the d a r g topic HFuqgrkg dws a pm-te relation with the object relation to the verb sfk, but Gdrdfihw. uwy much as In the topSc ~huchvefilluftrsted In 4 2 2 . Similarly: N&h GhlGhng mhaih @i Hk louh. I Kowloon mt-be q u k know mad ' I don't know the r c d s tm well in Kowloon.'

Ek hnih 3mg $4. nmt dam is steam fish 'As far zs r s k i n g is concerned she's M at s t e m d fish.' KEuih

s(he

h o l m jeui

cook food

By wrNe of is p i t i o n , a secondary topic ha9 lesser prominentx than an initid topic, but has e n f i d y the same function of setting the range! m which the predicate is to be u n d e r s W . 4.24

VERB TOPlCALlfATlON

When a verb is ropicalird, i t is typblly rep+nted in the comment;the dibced verb is followed by a pause (comma intonation): A: U I ~ m

)aur

leu1

CL daughter so

sk,

haau aw sure p s V-PRT

saw

phhp ~ h h o h kla. enter university FWT 'Ymr dau&em are so mart, they'tt sure to get into university. B Mohng jauh (hail) @m mohw 1%. hop then (is) so hope PRT 'Well, that's what we h ~ . '

A- Lkih g8m-ihh-giim

tsi h6nsee horror

yw dare-nofaare 'Do ym dare watch h o r n filmsl'

B:

pfn a? film PRT

g h ; dm~w jauh rPlh f ung I d . dare then dare wsnl then not want PRT 'I dare. but I don't want to.' M r n jauh

The mplla hoih may take the place af the lepeated verb: A: M h ak h6u do Jungmzin bo? yuu knm mwh (hinese PRT 'You know a lot of Chinese?'

B: G6q jauh haih; lhi

jauh mhaih. speak then yes read then no 'Yes. aa far nr v k i n is~cmumrml, nFa mdiw.'

The same consrmaion@ies

ta ad-

A: U i h gau-rllh-gm chin yuhng a? you enough-imtenwgh mmey use PRT 'Do you have enough money?' jauh mhaih fi gm.. . enough then nd-be quite enollgh 'Well. it's nor quite e m @ . . .'

E: Gau

Another pnqmq relared m topicalieation is the mnsrraint that au+m must be definite in Chinese. Rather than introduting an indefinite noun phrw as rhe subjecr a7 in a rnm m m in, the exiantial marker ydvlr ia added to i n t d u c e a new topic (see 15.5): n u h s i n y6uh (*I) go yshn yahpja lhih. just-now nave (me) CL person enter-mV come 'Someone mme In just now.'

Nrd an topics are definite in the sem of the Eqlish definite article, however. Cemdc noun php w i b l e mtence topics: Mmu h6u

are also treated as definite d h e m as

jcngyi sihk pi ge. eat k h PRT

cat much like 'Cats 11h t o e a fish.'

m u mduh ylk ge. beer not-have nutrition PRT "ris.notgcdforyw.' T h e words mdou 'at' and &Fhr km' used w i t b t a (6.L1)are understood generic9ny. i.e. m referring to c d s and beer in general? Moreover, a dassiher with a m u n m1-us pition a M a w m e s d&nitems (see a h 6.1 for d i i o n of the distinctian between definite and indefinite n w n phrases): Jek m&w jh+ yahplbih. CL CXI walk-PFV emer-come

The cat came in.'

The same mbination in obpctrpmt-verbs1 @tion, howcvcr, an take either defmite or indefinite reference: nau-jr5

jek man p h p l h i . walk-PPV CL cat enterme lAnhe cat came in.'

Why subjects shwM be required to be definlte in Cantonese invites comment. The &finitconstraint is one which naturally appllm to topics (sisince a topic f a d -i must be an identifiable entity d hence definite), mtherrhan ro.sA u s e h l way ro thinkofthe phenomenon i s that in a Chirese m e there should normally be a mpic: ifthere is n o other tqkalized elementpesent (such as an object),then the grammatical s u e t ( ~ fovertly preset~t)is made the W i c by default. Hence, the c w r a i n t that topics shmld be definite extemk a h tn subjects. 4 2 6 TOPIC CHAINS

The notiun of topic chain refers to a -es of conneued senterrces or clsuaes sharing the same topic! 'Ihe topic of the first dam may serve as the subject w c$ject of several foltowing dames: Giin BHam

CL

bl-

h& a, n&h ltng very pretty PRTT

jim~&gv; &U &i. Uilt like till death yw

r n ~ ~ h m ~nghh l j~k? buy-&-buy for me PRT "That Mcuw i s nice. I like (it) very much. WilE yx~ buy (it) forme?' The topic giAn Mam "theblouse' serve red only a s the subject oF& Ieng Very pretty' but alsu as the &jed of@& I l k ' and of m h i h 'buy'. me topic of a chain i s -1ly introdwed as a sentence topic,us in the abwe

example. It may be introduced, however, by an existential mtenoe (see 4.2.5 &we and ch. 15) w a an object:

YQuh go ImhMang MI dng h m C L student

very

ge,

5 PRONOUNS

&hnaaht mdm y€h, zsk things

bright PRT always

h8au4 i h u 16 h6u g611 Em ge. time4me takeexam also get very high mark PRT ' T h m ' s a studem who's really bright. alwap askang questions. gets high marks every time (she) taka an exam.' chi-chi

(she)

Here, the indefinite noun phrase go M k W n g 'the srudent' is i n t d m d by me emtentml verb yrkrh 'have' and m e s m e o o p ~ otne t fo~~mng 'chain' of clauw. f u n c h i n g as the:subject ofrnahnpFh '& things', dli 'takem'a d 16 @ufr?n 'get high marks'.

5.1

PERSOTJAL PRONOUNS

Persand p n w r s are the only items in Cantonex with distina flural f u m . regularly frrrmed by zddirrg the MlPfix -de&: ng6h 'r ltih 'yw'

ng6hdeih 'we' lbhde~h'yw (plural)'

ktuih 'helsherfl*

kkulhdeih 'they'

%re is no gnder distincrion ber\lwen k.shr and if in either spoken or mitten Cantonwe (whereas in written Mandarin, male and female rti take different radials). Altflmgh &TI ; a d pnnuwily lv I C ~ Ilv p q d e , ir may refer to ~nanimate objects in some d a e d contexts (xebelow).

I n addition, the word )dhn 'peKon' can also take -$eih lu mesin 'people' (cf. Mandarin ~ ~ r q a k ).p ' i a the suffix 4nX. ydhdcih may lmrt sihgw lar or plural reference depend~ng on the &em. I t i s rypically llsed in the following wap: (a) 'other people'. &ng YBhndeih pap-chin

to people mher than the w k e c

sung y€h Mi H h , {subject)

people

pod-money m d stuff give yw 'People are ptching in to buy you a gift.' U i h yiu dseun G e h flhndeih. you need write-letter thank people 'Ywneed to write m thank these people.'

(directobjecf)

Dim gsai Wh wa+h flhndeih W n g gam LE? how m e y m for people muifice so much 'Why do yw d f i c e so much for others?'

A: M h dim

Mar

fhh

ch-

eng a?

y w how come nm q m k out FRT 'Why d d t p u say something?' B: Yahndeih m u Hma. people shy PRT 'Well, some people are shy.' (i.e. I am shy)

Morhw to swr (referring to m ' s girlfriend w8ide):

(nbpt nf c0ue7bJ

80 Cantmew: a canpahem grammar In msny -,

D h p h i h h cEng yahndeih yahp lhih ch6h a? enter come !d PRT how come not invite w l e 'Why don't you invite the guest n i ?'

jek &ji I CL finger "myfinger' @-I

-deih m n o t be edded to dher nouns. as the Mandarin plural form -men can be added ro bkyllablc words, e.g. xubsAFng-m kudents' hnor * l d h g - u E h . The Mandarin word -mprr, msd i n Cantonese as mrilm,

(a) Many ChWwme speakers do nc4 p m n c e the initial cmwnant ng- (1.51. The lirst person p o u n ng#h is therefore

often heard w 6h. usually with a glottal stop bcfomthe! vowel. (b) Idh is will p o u n c e d as &I by d&r -err din f m m 1 registers. The a m n t pronunciation Itih is regarded by gome

(&h

la.

Mh6u h& don't

ng6h I!

scare nie

(@!I

"Don%frighten me!' K h i h sung-$3

dhe

Sang-yaht ldihmahr Wi ng6h. m me

relatinn. the linking parlide ge i s &en used betrueen the pmnmn and the possessed entity (6.3):

I

duhfaaaar LP W h a i r

ge

'my hair'

refer to inanimate objeEtsand &tad

ngdh ge glhnhbg s h e LP health 'my health'

entities:

Ng6h *ng tii sa9 Wuih Hn wAahn. I want read all it first return 'Iwarn ro fink& remdingit More I return it.'

(h%h

= the bmk)

m a a l j i bib. (M= the car)

you detinitely need sell-PW 'Ym really have to sell it'

A: N@h a n g whAh 1 want @DEL

it jek onmrnn yeuhk. this CL sleeping pill

slhk ni

ear

~~tm~ral;ingmishdofs~ngpill.'

B: Ng6h d6u

k&~ih ga.

h i h slM;@n

I also am eat-FROG i t ' I t e k e n taking that one t w.'

(kt~tih = the =me lnand)

PRT

This usage is e s p i d l y m m m in i m p r a k 1

Faai-faai

To mpmm the genitive!-

ge is u&

d l yrefers a animate (humm or animal) nouns but may also

&A

Leih ptdihng yiu

(@ = indirect

send-F'FV birthday gift 'She gave me a birthday gift.'

ngdh

I I

= d i m objtcr)

PRT

jsi

Wmh haih nedh ahnghohk lCihg. she is my ckdmate PRT *HeBhdsmy cksmare.'

= subjed)

1 leave FWT 'Pm going.'

CLm

'my son'

Similarly for y m . his. hem, b and h i m . the oorresparrhng pronoun + ge m tmd: Icrh. ge, W I ~,pI?~ana kprrihdda ge. IPih 'yw': there i s no d~stinctionMween h a t and inf-1 you' (though sex the ncte a h on the pronunciation oT 1Pih)k61irh 'helshe": note f h ~ dthere i s m gender distinction in the third pmn:

pronunciation of all three tpomurrs:

Ngm jsu

go

I

'This car is mine.'

h ~ m o ' n f bw n :ongoing swrd changes Fead to variatwn in the

The pnxlwm have a single form for subjxt or objed. Them are no separate forms for the genihve ( m w ) lwmoumcorrespondingto the English mylmine, purlpun, rhrlrh&s, etc. The first penon singular ngdh corresponds to ?' or 'me';

n@h

To express the English mirrp in Cantonescl. n* Ni ga ch€ (haihl ngbh ge. this CL car (is) mine

may be wed in formal register, e.g. ttllrnglrohk-trrrlhn 'fellow students'.

hgung~ &cm m on error. though &dy p a n d a sound from initial n- to I(see 1.5). change in (c) Wuih is often pmnwnced zs Muih, with initla1 h substituted for the qirated ph]. Thic p m n d a t j o n is cunemly w m m among younger speakers, and may indicate an i n o p h t sound change (Bwrgerle 1990).

the p m m is fdlowed diredly by the classik

cheui-cheui sihk srai k h i h 18! ( W h = the food)

PRT

quickquick crispcrisp eat up 'Hurry up dfinish it up.'

it

Dsng ng6h g h ~ ddikm

la! ( k h i h - tlw tu~k)

khii

me manap V-PRT it 'Let me handle it.' let

PKT

82 Ca-se:

a mrrprehensivegramw

K6mmRrefers. m dxtmct entities in the following:

taai h6u la, Ni p @mih Eih y~ this CL qpxmnity too good PRT p muW Jins7c h i h a. {Wuih = oppwamity) trrasureit PRT This is a yery goal opportunity. Y w have to trmmre it.' Khihdcih mhsih jHnhaih tmihchFung mlhnjy3, they not-are really advmte &=racy

bitgw bur

lBih ng-k-faahwsihk ge j~ (Mu3= use it come cheat-PRT PRT d e m W ) TThe)rrenor really advocating dem~cracybut uslng it to make a living.' yum

Note that Mirh referring to inanimatethin@and ahtract entities is found primarily in m t , rather than subject, psition. In colloquial speech. k h h referring to obj& is alm wd ~ a s t i m l l y to v e i n h e u MunI

Giu A-Wng

s5i

.iai di

k L IS.

Warn

all 7 4 rknh 'Ask Ying to wagh all the clothes.'

PRT

it

Mgs5 cheung4an j h g y i t h a k mSn 7 k h l h B. please change one hundred dollar note it YKT ' P t m change thii me hundred dollar note into smaller m.'

Drraiha -king y r y m e drink-cheer Clwers. eveiyom!'

Mlh B! it PRT

Nde t h d k M h in this m-tkme is not immediately peceded by any n m n in the other ~cmm and does not d e r to any p t i a d a r cause of the tmst either. mis pleomstic use cd kPuih also mcurs In the idbmhic t x p c x i u ~ l a ,wuti j? kduih ( w x 16.5) lmd Strr-jd k81tIh:

Ng6h W

h &j&khih rather die-PFV-it 'I'd rather die.'

1

h6u

gwo

la.

than PRT

tli di-jb-khih hi 18. (film) qukk bit d'kPRT-it PRT PRT 'Tell B i g F d to go to hell quickly.'

Giu Dmi-Sah faai

ark bigfaal

Paul ktuihdeih ch€ng ng6hdeih flm-chhh. Paul they invite w drink-rea 'Paul and his family have invited us for d ~ msum ' The meamngof this elrp'esion is flexible: it cwld be "Paul and his family'. 'Paul and h s frienw. 'Paul and his colleagues', etc. It may be mnhacted, ze in Bdufbh-kih (using B M & as a Cantonese ~ n c i a t i mof l Pmfj. Ronours which occur in the relativized paritim in relative clauses are known as resumptEve p w r a See 6.4.1 for the relevant dimmion. M.1 OrulllTEDPROMOUNS As shown in chapter 4. the subpcr or o w of the m t e n c e a n readfly be omitted where it is a l d y esraMished as the topic of the discourse. S u m and objebjects m y l r oniitted in Camoclffe t~ndereither of two main conditions:

Uih sihk maaih fluh fi kkdh IS. you eat up CL fish it PRT 'Eat up the fish.' ar;k Ah Yine wieh

A name Mlowed by W i h d d 'they* ~ forms a mllerrive errpremim:

(a) The omined subject or oqpct has hthe t q i c of a p v k u s sentence, quemm or alalwue: A-YTng @-lin b%tyihp ge la. Yih@ lmk-mehng Ah-Ying thls year g d l i a t e PRT PRT nmv strive

w3n @g. find job -Yiq-s graduarlng hl5 year. IShe)'s louklng hard Rrr njvb nuw.' A Leih jung-hkjongy a h k Chiuhjslu choi a? yw like-M-like at Chiuhow food PRT

'Do you like ChiumoW W?'

B: Ganmaih Pngyi la! dclikc PRT 'Yw,of course 1do.' @) The rrference is clear from the ccmxxt. This applies espenally to firsl and s m n d person subjects. and to third person subjects which are prewnt a t the time of speaking.

1n6ulr S m g 6 teng-sw a! PRT m-have heart hear-PRT -I dun? feel like listeninp m Iffturn!' A;*.

(cxprcssinglhc ~ k t f - s hiin@)

P m m m 87

This emphatic mge csn also w a r in serial verb mnstrudnncl, i.e. h e m e n ma +:

N@h yuhng n@h jih&i m i h ) p u h sllMylhm. I use I self (come) do ~riment "Irb m m e l ~ l wilh s ~~~ysrl((iirs a guirlm gg).' DAng k€uih jihg& Um baahnhat let herhim seif think &tion 'Let her think of a solution herself-'

Both jfi@i and pronomi

+ jih&i

151 PRT

mn aappear in g - = n i t i v e I e

mstructbt~s:

N@II s&-+ win piianya jihgei ge s y ~ . I write-PRJ U a h t wlf LP bd( '1% written a lxd( a h t myself.' haih ki jih@i ge sii. tbg CL i s you sclf LP nintter Thii is your own bwiness.'

Ni

SZlaih daai Mahleih fian jih&T @an fing.= Sally bnng Mary return self CL m m 'Sally brought Mary back to her [Sally's or Mary\] mom.'

(Note that this example is ambiguous in English too:her m l d refer to a l l y or Mary.) In the W m n g sentence, however. jJrger cannot refer to the i n d i i objed but only m the higher- and Imyer-clause m-: A-fin w h a s a n Mi+ a-Ji yiit b h p&i yahtgei. A h J a n say a h S a m g~v.&'FlJ a h J one self tP d~ary 'Jan says that %an gaw JI a diary a b u t h e r l h e ~ l f . ' 111(his C ~ I I I U I W mbmuz. 1 k r e k x i v c jIh$i can vnly rc1t.r w 4 t h u~ JOn or a&an bur not a-JL the indirea object. H m r . k h i h jib@ in place of irk@ in the same W t m n could refer to any of the three Bnttrdt.111b. Thls as).mmt.lq s h thAl whlc jilt& 1s subject-enled, p m n w n p&i does not eahiht subjechrkm%th.

+

di

5 2 3 SYNTAX W REFLEXIVE PRONOUNS

T k syntax of the Canton* reflexives f i r s substantially from the: English. A reflexwe pronoun may k the subpa d a n embedded clame'

Ng6h gokdak jiig€i M u sbh. I k l self very silly '1 feel pretty silly.' Wrmwr. a reflexive can refer back to a s u m d c k the &us= in whirh it a p m A-Uhng Bar rnuhng Wakj&i jyngyi fih@i. AkLing have drmm Wah-boy l ~ k e sell .Lingdreamed that Wah liked h.' In these example, it is clear that the antecedent ofjhge5 is the subject of the main c l a i l @Lihr&, ~~ rather than of the submdinate clause. T b x are known as longdisQlrre reflex&; note that English uses a pemnal pmnmm rather than a rekxive here. Some sentences are potentially ambiguous, as the rpRexive may refer pither m r k I w 1 (neawsr) or w the long-distance antecedent: A d n h wah di h o h k s h g deui jihgi r r d ~ h seunem. Almir q CL siudt.~~t I w n n b XI( rlu1-11nv~wmtrlwlr*: "The teacher says & n a lad( confidence in him' or 'The teacher says students laEk confidence in themselva.'

!El RECIPROCALS: 'EACH OTHER' Thereis no rrciprocal pmmun -ding to 'each othei. The redprocal adMPbrf or wrrhsFrmg. alw w d in Mandarin. may be used in formal contexts: Sing-FFng wah yiu Wihi Eung-ngni. Bible say need mutually each-other-hue T h e Bible s a we ~ shwld love one another.' LRuhng-giing-p6 yingg6i wuheung chinjnuh. mhusba+ife should mutually accommodate 'Coupla should accommodate each other.' In dloquial speech, a reapmcal wnstruction is forrnd by repeating the &use wlth the subect and objed rewrsed: Np5h M-min E u i h kkuih Mi-min ng&. 1 give-faw him he givr-face me 'He and I respect each mher.' Wgu M h ma1 MidOUh, l13h

mohng ngm. n@h mohng ltlh. CLCL st all here you srare me I stam you 'Everyone a sithng around. stanng at mch other.' U h h6yii b g ng6h ng6h hbyih b g Ikih. )mu can help me I can help y m 'We [muand 1) ran help e x h chher.'

The nwn

89

6.1 DEFINITENESS AND DEMONSTRATlVES

6 THE NOUN PHRASE

Cantonese has n o artides equimknt to a or tkp. The wmlyC?#'one' may be u d like an inddnite arnde, refking tu an indefinite objed or person: &it) gu chi. j6jyuh p clmt-11h. have (one) CL car block-CONT CL exit-mouth "niere's a car blocking the exit.'

Yduh

The nnun p h m mmim nf a nnun and thwe item w h ~ h ampflyw modify it. T k o d e r of the elements of the noun phrase is as follows: dem&ve

- numeral - da&her

- adje*

-(gel - noun

The liking prtkk ge ( g l d as LP in the examples), f i i c h occurs in several t y p s of noun phtase, a m e s betwen the modifying erpressirms

and ihr noun i k l f (it may he nmittad in wmc

see 6.3.6.4);

$6

sZam jek hlu dakyi g~ g h j 8 i that t h m CL very cute LP puppy 'those three cute puppres' ni h h n g jiing &h ge 15mqaat thii two kand over-time LP thnk-way 'I& two outdated w a y s d thinking' The overall structure of a simple noun phrase is thus similar to the English, with rhe d~tmrnoe,mat a noun oxssiner is q u i r e d in many oomexrs (see 62). Note that the noun (the head of the nrmn phraw) always m e s at the end of rhe phrase, after dl t l expressions ~ whiEh modiFy it.' ThesP chancterisrics are also seen in the folkwing more c o r n p k rypes ofnoun

p m : Powmiwm?mminne(6.3): gb Ham go aailouhpi ge t o h d t h e three CL chiklren tP parents 'thnse three d-tildren's parents' nr 'the pmnts of c h w three Children'

Hi go yhh-chin-Mu

ge EhaPlEdsan few C L have-money-guy LP property 'a few r ' guys' ~ propeny' or 'rhe property of n few rich guysguys

Relnzhv c l a m (6.4): @-cM h n hnhk ge MMarrg drive-car return school LP student 'mldmts who drive m school' "$bh hi! ge FYngYa'"' I hire LP maid "the m a ~ dI hire'

yiu w h bit) go -. Ah-Ying need find (one) CL lawyer "Yinghas to find a I-.' A-Ying

Howem, the word p is oprional: ga eke m gu I P Y ~ - W be O sufficient U~~ here. To a large extent, the da!%hers (6.2) prform functions of the Engllsh articlesi n indlvidmtingentities. Wlwn tlre h u n pll* & a subject or a topicalized onbjsa. the prpsence of a claswfierdenotes a dehdteperson or object (sae also 4.2.5 on T h e debnitenem of mpics): Ga chC j6-jyuh

go &t-hfiu. car ~ock-coma mt-mrh T h e car is bloclong the exit.' Inut'A mr is blocking the exit')

n

Go 1yiu h6u Ek S n dak. CL lawyer need wry srnm only-okay "Tkc la-r had btrrtr k p n y ~m8m1.' ( r i d 'n IZIHTFT~

By wntrast, a noun with cl-r indefinite:

following the verb may be definite or

Ng6h tingyaht ~ i w4n h go I w M . 1 tomwrow will contact CL lawyer 'MI w n M dthc bwytr hnwrrb~.' N&h

yiu h i d l ma& fm g$m iikneed fast* buy V-PRT CL house 'Iwant to hurry up and buy althe home.' 1

L1.1

DEMONSTRATIVES

The demomtmtives m-'this' and gb "tat' are used for de*& funaims such as pointing or refening b d fo noun phrases. Note thal they must be acoompned by the m a t e claGher (see 6.2):

N @an M k h a u u h this CL x h ~ i

gb

deui f i w h that CL couple

91) Cantonese: a c o m p & d

gmar

The Linking panicle gp is sumetima pleonastiFally following the demonsrrative and clawficr. rain n i p gr.jirmrrhb 'this pmprammc'. @ jringfl g6mgok That kind of feeling'. 7hk usage generalis the fundion of #n mark~ngprenomiml alification. as seen with Httribut~wadject~ws (9.1.2). p,skbscniucr (fi.3) and rclativc claws (6.4 1).

A-ghng mi g~ Gi yhhn je-j6 chin mh 4 a h n ge. d i n g this CL bad person hmw-FTV money not return PRT That A-sing is a bad guy who h m w but c k s not return money.'

f l o w ni 'this may alsu be prvnoumxd as 6. rollorring the general change horn inirial n- to C (1 "5). Qthm alternative forms of riiare lei as In IFi fi'thex' and yl as in yrdorrh 'here'.

niand @ mn alsa m u r mth time expsions pointing tour referringback m a specific p e n d in time: nt @nihl*i this period 'these days'

p5 pbiWpiai that per'd 'those days'

of

g4m @ung This way' gAm (ytung) ge srh 'such manerSnerS

A c k d i k mth head noun mm0ut a aetnmtiw in

subjea pcdrlon

m y be used with a demonstrative force:

Go jii h6v bsakyim. CL boy wry naughty 'Our son is very naughty.' y6

g6i dnsTn w. quite h h PRT Thb fish sh quite fresh.'

Wuh

n

fish

This i s alsn hue of fhe dassifier & whim applles to plrlral or uncountable items (6.2.2):

jmih mat a? w l e do what PRT 'mar arc thcse people up m?'

IK

$hn

CL

&am dbn h8i hndouh a? CL clothes p t at where PRT 'Where shall we put these clothes?'

Di

IIC

hohksiang h h

1Idahn ge srudent very lazy PRT T m e s t u d e m are really lazy:

CL

n T go I-

every day four fmrroc ' lodc this CL time 'Every day at four, 1 always drink tea.'

that per~od *th a days'

Note that *nijd~n!jdndoes not ormr.

g8m chi ?his time' g8m-lln This year'

Siu Waih nT go d n g hfwhih h6u rmhk dm. YU WII tms LL name seem very tamlhar so 'The name Siu Wai seems familiar.'

MOih yaht sei dim

p5 jahnIsihYin

I n addition, p7m and g6m have a dem6nsWtrive value m -&OMS tlme and mnner mvctively:

A demmrshgtive noun phrase is often used in appogition to a mwn, a time or place e x p r r s h . I n fact, the types of phthat mn have an appition relation with a demrmmative noun p h r m arc quite d l e (see belowl. This p n m k apenally common following a proper nmn:

n&h

saln firncta8h

g;l.

I

sure drink-tea

PRT

Snhphal s u i II? gv Ilh+ llnilr jcui gnn111gnni gc. eighteen age thii CL age is most embarnssing PRT 'Age eighteen is the mmt embarranjng age.'

Mi H ~ u n m g ni go c&nii,sii flhn h h Fnyiu $e. i n Hongkong this CL w e l y know ~ o p l uay e important PRT 'In Hongkong society. connections matter a lot.' Compre the expletive: use of dernonsttatms with place names xs in G6dAlrrrrg Mthn 'over in Kmvloon* (7.1). A verb nbjaa m p n d (2-3.3) used in a generic sen= rnny also be followed by such a demomtratiw, phrase:

Hnhk flhylhn nT glhn s% ih hiukjaahp ge. learn Imguas this CL mner wry mmplicated PRT ' h m i n g languages is a wmplicated matter.'

Ng6h c h i 1

tiu-maih ni

t o w a h dancing

this

ymhng

CL

JPh

m6uh

thing not-haw

mw hingcheui. any Inrerest 4 have no i r b ' d in (thi) dancing'

Moreover, a clause a n also mke such a demqmhative

e:

Meih

git-fin Gang-jfii mbuh gi,m ge m i not-yet marq p r o d d a b y this CL matter nothave m a chEutkCih P. any surplse PRT 'Tohave a baby withour getting marri=d is not surprising at all.'

The noun phrase a3 Reduplimtedadjectives ofkn occur with a dernonstmtive phrase: Uuh-khuh-ktiMtih m @ng bai8ouh dfm hbyii slnp~+mFT this kind attitude hmv mn jipauh a?

Jouh

gihn aam yiu

ni

yuhng h h

dti

bou.

make this CL dress need use very much cloth 'It t a k a a lot of material to make ths dress' SYNTAX AND U W E W CLASSIFIERS

m p r PRT

62.1

'Hmv can one ucoept this lond of sloppy attitude?'

A c l a v i i k ammpanies the noun obligatorily in many rpmexts. I n general. Menever a noun phnse refm to a specific &&x, i t is a c c m pnied by the cladier. Unl~ke in Mandarin. the classifier and nrmnmay be used wilhout any demonstrative ad+= or numeral:

6 2 NOUN CLASSIFIERS C I m v i h b l m called m r e m d s in 4 s vn P i n e d are an important element in the syntax of n o w . Fach noun is aegned a prtimlar classifier, mudr as mum are assigned genders i n many Eumpean languages, While gender k h l y based on 9, classifiers are b a d on distinaive features of shape, natural kind and -on. There are over sixty different chifiers: and the choice of classifier is often not predictable fmthe meaningClf a nvun: hence, dictionarmtypically provide the a w p i a t e clmSfier(s) in the entry for the noun. There are orten two or n m alternative dasslfiers for the same noun (6.2.4). The n m r d equivalent m &hers in English are wordr; used in oounting which are ppecihc to certain d of nourn: f & hpas of &, ?WW pain of shm but a h c e qfpkmunrs. I n Gnlonese too, a major furdon d classifiersi s in oounting or ermmmtiw. as in baar Itulaggrinz 'eight t x l s of gold' and Ihkrrg jek &an 'two egg$'. However. they are also u d more generally In ind~viduatmg m m , as in mjpk ddan 'this egg' (see 6.2.1). It is M u 1 $0distinguish two typff of classifim3

(a) n ~ ~ s or u memural r ~ cksifien. which denote quantitiesof an item, such as 1denoting pluralfitpm unmuntable s u W m s . or the cdlechw referring to n pomp of people (6.2 2): @) type o r m l ddfmm which belong with the nwn and da$sify it In terms of some intrinsic feature, e.g. kJr denoring lon& thin rmch ms fish (6.23)? I n general, masum dassihers are used with uncountable nouns denoting substancesMcollectively, to refer to quantitiesnf nbjmts; -1 classifiers . lllis are used with wuntable nouns referringtoindlvlJua1V ~ I FJxwevt,. dgtmction i s not abdute, and some n m can be used in either countable or unmuntable senses. Thus bou 'cloth' as a oountable noun may take the sortal dassifierfnuidedng a Aat surface as in nIfQni borr 'this &t1h7. while m an uncountable noun referringtothe material 'cloth', it a n ethertake a medassifier such as &it 'Mor be left withuut a dasifier:

M h yiu g€i CE chek bou a? p u need how many feet cloth PRT 'Haw many feet of cloth do you need?'

Ji

A. write W i t h a l pen is g o d to wnte with.' M L

I& 1 1 t h

CL pen @ g o d

I n this usage. the presence of the classifier indicates a specific o w : mthcut it. the noun br?r would be u n d e m generically. i.e referring to pw in general: Yuhng h h n g bat d h &. use red pen wrire @ a-bit "lt's k n m to w n k with a rerl pn'. The following contexts requim a dassifier: (a) following a numeral or quantikr: ICuhng @k pkSu two CL dog

mhih ga

chi2

GMA

mr

-11094'

'each mr

n

With the relafivequantifiers de'many, much', sitr 'Rw, little', dmrh &mu 'the majority (o.)f' ~ W S Igwo I I jwhr~n'morelless than Mr. etc. the classif i ~ ;a , ~ p b ~ ~ all^ al. ~;lll urn aGdmk4 t y p d J~CI(LIR.

@i

d6 (go) mahntiih qu~te many (CL) problem 'quite a few problems'

h6u di7 0%) yWly1hn wry m n y (C1 j lnng~nep 'many languages' h a vty

siu yhhn few puple

'uery few people' (here the dlrssifier go for y b h

'mis always left

E k h n g j i du sy0 g6ng nT jGng duhngmaht pe. extremely f a r bwk talk this kind animal PRT 'Ertremely few hoda talk about this kind of animal.'

Note that the dassifm is required with mnaete o example:

m in quemions, for

fib yiu g& ji Mt a? you need how many CL pen PRT *Howmany pens d o )ou n e m

Ni @an h g h6u dash @an. this C L toom wry blg CL T h i s tpom is a big one.'

@uh k i h d 6 bat. I have vxy many (CL) pen '1 have many pas.'

Wa!

N m that the classikr is not needed for umountable entihes:

do cMn Mi go d6i douh a? you have how much money b e a t CL pocket there PRT 'How much money &1. you have in your pocket?'

Mh yRuh gfi

Jiing yi ge. Chinese &or PRT 'As oH1 as J am, I've nnever seen a Chnese doctnr (herballst).'

Wk wB that CL plaure

-that picture'

This construction occurs with any of the d a d e n . but not with a d j e c t k other thnn daaih nnd mi.The $rnses nai ,9p and duaih ~ r k are used i d i a t i m l l y to desmii people's w e or physique (note the anusual we of these cladfiers refemng tn pmple):

. . .d6u 'any'.

bin t w hei? which CL film 'which film?'

K h i h mhimtli h6u d kip ge. slhe sister very small CL PRT 'Her Gster i s very small.'

dZw dBk. w M l CL (mrauranr) alsa t h y 'Any (restaurant) will do.' (jhlhuh)

Certain catemries of noun d o no! take specihc (i.e.

Note that the noun ifself nwd not be otprasad where its identity i s clear from the context. The oomtruaion may also be used t5i-pm i & meih Ng6h pam daaA go h I so big CL gid atill rwtyer see-WCP

@) following the demrmstratives niand gd:

@an

Gam sai Jpk! wow! sa mdl CL 'What a tiny rme!' (of an animal)

Rttnily:

K h i h k ~ h m r n b h n yArn h6u du j8u. slhe last night drink very little wine 'He drank v q little wine Iasl night.'

gin

in ni

used predicatwel)':

N@h

(c) with Wn 'whim'or bh

ES

ItHom: with the adjeakes &dh 'Mg' and sa( 'man', dasitlers are

Compare with the fdlowng:

m fp yhhn this CL perwn 'this person'

The d y cllrssifien used with such nwns are gemrk dasiiiers,

jdng mdknjvfr 'this kind of demaracy' Cmgu m6hnjyu does not exst).

cia-

hlu drlrrih jek ge. N@h ghh@ b m k vety big CL FRT ?y [ c l h ] brullds pretty well-hflt.'

(a) time ergressionssuch as pht 'day', Rhn 'year': g-6 yaht 'that day' (but: & p 18ihbaai 'that week') d i h nhn 'each year' @ut: mdih g~ yuht 'each month') (b) abstraa entities such w mdhnjyd Wemocracy': Mihnjw h i ng6hdeih jeui @n$u ge. demmmcy to ui rme~ qxmtan~ PRT ~Drmm-aqis mow i-nt m us.'

An important funmca Of classiliersis to serve BS a s u M t u t e for a noun. like the English pronoun one:' Ng6h Mu jiingyi ni go. I much like t k me 'I like this rme a lot.'

The noun p h m 97

a

pk g& d6 chin a? that one how much w c y PRT 'How much is rhat oneT

Similarly, where classifiersare reduplicated with the: m n i n g 'every om' (14.1.2). the noun itself may be omitted. the c l d k r serring to identify it in context:

Gwgn (yhhn) &u dung m h i h 1311. CLAX {vpeople) all want huy Rat 'Everpne wants to buy a flat.'

I t is a h w=cl for air fliihfs and for referring to the bus or tmin smeduled mmiuel~rt: U i h daap bin bnan @ a? you cat& w h i i CL plane PRT 'Which Raght are you taking'!' Huh bsan & yiu mhp fin@ng hmh sinji dou. next CL bus need ten minr~res later then arrive "The wxt (w;heduled) bus aniva ten mimum later.' kwdhn b a more formal cla&ier

Mhaih pk-jek (&nu) dm u l n sing ge. not-be C L X L (share) all will nse PRT 'Not all (sham)me going to rk.' Classifiers air also used in p m s i v e mshuctione (6.3) and relative d a u m (6.4).

h-t -amount' is used

g6 bst chin 'tha ( w m 4money' k h i h H t jaai 'his debt'

rhkm is used to denote a meal:" y8t

62.2 MEASURE (QUANFTTY) GLASSIFIERS rlassib denote quantitim or nmounts of item nnd substnnces. Some funaim like collective nouns. while others are names of wntainen. Thq. are metimes referred to zc? -re words- rather than classifem. but shnrc the s y n m nfdmifiers =&mbed in 6.2.1 abcwe. The sarnwt rype of dmiiher are measures of wizht, quantity or size, such as M r n g 'pound' and the C h i n e measuresg6n'catty'. Iiuiig'~+el'.etc. Tkir usage resembles that of English m-ures-

wi

M

y i ~ gin

EhoiGm n@h.

plea%

give m e catty choisum me +Acany of cfmisum,please.' (a Chi=getable)

Ni

A

yir

Mam m l n

Ihng. this CL f& three dollar one tnel 'Thst fish are h e dollars a tael.' yfd

k remaining merlsure cllrssifiers may he divided into thrre t y p : d e c k.ccmtaimer and gene+ classihers.

mew resemble English m l k t k nouns: n i Man hohbBang 'this d m of 5fWkntS' g6 b a n h i h j 8 i 'that bunch of girls'

for -group'.

w denore a sum of money:

m

one CL 'a meal'

n hnhn

rice

c h r 'bunch' implies a grwp of objects. hnked together: &ichau tAihji 'a few b u d of grafles' daaih chsu &ih 'a big hinch ofkeyr'

dm@ denotes a 'pile': fir daahp b u j l 'a pile r# new@qxrs' fit daahp s u n 'a pile of letters' d m 'patch': rat dad &h "a pld~ of land' y%ldaat jX 'a pcnch of stain'

&i 'heap, mound' imphm a mica1shape' yHz di% sfknggw6 'a pile of fruit' yiit &i laahwap 'a hmp of rubbisW

d m i is used for items which come in pairs: h h n g deui faaijI'm pairs of cboptkks (singuhr: yilt jek faaijfj j w k deui mn h h i h %car a pair of n c w s M (singulnr: yfit jck hhaih) yst deui fiifw 'a oouple' (husband and wife)

However, not all objem w h i i are mated rs pairs in English are so treated in Cantonese. For example, a palrot tmmers d0-3 nortake dmr, but e fruh f i r . the classifier denorang a long, thin object, while n pir of 5Cism is

bl.grselrjfti, using the classifier for twls and instruments-

The noun phrase W & i s used, like Englkh s o w , to denote a quantity of either m m b l e things or unmuntable 3uhUamxs:

g6dicha 'those cars'

mm 'parch' is u d for liquids: yHf @an dui 'a pFch o f water. @dl<

mrr xnu as a wlleclive cla~sifiermeaning Wt':

di d h j i u - f i n ' t l w h m e pepper m

$i 58irnanjSi

-thelsome children'

r~

y

a 1 .1 1

'+d ~ l u t l ~ i n ~ ' )

'5uitR(LWI~I~LS~. gj1111 G~III

sihk m u chsan 'ear a set meal' It ako applies to m

i n nouns as a type cl&er

[ ~ D I Ih ' qlm').

dihk 'drop' applies m liquids: yiit dihk hyut 'a drop of blood'

gEi dihk yiih ' a fcw drops of aid pnn gom with the following nwn, w l l y abwrad i n n a m to refer to a cdlective unit in formal re@iers: yiit k n syutwah@inp@ik

'these wmddadvioe as a whole' yHt faan sZmgW!duhlihk %is effodhard work w a whole'

& lump' suggests a d

i d mass of no prkuiar s h a p :

ySt gauh sehk % lump of rodi' ni gauh l a a h p a p ' t h i i lump oT rubbish"

Conlamer-i N w s tkruuti~~g m

-ate

~ u ~ ~ rd~ n i pl ti d~ h -11 container a q the measure c h i k

biii 'arp' dihp -disW d o ~ h'hag' gvmn 'can' ha h@h% 'box' jB rar. jug' p u n 'bottle' lsahm 'basket' ILhng %kt-

+age'

h F n 'drrle, round' applies to game%

$hn 'basid

dB g6E w n mhhfik 'play a few rounds of mahjong' $h 'bunch' suggest9 an irregular group: &nng jah yann -a w h m h n c h o f people' y3t jah jeukjai 'a Rcck Of b i d s '

jnot 'bench, bunrlle' d e n m a lnlndle of itma tied tapether:

mfiaih fl$at f3 'buy a h n c h of flowers' paai yHt jaat h j l 'deliver a bundle of newspap' pht 'patch' rrpplis to shape& rnmm: ni peht l i i h -thisparch of soil' ySl peht y& 'a lump of %uff(referring to an ugly thing Or person) p-u h n d ' ( a h p d h ) is di n games:

juk yB ph@hn k& 'play a game of chm' wAan g&i p6ulplhn 'play a few pms' (e.g. on a video game)

Wng bucket' win -bowl'

85

C

d and drink rake the

jam Wi chbh 'pour a cup of teag u &hp choi 'order a dish of vegetables' yat h h laahpap% bagful ofrubblsh' ltuhng gwun l%@u 'trw cans of traei gi hahp yuhtMng 'a few h e 5 of m k e ' (lurkp does not change tone as classifier) g u yW jH bCPu -order a jug of beer' j a m jEun heidui 'a ( h k of) soft drink'

fit lbahm SidAan 'a basket of egg-

S a m luhng chMu-bsau 'three baskets o f p r r k bum' yiit Ihhng jeukjA119 mge of birds' yiit @hn shan $3'a basin of scatrered sand' (idiom) yst phlm dlu 'a basin o f watei literally. also ?en t h w a n d dollan' (slang) &i thng stui 'a few bu&m of w m r ' Euhng wun faahn Twu h& of rwe'

Nnte that these m t a i n e r damfiers may also function as noun5 i n t k r own right, in which case they themselw m k the classfier go (go brii

*

'rhhe cup")or@ (jek dip +&he dish') and take the danged z v v applicable (golrup 'the box'). A few are a k o used as sortnl dwbifiers.e.g. yi huhp lulrkying-dbm' 'a video tape'. so class~fiedbecause it tyyimlly cwnes In a bm,

Any nounwhichcanfunchmas~~~nt$inermybe&~~a~minthw way. For mmple. body prts may be wed as c d l e b k n n l % n e r daP h l ~ g mihn fiii whde Face dust 'a faceful of dust'

yat

&uh

yTn

one k a d smoke 'a head full of w o k e ' (i-e. in a sate of m m i l )

100 Cantonese:a cwnprebmw g m r n a r

fl ngaak

Note: the nounwith pmhngis

hohn one forehad m a t 'a forehead full of sweat' s2in pu-meih one body wine-rmell "abody smelling of wine all over' ySt

g6ng heui d311 haih Khldcii g h g Ihi they talk mme t a k go dl is

an ngdih one body ant -a bDdy full of m'6.e. trouble 1111over)

8 F. PRT PRT "They talk m r and owr about the same few things.'

ling "kind' may have a negative motation:

G6 ting @hn seun ihh ~ W O ge. that kind pffsrm rmst not w d h PRT 'Penple like that are nol trustvm-thy.' tzng @ fi yih-waaih ga. this CL machine vety -broken PRT rhis kind ofmachlne easily goes out of otder.'

N1

&hng Ok I€uih@n whok house mmun "a whole houseful of nomen'

9 w h k p5uh

'lit. a wak M l

gb fhswrn 'that [#sign of] dress' ni fhn~hahn+nj? 'this pair of

8f bubble

N jek

= full nf trwblc' *c&

This group of das6fiers. denoting types and kinds, are intermediate b t w r m m a r e nnd type classifie~,often functbning in both ways. Fbr example, the generic dassiher jdrrg Is the type clawher for nouns aach m yfihyihn 'language' but with other nouns denotes 'a k i d of as inyiirjfingffi k~nd of Rowsr':

~ r h n 'kind' g

h6u d0 Wng flhylhn -many languages' ni @ng fa ?his kind of Rower' gir $ng behng 'that (kind of) d i *

&ssep

jdu *this {variety 4 wine'

g6 jek phihfl'that brand'

pk

h i h 'genre, species'

dassifi~ for & t k , etc.:

ffin 'pattern,design' k used us a

s€hng deih laahpsaap whole Row rubbish 'a whole floor of rubbish'

jhg -kind'

@ this few

kind

s€hng t6i syi?i whvk table b k a' tablehl of books'

'3

96

rwhng

The class of container cl-ers is rnm openended, vwy much as wff~x-fd may be added to English nwns. Nouns such as Bk 'house' and rdi 'table', which would not be listed as classikrs, may fundm syntactically as container dassifiers:

Sirmiarly: (idiom)'

often omitted:

Giu sMm yeuhng dak g: la, M? (at restaurant) wrder three kind okay FRT PRT PRT 'Thrce d k will be enough, right?'

[daignr

~ j e chE k 'this model of car' g6 jek maih 'that kind of rice'

is aPso used in dloquial Cantonese to refer to whcrc t k hcnd noun ia o k n lcft out:

u t).pe of m l e or

Ng6h jiingyi W d a a i h d a i h , sI&mhhn-mihn I like lall-tal!-big4ig gentlernanIy

gb

jek. (oonv.) that type '1 like the mll. gentlernmly rype (ofguy).'

gi hhih ji Hhng @ jek. C L madine is most d ~ a pthat type 'Her machine is the c h e w KBuih ga Her

(m.1

m.'

n1 leuih duhngmuht 'this (species of)animal" J"it h i h mahnthih 'mw n m d pnhlem' ni )euhng y6h 'this thing' Gam yeuhng sung 'tl~reedishes'

These classihers, rather than denoting measures or quantihes, rrRe* intrinsic fegtures of the nouns with which they belong. As with gender in

The m n phmh r o p e a n langusges, the choice of ctrlssik is to some extent predibk fmm the meaning offhc n w n , especially where the shapc oT thc object plays a d e . Other cam saem idlosyncmtic and must be learnt indrvidually; many dicrionaries provide the dassifier under the entry for the noun. Somc nouns mny tnkc two or morc c W h m d i n g m tlw wnse in whwb they am used (see 6.2.4). go is the most common and neutral classifier. It is lsed wth all womk dcnonng people (but see 6.2.4 for altemnhve clasif~ers):

9go chyhhsi 'a chef slam

hohlcrsanx 'three wudents"

~~ positron

jEung jl Ishwt of ppei

c u n g dang " m t , bcnch' flung ffi 't&ett'

fiik @ice to rectangular items:

gauh sehk -stoneT

ngon 'that (legal) m7, 9cklhq? 9%'.level of meaning', y% ~ i n hmehng "a ( p h y h l ) life'; also the mure absrraa w a n i n g uf desriny ac in:

classifiers and pt 'one':

BIIL ~WIII&~I~

one line hope 'a ray of hope'

gauh chaat@au 'rubber. maser' g i h ~'v'. applia to wrre ahtract n o w as well 9s to oommdties:

gihn Sgmi "piece of jewellery' $6 gihn ngun 'that case' (legal)

LRib tluh mehng janhaih fi la! p u r CL life m l l y bitter F'RT 'Yorrr life is m l l y W r . '

fll

w t h h n g cheuhng -a wall' jPrrflg denotes flat objects which typically lie in a (contrast fm rekmng to vprridly oriented flat surfaces):

p r k ¬es n lumplike w irregularly shaped object:

but: flrgajn ~h 'this matter', gd #MI

n abstract nouns take +al

h J m g is the cider for a wall denoting a Rat surface (this h M be distinguished from the brrhng in ydr huhflgChp~n'h'a strung pungent smell' (see below):

fiik wA 'pinting' fUk &ng "phomgraph' fiik b w 'a [square piece of] dom'( a h pin bou 'mll of cloth3

y% go yuhnmohng 'a wish' nim t i ~ ~ j 'this i n challem' pl p &wih 'an opportunity' n7 gt kyutdihng 'this &don'

W

yiit kkdaih chdang 'a slice of orange' yw fa& c M a n g p e 1 'a s l i m of orange slcm'

jcung bhi Vablc'

go is alw used for individual items which do not m11 for a mme +tic c l a s s i k . Thus abstnn nouns which refer t o mmwmmHe emifips I&ng Fhysical &lures, generally bke go:

103

y&L 4. Gng-$i one line live-cham 'a chance of mival'

gihn daahn* pi- ot cake' ni g i n sih 'this matfer'

g h spplii to rnpicccs of doming. excepr the e l o n ~ t e ditems fi 'trousers' and k16f1n'skirt' which take f k l t .

jek has a v a r i q of meanings: (a) animal: )Sf jek p a 'a chicken', l h h n g jek g5u 'two dogs', (bl round obw:Ylh bk ekhuhiu 'your wrist watch', l h h n g k k g%dian Iwae e . : (c) one of a pair yatjek yihwsan ~ n earring'. e nijek Waih 'this shoe'.

'peace, safety' and gihnhng Note thai ahtract e n t i t k Sllch BS p f h g 'health' do not take any dassiher (6.2.1). M y mf the mme m m v n ddirssikrs define nwns in I m s of shape:

ipk also sznm as a ~ e n clasifier c mean in^ 'variety' as in flrfek jbu 'ths

faai denotes flat-sui+aced objects which are *rally auch m slices of f d s :

jiapplies to cylindrical items:

y a faai n@hpQ 'a steak' @t faai rnihnbsm 'a slice ofbrmd' yM fxai ybhsanng 'a piece of whimi' g6 faai mi'that window pne'

bm with oranges.

h i % is uped: -re:

verticany oriented,

(variely on wine' (6.2.3.

P kt -a pen' )at ji fa 'a stem of flowen' ji dkk 'flute' g€i ji j8u 'a few bonks of wme' ( a h jFu~'bmle') job amlies m some large itens:

104 Camtom: a comprehensive grammar y% joh gongk8hm $ (grand) piano' yst joh mn 'a mountain' Idp

d e n ~ e small s objects:

y8t lap Ihu -ri button'

ySt Isp tCmg -a sweet. candy'

rlrrh applies to long. thin obj& tiuh l w h 'road' tluh thuhfaat 'strand of hair'

. gdi 1Hp y c u h w n *a f C n pills' y8t lap ddu 'a bean"

applies to -1s

tiuh e h hake' t h h @ 'fish'

and i m m e n t s (but no8 mwical imtruments):

bA j E 'umbrella'

b4 Gng 'wice'

M

bAs6'1&

&i 'knife'

ga c l a d i s v e h c l s and cxher large machines:

gs

*

CL car

ga )ii+ CL clothewnudine

'car'

'sewing machine'

fPjgEi

CL fly-machine

ga CL ph-madine

'affoplane'

'camera'

$a

ch8hrg &an douh anlduhng fiing m n geui m n jahm jahn

fnlrn denotes a 'copycoW or 'part': m6mh fahn h j i 'buy a newspaper leuhngfalin prg'two johs cliim fahn W s a n Sign m insurance policy' fahn ybhn-gilng'salary'

A b-al

t&

~ t f & follbwal by !&ha h is MI-:

N@h fahn yhhn ji dub & m i h ge. (mm) I CLpersonmmrd-havePRT '.& a person, 1 couldn't a r e kss (about many things).' fahn yihn m6wh nCtt dim. jihnghaih K h i h g6 bhe that CL person not-have wliat how just giihhhn di

j3.

siney

PRT

bit

'As a person. lie is alnght but just a bt stingy.'

lPih b w h dmwi 'yolPr tamers' ni bouh siusyut 'this novel' y8t bouhjihdin 'a dictionary' 'volume' st b6n syii Write a boor milaill M n jaahpji 'buy a magazine' jfiu clihhng IAu 'rent a Rar' .bill' yHt dsan &ngyi 'an item of business' 'plxe' rGan b h mhhn 'dose the dow' yt douli deihffing 'a certain wee' w%r' y8t duling daa~lihali 'a mansion block' hestge' ~ 6mng seun 'write a lettei 'block. build~ng'@ g h n ngiik 'several Iiorpes' ni @an jaulhh -this restaurant' y8t geui syutwah 'a tum ofphrase' 'poll' y8t gvhn feilim 'a mll d film' 'men' h6u daaihjahm meih $ strong smell' 'bum' j$i jahn jaauhy6h 'a few s h o v e d yat p n n fung -a arm of wlno'plank' yst Iuk muhk % piece ofyht phhng n@h 'a mw of rewh' 'bar' yat p h i h jpgolik 'a chowlate bar' 'stem. trunk' p s p l i 'tree' p?fclici '&ln of regelable' 'tcxt' s t pm lnhhnjeung 'wrlre an artlde' h a d m d u @3'thas song' g6 siu "thatp m ' hwnd' deling g6i w h i Mi 'merve a few (wand) 'machine' 'wlume'

and animals:

A few da&ers are associared with funaimal fearurn:

W

Note that whereas fohn in the mst sentem can be replad by the cla5ifiergo. it c a n m in the second semence unlese the preceding demonstrative gd 'thatt is left outA numb of sortal classifiers are more specific in meaning, applying to nnly A few rmrm:

w

‘m

taMu' 82.4

ALTEWTRlE CLASSIFIERS

Far many n m s two or more alternative scmal classitiersmay be used. To some extent this is due to vanation behveen idwlduals, d a l gmup and varietim o f C a n t m e in the choice d dasher. For example. {Irip clndung 'an orange' is used by rnspeakers wliile others use go, the age and d i a k backmound a makers being imwrtant faum nere. I n manr caws, the c h o r i depends & the kind iOdm referred to w t k way the noun is k i n g used:

df

The W W j l ji &ng 'hda a gun' (classXed lsy cylindnnl shape) yuhng M &ng 'use a gun' (dassifid hy function as todhueapon) ni ga dihnlhih 'this mmputer' ( c l a ~ e d as machine) nT h u h dihnlah 'this computer' (ca l ssfied as moden ni go dihnlhluh 'th~smputer' (classified rrs object) ktuih M k u "her & (as instrument for speakmg) khih hiu "her nmutll' (as part of M y ) ySt dihk nghhnhih 'a teardrop' ySt lwh n@alinleuih 'a bawl of leanTS (idiom)*

16h tiuh lCui (slang) yw CL girl 'yow girlfriend'

107

(vulgar)

h h titih chci

yw CL xrpgetable 'your girffriend'

The use ofa clansifiw normally w d m l y of objeds and animals (see rirth. 6-23) has r dcrntaning effect. h c m rhr- slang uage. Slmllarly. when animal term are I& to refer m p e e for jocular or deriwse purpm. the dassifier jek may ht wed as for animals: ng6h jek (mdhllu) j4i my CL (monkeyl bny -mymnnkey d a boy'

jek g i CL cliicken 'pmstmte'

jek ngaap CL duck 'male m t i t u t e '

ga sNhn %Kip' [as large whiie) jek sybhn 'lxM (asmll object) tluh bydhn 'ship (I-. tllin: Ir%myusage)

6.3 POSSESSIVE CONSTRUCTIONS

yat go douhlPih 'a princiw dadh fiuh h h l t i h 'a maiorratimle' (emphasidng the exlent)

The pcmessor in~ariably mmw b e h e the item possessed. as m Englishmy mnrlapr's msiIePOne po&sr ccmsnuction resembles that in Mandarin. with gc ptrFmmingthc fuwticm d Mandarin d#:

fit tw hei 'a film' (lm 'set') yat dEut hei 'a film' An extreme case is the noun y& ~hing-which m y rake aEmosr anv clasifier. acmrding to the kind of thing referred to: @g

o ~ 'that h th~ng'(otqzct;iaimaticslly also uftwople) g6 jek yPh 'that thing' (animal. e.g. insect: also ofchildren. husbands. e t ~ ) g6 yeuhng yeh. g0 gihn y6h 'that thing' (matter. affair) g h g $i geui yell 'say a few things:(wo&) Slrh m r s illtmrate that t h ~rlmwifi~w.ire P. m l y determined by indi~idualnouns, lmt are appliedmeaningfulty to classesof nouns. I t Ej a160 p s i b l e to w a dassifier othwthan the usual one for the nolpn mcerned. m m e r m derive particular im@cahom. Fnr wc8mple. the neutml d k fier for t?eople is go but wdi is used in order to convey politeness and respea m r d s the md~vidualreferred to:

Ng6h eung gaaiauh n i w$i rnnngsin h i daaihp srk. I wish introduce this CL d a g u e for everyone know 'I'd like to introduce ths mlleapw to everyone.' Con-ly. M . whlcli m l l y classifies long thin item%. IS used of people in m e slang expressions:

gd

tiuh yAu (slang) that CL f r i e d 'that guy"

ng6h t~uhlgi (wilgarJ

Zy

boy mboyfriend'

gaausauh ge taahngihmt profPOSS d m 'the profesyorms ofW

hohkmng ge ggj€mg -dent pG$$ parent$ 'the student's parents'

aX

i s the Cantonese reading for Mandarin de, and is used in Canronese, for mmple In mg:

fmmml

Ng6h dik ySt G a n g dear P0$3 m e life 'my whole life' Ako as in Mandarin, the pos.smive markerge may be left out with kimhip t e r n and certain other mins where there is a close ( h k n a Y e ) link bemen the pxcwx and the nwn. especiam where the possessor is a Wmn:

@h saibju 'my yowngrr brothei kkuihdeih iikkki 'thew hme' n@ mgcihga 'my hrrband's Family' Klh (@an) g n w i -yourcompany'

cnmtruction uses the dassikr h&re the pc& m s e d noun in place ofp (exfor t h m n m s which do not take any An alternative

classifiers): my

@Ant

Lh

CL

house

'my home'

nm<

jch CL

'my font'

Fuh fmX

la3 Calbxse: a wmpreh%lrs~gmrnar k h i h W n syII

her

Wh

go boksih hohkwdi your CL PhD d~gr~e 'your PhD degree'

CL bodr

'her book'

Note that the pmxsm is not &ed bhb5an

p

boss n ~ 'thc boss's a'

g

to pronourn in this oonmuction: Aih-16u go daaih t6uhlShm fat-guy CLbi tummy 'Fatty's bg tummy'

chP y

A demonstrative is often added in this cunxhucth: Ei1, (+) di ?h@uh you hhm CL fnenck 'those frknds of yours'

jyjh

#h

wohk

cook thing LP wok "wolis for m k i n g '

seui ge chin mx LP mq 'money for paying tax'

p y

Strictly w k i n g , the verb phrases in these cunshuctions do not have a p+?$sor+essed relationsli~pwith the head n w n but they are assmgted in some way. Hence this construction is termed d - mby Li and Thompmn (1981). A s with the pos4essive use o f g , the clwiiercorstruftion is an alternative:

?ihk @

&

rd

CL thing

that

yhr

'things fw eating'

Potentially, there is thus a choice hehwen four p m w s i v e m s t m c t h s :

mu

Yi& g6 go gaaumuh England that fl prof'that pmfessor in Bntain'

Other constructiom inwlvine the s m r e (F head noun] include adjectival passive (8.4.3) and relatrwe clauses 16.4.4).

(a) l6ih ge w n m h you L P fric~lll 'yow friend(s)' Relative clauses are c l a m which modify a nwn phrase. Restrictive tclativr. dm= m e to restrict the reference of a m n pl~rm, as In Thr wu&m i know are r t r i w i d , which suggests that the comment mly applies b certain teachers. namely t b kto the speaker. Relative clarrscs in Chincsc h w the tkcrcvrrsc wdcr of thc English: fhc hcad mwrn comes ar the end, as i n all noun ph-. The order is thus:

(h) 16h phhnRysuh you friend 'ywr friend' Ic,

go pQh"gy$uh you CL friend 'your friend'

(a) ieih gb

go

yw that CL

(a) relative clause - ge - m n fi) relative c l a w - gd - CL - n w n (or@ m n )

psheuh friend

7 h r f r i e d nf yrwn'

-

The g m u r e (a) belongs to more h a 1 registm. the others (bdl k i n g more d o q u i d . The posseem onmtnrctiorrs h d e r funaim than merely indic s t i n g v s i o n . The phrase in the: m s o i w i t i m may be m a t e d less d~rectlywith the noun: nore that verb phram, for example. can W r I n ths powtion: sihk ge: y6h ear L P thing 'things for eating'

jeuk

~ l h ge g use LP m e *the time used'

&an ge yiuuhhei vay LP games ' g a r m for p l a y i e

ge

aam

wear LP clorhes 'dathes for wearing'

- CL -relative dauw - gc -

The structure is similar to that tor m v e oorsmranmdemaea In 0.5 ahwe. with the -me choke behveen ge and dernomharive + dassifier More the head noun. Relative clauses i n spoken Qntonese tend to be or Irmitd length. and some types of complex relative dauw used i n Engllsh n r e l y oaur; on the other hand, the use of resumpthe p m n m s permits some types of r e l a C1w c l a w 1Vhlch are na posslble in English (6.4.21. There are no relative pronnum as such, although the particle gr med i n o m of relative (6.4.1) fundim like En#& #ha. I n another type of relative, the demomtrative clarsiRer 1s used in place ofgc(h.4.2). There are thra two f m s of relative clause, -onding to the t w types of m i v e maruaim disclnwed in 6.3:

+

[a) (Gdi) sik ( t h m Cl.) knnw

dSk

Gw6ngdIlCanranex

ge hohNanpl hdau lhar sm&nts examine

within the relative clause:

h6u di.

ng6h sling fa Ei khideih ge behngyirhn ( i n d i m object) I send Rower to the111 that pabenls ?he parients Isent f-l to'

ADV well a-bit The wudenrs who knuw Qlntullew Jii a In1 k L 1 t 1 . '

(b) S k m B n g - w A g6 di hohlssang hdau k m Cantonese rhose CL students examine dsik hC* di. ADV wen a-bit Tim s1uk11bWIIV h.10~

Thcse two w

Such resumplive pmnms are q u i d 8 d n the head noun represents an indir& otged, objecr d prepxitionlcoverb. w &px N m p h

tPhng WRdeih IcmW ge hohliaang (objm o f w e d ) 1 with them chat that sfuden~ Yhe students that Ichat with'

q@

d~d a bit kttCr.

s are mared separately m the f d l w n g &s.

8s

they

have different mnpes ofqplicatim. Candoes wt have any dirW owmerpam lo the nmmtrklive relatise, as in The pmman, who is a frwAd of mme, m d . Howwer, eximlial and presenlative sentences (15 5) are similar to the existential dative 85 in Them urr pmple who Mikr irr d ~ n m m qThe . free dnth@ dzmw as in WIro dorm, wins is d k m d in 6.4.3, although it bean no structural resemblance b the restrictive relatives d i e d in 6.4 1 and 6.4.2.

ng6h jaahn chln & gwo khihddh ge @hn (obje~of I earn rnonq. more than the111 that people cmnprisicm) The people who I make more monq. than' Where the head noun is the possessor of a noun within the relativedawe. the pmnwn is optional: khlhddh Ouh kwhhn b u d$n ge ailouh-lid (genihve their (fL dress very shori that little girls relative) 'Ihe little girk whnse d-5 k very short'

As with the m i v e constndon. uih (Mandarin de) m y he used in flam o f g ~ in f m a l registers of Camonese:

This type of relative clause is similar in Fwm to the g powxive (6.3) and attributive ndjecriw mnsrmcrms (9.1). Corresponding to the relatiw

Yhhngylh sauheung dik WihyAn. easy @-hurt that woman 'Women who arc:w l y hurt.'

(song title)

dame constmrlion with dc in Mandarin. it allows relative c l a m in which as the subject or objed d the predlcare: the noun is unclen&h ge yihn know me that people 'people that know me' b&n

s14(

np5h

= whject of s7k)

ge yilin know that m l e "penlJe that I Imw' Cw?hn = &@Y Rf.ni>

slk

I

Where the head noun is nM the subject m d i m oQed of the predicsre. a rpsurnpt'k pmnoun must be used in the relative dmse to refer kmmd to & obiect: the head noun. Ths m y k done qionany in the case of a d

ng6h M g (khhkii) sihk-Caahn ge Whmuh 1 invite ( ~ I I I ) cat-fd that Criv4F 'ftiends that Iinvite fur rhnner'

A$ for the pcmm+e wmtm3ion (63). an allemative form of relative dause uses a dasglfier and, optimally. a demon~hatis.e.e:~ Ng6hdeih hdi Faat@ sihk di ye' @i hk-glhk ga. we in France eal CL fwd qwte pml-eat PRT T h c h d w ~ a- k in France ws$ pretty good.'

Mi n&h g6 di &ng h h leng. y g*e me those CL prlures very nice The pictures yw gave me are \wy nke: M h

This onmhuction is extremely mmrnon. being p r e k r r d in dloquial C h l l h l l ~bJ I I M C FvlllEIl AT' uuld~~li~l. l t &I t . ~ k d c sddlV~ clauw m be constructed which would he awkward or i m m b l e using gp. -11 as those with a demonstrative phrase as the hesd:""

Gaau l€ih t b h n M m g6 go? (film) wach yqu play piano that C 2 T h e me who teaches you fiano?'

K h i d e i h jyuh @%kwh h6u m - h @ h n . mey live thew ~ e r ynor-mmeniem 'Where they live is very inconvenient.'

Ng6h yiu i u n gir go y a n hh M h h . I nperl & that CL FMI not k r e T h e person I'm looking krr s not here.' (nor *N@h d n W d h g6 gu @hn)

(conv.)

6.4.3

Relative c l a m in whi* the litad noun frpncriuns as an indirect object. such as $he p k n t we .mu fimwm to. can readify te f m r d in this way: Ng6hdeih sung R M khih g6 go b e h n w n Mi we send Roww t o him that CL patient well Ban

aaai la. h c k all PRT T h e patient we sent Rowers to has temvmd mnpletely.'

Nore that a resumptive pronoun, k h r h appears in the relative: clause, referring forward to the noun Bchnsydhrr 'pahent', as described in 6.4.1 a m . Similarly. where the antedent d lhc rclath~c l a w k rhe possffsor. the pmnwn k h i k must be w d in the relative clause: Ng6hdeih t 4 . L khih fUk f - 5 ~ gt5 @ fihn we s e e - ~ hs r CL p m r e tmt u pT h e prim wliaw piCfllre w saw has arrivd.'

l h i . m-xv

Ng6h johng d6u N l h ga rhE @ go m y n i Mu I bump PRT her CL car that CL w m a n very h6u yihn ge. nice perm PRT 'The woman w b a r I bumpsd into was nice.' Even the o ~ d ma m i a t h e may be made the anteredent, resulting in a conshuction lmrely pobsible in English: N&h

I

w h H h leng gwn IrPnih g15 IA~iwi say p~ beautiful than her that CL girl

HEungg6ng %up. &PFV Hmgkong Mis T h e girl I said you were m m beautiful than has beoome Miss Hongkong.'

&mh-j6

Note that simpler r e l a r k . in which rhe antecedent is the sub]& or objwt nf the relative dause. do not call for Ihe pmnwn:

FREE RELAWE CLAUSES

Ree relative clausesin Ed& am I h wnuining a w h - p h w in placed k a d noun, m in I'll give yon who1 yolr wmr and You m n do w3raMvCrpv Iike. 'Ihey are 'frae' in the sense t h t what the c l a w refws to IS left u~l-ificd. 11,C h ~ t o ~ \ t srhtmt t , are t w typcs c# Ercc r d d v c . m s p o n d ing W y to t h with ~ and wirhwt in En#&. The: fist Qp? sesembks the relative clauses d i d in 6.4.1 above, hut w i t M a 1-d

-

naun aftat ger Ng6h &ng @ng ge & m6uh g6ng 1 m m ray 1.P d l 1 nnt-hve *at What I want to say I didn't my.'

dou.

V-PRT

Lkh h h n p i

g e h ngoi. want LP I Hgnt 'What y a i don't want, I want.'

you

m

H d hM-wbl gc ylhgTnl: jSu &. go havemeeting LP already leave an Those who are going to the m e t i n g hgve all left.' d8k h6u h. ADV well well Those we've taqht $id very wll in t k exam.' Np5hdeih g a a w g w ge &%I we reach-EXP LP all

hdau

exam

The s e d type of free relative uszs a questiond. corresponding to the Fmghsh foms ' w k r ' , 'whatever', etc. (see 17.3 for a list of the Cantonese qtestion words). The question word i s repeated in rhe main c l a w . giving a prallel sentence structure in which it aerres as subject or object of ofU~ dausps: Fmgo yauh &fn. Hi. who has money who pays *Whh s the money pays.'

I5hgil bi lkn'h@i jOngyi jeuk m%i@h,jauh jeuk mity6I. nw, CL gd i gric l lilce w e r what then w r what 'Nowaday girls war whatever they want.'

I tr Cantonese: a mpehmsiue m m w -

LGh k n g Ei g6i a. jauh h& & a. you want pay haw much then pay how much 'You pay howevernluch you warn.'

I

Note the use d j m h 1162.2) tooonnwl the rwo clamm. The r n m n e d f m s mu/'what'. dm 'how and b ~ n'where' are offen used in thii mstruaion. as in indirect questiorrs w h i i have a similar structure (17.4): LRih dung sihk miit, q6Meih s i l k mat. (mnv.) you wish eat what we cat what 'Well ear whamw yw want to eat." Nghh jGngyi dim. jauh dlm. I like h m then how 'Idu Ihins hc-I like.'

(film) 1

Yihndeih giu k€uih heui bin, k k i h jauh heui hin. people tell himlher where slhe then wkm 'He gum wherever Iie's told b go.'

7 PREPOSITIONS AND EXPRESSIONS OF LOCATION As dimssed in chapter 3, p r e v h s h rwt fvnn a h r l y d i * m class of words in Cantonese. The mwrk. which play a major role in e x w n g locdtion, behave in mosr m s l~kea subdm of v e r k they may take a m markers and verb1 prtides, and m n y may be taed independently he main verbinasentem.(see 3.13). Functionrrlly. howewr. they play the rde of prcposihom and may usefully be viewed as slrh. Like E~ngllsl~ prepcediom. they wrve primarily to expres ylatial relations of location. direction. dc. (7.1). and additionally to i n d i t e n o n s w a l relatirmsllips such gs thme of time and p q m e (7.2). The owertdpreposiths are used tmther mth the loEalim (3.1.4) to e n m more sped% spgtial relationships.

Similar indetiniteconstnKtim are u x d in m s i v e claws (16.2.4).

The most basic terms expming h a t i o n are compounds based on the dcmrmstmlives m i d g6 (6.1): 1

nidouh 'M miihn 'over here, t hisway' nlsyu 'here' nitiuh 'amind fils area-

g6dwh 'thereg6bihn "over there. that way' &-YU W3-e@tAuh "amind t h t area'

The= t c m are used hi the Mkiwilig wnys: (a) after a prepositidcwerb such m Fuji 'at' or yuuh 'from?

Di slam

dhj6 hdi *h. CL c r o t k put-PFV a1 there T k clothes are over them.' Yhuh nidouh heui Jiingwiahn @ fihn fmm here go Cwrlral how far 'Ilow Lr is it from h a to Central?'

(M

after a wrb of motion:

Ngohoedi yiu heui &bihn phiha2ui. we need go there queue-line 'We have to go and queue up wer there.'

a? PRT

-

Ng6h h6u slu lhih muh. I very little here-ahn 'I rarely m e to this area.'

h

@) followed by anMher verb in a $em11construction. Mi iis best tramlaled as a preposition: K h l =hhahn jauh Mi iikkh Ifi-syii. m-lei= then at h m e read-book 'He's at home reading when he has time.'

( c ) m sentence tq+s. fdlowed by ybuhlm6rrh 'them is (mt)': Nitsuh mhh ma1 &€&ng s. this-srea not-have any car-noix PRT There's hardly any IrafF~cwise in this area."

dk I

Ng6hdeih h$i Gsuhhng jyuh-56 e r n lihn. we at Kowloon livePFV three ycar 'Webe bzm living in Kowloon for three year$.'

Gbdarh Huh sBanggw6 maaih. there have fruit ~ l l 'There's fruit fw a& over thcrc.'

(c) with a localim alone. u d as an adverb:

Ga

N m : (i)g6dmh refe~?to a spec* place, unlike the rhem subjed in me English Hamlation which is a nmreferenhal or Wumrny' subject: (ii) a prepmition is not used before the demonwatiw at the beginning of the dause.

The car's outride.' Khih hhgong hfii ngolmihn flub go WihyAn. her husband at wlsae hss CL m a n 'Her h&nd has a mi'

{rl) t r n h p r with a flaw nam:

bi BuWhng g6bln ai Kwlom that-side 'over in K o w l m '

Colloquially. d&

K

7.1.1

h6i Y i n m k gWwh at England there 'over in England'

-

(d) with a noun p h a follmKed by a lomlizer. in t k ptlem hdi [noun phrnse] - [localiir]. wi6di is a very pmductive conmuah. The m r b hui serves m a general-purposepreposifion of location while the b l i i r express- the spenkspatial relatiomhip imlwd:

may mncl for+mh:

s M \ Mi ~ n & CL key at my The key's i n my bag.'

l t p

dwl~.

CL bag there

chi? h f i &tbihn.

CL car at outside

U i h &ui hbaih W j€ung b5i p i r pair shes be-at a table

I

hawk. tinder

'Yowshoes are under the taMe.'

SPATIAL LOCATiUQ K)1IWBS AND LOGALIZERS

hrfi 'bc atiin' m s p c m d s to Mandarin .didi t k gcnc,aI-pur~nal.kt~ of location: 'be bated' would be a more accurate -5, as it might he tramlaled as 'on', 'in' or 'at' d i n g to the oontext. As a wverb (3.1.3). hdi m y functicm ns a Ymb ratlicr than a p r q ~ o s i h ,a h u g h often corresponding to a prepsihun ill English. hdi is wed in a numtrer of difierent constructions to i n d i t e location in

w: (a) hdi akme omrrs with names of places: Kkuih y i h p fhh hG Em&mg. she now m4 be-at Hongkong 'She's not in Hongkong at the moment.' Khlh f i p g M I e n yal p ld~htaai. she already at hospital one CL week 'She's already ken in hapila1 for a week.'

Ididnuh or hh$w 'be hA-e' is used, far emmpk, on the telephone:

A: Chhg m l i n Chshn &ng reqmt ask Chan Mr ?s Mr Chan there, @me?'

B:

hrii-hh-hKiouh a? I~ere-mt-here PRT

Deuithjyuh. Chhhn Gang fhh hsrdwh swry Chan Mr nol be-liere 'I'm sorry. Mr Chan is mt here.'

w.

PRT

hiidw~ki s also uwd together with w h in a pmgrmsive m s e (11.2.2):

hadodl . be-here sew-clothes "Mum's h y m n g (wit11sewing machine).' A-M8 A-Mum

118 Cantonese: s oollprehensiw granmar M

g (not to be m k d with h u n g 'towards', 7.1.3) is a ~ r i ofhbi: a ~

lhh

tIkk.51 h€ung bindouh a?

ywr h m

a4

where:

Hdi s€jihliuh deuimihn yriuh @an jhlhuh. at office optwsite haw CL restaurant 'There's a mtaurant m k the office.'

PRT

'Whereakmts is your home?' The M i r s used with &or m follows:

W m i h (not 'deui or * d ~ ~ t i b i k'qpxk': n)

h n g i n cm&wfbm (c) and Id)a

h are

ydrpbih and I6whmrhrr 'inside' (ikuihmihn ~ d to Mandarin s Smiirrr. but /t%h cannor be wed alone like Mandann ti):

Fang seun hli go hsyl yahpbihn. lelter b u t CL boK inside "The lener's inside the box.'

a

H% ng6li (gel e r n 16dhmihn ji yduh yat go b i d a h t . at my (LP) heart imide m l y has one CL secret There's only one wmel in my kart.' chflntthrhn and ~zp'hrrrih'outside':

png esremially means middle' as in JBriggwok -the Middle Kingdom = China' Lwrt is u d in Modem Standard Chinese and formal Canto mcan 'in': Ng6hdeih p t s-arlg jung Huh msiu wr one Ilk muddle ]lave nor-* 'There are many difficulties in our lives.'

The spatial meaning'in the middle' is ex-

kwanlaahn. diilty byjEinw8ri:

Go gmgkhhm fmg h4i haak-Eng j0n~-an.

n

plan0 prrt at gumt-hall middle 'The piano i4 p l a d in the centre ofthe living room.'

~7gAm'behreen' is used with rirhrrg cwrdimting two plaws or parties:

Wuih

h% jjiludirn chElrrbihn d4ng ng6h. slhe at h e 1 olrrside wait me 'Sheis waiting for me outside the hotel.'

Ktuih jyuh ki Giuluhng~hng~ h n g Ggulth"g-s1hng B p . she live m KowlounTong and KowloonCity &tween 'She lives behuewr Kowlom Tong and Kowloon C~ty.'

Ngmhmihn l o h k ~ n @h. wtside fall-PROF iain 'It's raining mihide.'

N&hkih 16ulu11~ p jTgiha1 g~ hG~iI11til~ YUIII Eilt we two CL trerween LP distunw- more come

cklhnmihn 'in fmnt (fl and hukbihn 'behind':

HSi ga Bensi cliihnmihn y h h go leng-l6ui. nt CL Bcm i n - f m hm CL p r c t w d There5 a p r q girl In frmt d the Meroedes.' ChEpahrn h$i ni tiuh @a1 hauhhhn. car4op beat this CL dreer behind 'The bus stop is k h m d this meet.' .mI~rrgor mI~r!p~~iIui!bVir! 'on (rq,i

oy a

d l ~ ~ t t ( m i f ~ d'klw'; fih)

Go @g h i i tiih seuhngm~h h w m d w liaam. CL singel at stage on-top happy till cry The singer wm w happy that she cried on the stage.' JEung t6i hahbihn m b h ygh ge. CL U G l t u ~ ~ J F L 11V1-lln~Lliin~ PRT %ere3 nothing mder the table.'

yuht *hn. rare far

'The distance between the two of U I i s pmwing farther and Farther.' T k place expression [noun-localk] may h p n a c l a w . lullwd by thr existential \wb jduh 'have' or mtkrh 'nothave'. forming an exixistenlial locative construdion (note that no prepxition is used here):

Go cbji yahpbihn mduh d chfn. CL bag irk& not-hve all money 'There\ rw m m y in the bag-' Sing Ging lhihmihn y i ~ i hgo g u s l i . Holy Bod. within have CL w r y 'There's a story in the B i l e . . .'

k b h hear' may occur with or without an object: ElgOhde~hlewhng go ryvn clam hdu ban. we two CL live ADV very near The two of u s live c l m tqether.'

120 Cantonsss: a comprehsnsiw grammar Ng&deih jyuh b k Mu w live ADV very "We live near the sea:

7.1.2

- i s

b h n h&h-n. near seaside

haih yauh W n g o n giingsi go jitmtihk this CL pmgnrnrne is from Wing On company

M

$ahkyeuk*t. (Tv) e l l y brmdcasr T h i s programme IS W t s p ~ a l l by y the Wing On cmnpny.'

DISTANCE AND MOVEMENT

Rih 'away from' indicates the dhtanoe between hwr Vaces: Daaihhohk k i h 16h univenlty from ymr

ukkti @i flhn home how far

a?

PRT

' H w far ii~.the u n h r t y hyour home?' -1hiMhrn1expresses distance or maion 'from X to Y'.m i n g that one is l m t e d at point X: Mi

Hfii Leuhndeun heui Gimkiuh yiu fit go jiingCluh. at London go Cambridge need one CL h w r frnm I nntlnn tn rarnhridp ' 'It takes an hmrr tn H6i Jnnmahn hew SZm %ui 8611yhuh syiihn daap ge. at Central go Sam Shui Po have ferry m h PRT -rhere7sa Rrry fmm central to Sham Shui Po.'

dzihrig 'frmn' (Mandarin &ng) n a formal equivalent of ~ R f r h .used to inlrwdurx e a u u w d mcmcnt. or a starhng point In time: cliuhng n g o i h p k

lbih

fmm

come I.!' whcholar

a h d

@ihr

Vhnt way' snd r~fhiI~n 'this way' may he used

thief m-Pm 'The thief ran dl that way.'

Sam go jih. (we 21.3) Shnlin nced thrcc CL unit 'It take iiftcen minute frnm Kowloon to Fliahn.'

(b) referring m time: yhuh H m p h t =chi fmn $ d a y begin ' h - ~ n i n gfm today' NMhdeih yiuh sai dw daaih dm haih gam we From small until also be so

Mu

PhngyAuh. good friend 'We've k r i @ fhtnds G m ~2 WCX mll.' Ecj indicatingthe mm of respn5ibllity or spomonhii:

Myhuh falyuhng yhuh ngdh tuh@k. all expews imm me responaMe "I'm respcmible for all the e~perejes.'

m idicate diitxlwrnun:

h i ebihn.

(a) to expres d i m :

d m SBtihn y u

hohkjt

chbhng luhksahp bhdoih k i c l i i hnm sixty decade begin Ymm the 19% onwards'

-vhrlr 'from' is wed mainly in the following ways:

from Kowlwm to

ge

"scholars m i n g fmm ahmad'

Go chsak jAu-jb

Y3uh Ghulhhng

and emtmbns of location 121

w

rhat-..ar

harm^ m n s 'towards' in n drrectional sen*

(oontrast &I!.

22.1 ):

Ng6h h n g deihtit g6bihn hhahng. I towards subway that-way w l A T r n walking in tho direction of the subwny (MTR).'

Go fiing hemg-@n diingmihn chEui. CL ryphpnn mmbPROC. east-side Mwr The typhwn is blowing towards the east.' ~ i r y(RWJ : in a serial \erb convtruainnqmwa the rclatioo %a':

N@hdeih @g we vla

Ynndwh hi Yinggwdt. India go England 'WckgMng to England via India.'

Ga & ging m i h d w h heui H~un&@i CL m viir tunnel p Ahrdeen The car goes to Akrdeen via the tunnel.'

Note that gCAg is alw widely used as a verb, mearnng 'pa- @yy:

Prepositions and expressms of locsbon I23 -

chin dub pimp p. (film) I towards money not-have pre~udioe PRT 'Idon't haw anythingagmimt money.'

Ng6h deui

Gag-ah-ging Mghlaih yiydn a? pass-notpss Mary hospital PRT 'Do yw pass by the Qwen Mary hosml?' (wed on brrses. minibuses. etc.) 7.1 A

Hmngg6ng-@hn deui hatgwa Hongkong-people towards gcmp $uh

PLACEMENT

With trrmsrt-rtrve %erbs denonng placemt, a l w t i v e prepositional phrase (a?seen in 7.1.1) fdlmus the objcd: Eih Img bi yPll hsi thi wrhnpihn. please y m yn CL Himg at table top-mde 'Please put those things m the table.'

M e

Ng6h gwx fiik wri h h @wh I hang CL picmre at here 'I'm hanging the p i c k owr there.'

'Hmgkmg p m e are \wy mteresred in H p . ' dort with time expressions means until' or 'by':

Ng6hdeih d w yih@ dm m i h pi-gwo we until now still nor-yrt try-EX' 'We'.? n e w been SP p v r unt~lm,'

1G t l l i a day, I slin du11.l

chin

gam h h ~ . so

poor

UII&I~(~IIL!.'

@n, which rn a verh meam 'follow', alsu funchons as a prepition meaning 'with':

N o t e that the he-phrase is completed by a localmr such as s e u ~ r n : or h a demonmaliw mslch rn dolrh (7.1.1). An alrernativesrnxn~refor verbs of placement is the serial orrsmKtion with @ung (8.3.11:

Ng6h jEum

hmgmeUi.

have interra

Ng6h dou gZim dh p y a h t juhng h h n-dhng. I hll t h s time today still not understand

ngM jZi h~ go hap douh. CL money I k e g at C L box there 'I'm keeping the money in the box.'

Di

Gnmim hhi news wry

C+un bssi W m h . I take CL Aower-bottle put at liere 'I'm putting the l a x over there.'

NgM hah chi e n 116h heui &ih sung. I next time w~th yw go buy f d 'I'll go and h y gmcriw with you ncxr tim: Other prepmitiam f w m d fmm @ are gdnjy~~h -with. fdlllwing' and p n p i 'acmrding to':

PI

LRih gZnjyuh

n@h hhsahng. walk

ym Following me 'Follow me.'

7.2

NON-SPATIAL RELATlONSHlPS

I n addition to inrhcating location in spaoe and time, prepitiorslmverbs and nostposiziwcdlocalizers may indlcateother relationshipsbehveen noun . . phrases.

-

zy

jirr or jiujy~~h have a similar rnmning, 'Mowing' or 'acwrding to': hu gai yin~Cti@uh chiu pm p t h n k awarding mlcwlate sliwld ha%e more than one

maahn jihng

d m i means -towards' m a ndirechonal s e m . for example with referto personal relationship and feelings:

N@h ngmhmh deui ngOh h4u ndu mother-in-law tmvarrk me very motmother-in-lawweam me nicely.'

ghgeui ge Ensik amording e m LP analysis 'according to expert analysis'

ge.

million mmain PRT "Afcordmg to cahlatiom there s h w M be over a m i l l i i leR:

go

Whngpht JluJyull Mil 5p @g. always following CL book ralk This ledurer always lectures according to the textbook.' @mgtii

ge.

NI

PRT

tms CL lecturer

f i r u often used with the prtickfm .back. in return' (1 1.3.11:

Ng6hdeih jiu Eian gauhlin ge fCm&at heui chauh fin. we f o l h k k old-year LP methnd p mi= fund 'Well gu with Ian year's way to raise funds.' I h :jiu can be used as an adverbial before a verb with the m n i n g 'cany on .wprdlesb'

YSm jeui-jb ktuih d31 ~ i u yam. dnnk drunk-F'FV s h e also continues drink 'He g m s o n drinking even when he's drunk.' H6u dli yeuh ngaihlim Mu @hn mihng ji alw wry many pmpb evvn k m hue danger

l d h n)hng. with

. . mduh gwrian (w gww%mhaih)-have mrhing to do

Ni gihn sih thhng n@hdeih m h h e n h a i h F. this CL matter wit11 us rot-have connection PRT This has nothing to d o with m.'

f i h g in this usage may also tskc a dauw as Its &@T:

Co gachihn tbm$ lfingm joah rrnjuh gwmn ge.. CL price with who does m h a v e connection PRT "Ihe p r i i ~ n ~ n g t o w1tI-1 d o w h o m thejob: wuih or ~ # q i ?meam 'W in the sense 'fm the si~kelbenefitof;

jiu shik ym. mntinrw mcke nprette *Woplecarry on smokrq even when they know it's dangerow.'

Ng6h waih Eih cheung d u g6. I tor ynu sing CL song I fling d W I I ~run yw.'

jihauh m a h jiu tiu, m6h ninety-seven after dam^ cuntinue d a m b

K h i h waihj6 g6 go l€uii$n m a w d m hdng jouh. he for that CL wonran what all willing do 'He'll & anything for that woman.'

GfiucWl

jiu Wau. continue race (tiu-mhh 'dance'. pAalrmAh1- ' 'ARcr 1897. t k drrnnngand horse-racing will continue a s before.' dfm bun juhng jwh-lhh-jouh o'clock half st111 d m - d o 'Do we still wmk after five-th~rty?.

A. N@I

fiw B: Jiu

mntinue

a?

PRT

puh. do

a i r y on.'

Ng6li tt~hngW a n g SRang mliaih 1~ sulik ge je. 1 with Wong Mr not-be very familiar PRT PRT -1 d o d t knmv Mr Wow very well.* A-Wihng Ern-jyuh ti~hngkduih @bh@ @u s f i a n g Ah-Wing think-COW with h i b r n t k r &l husimess 'Wing is rhink~ngof s e t t i q up a business with his [elder] brother.'

r2rh1tgis a b ; o d to ooordinate nourn (16. I.I) and in mmprisrms (9.3.9.

."

pinw& 'became (d)'m y funmion as a preposition as well as a confinch: Ng6h mhaih yamvaih cm'n k g Eih ge. I nc4-be hecause money hclp you PRT "Ihelp yw m4 &we of W e mmey.' K h i h haih $mih miinji @nji gytm gam d6 cMn. slhe is h u s e face then donate so much money 'She h a t e s so much m y for a p p m n c e ' s sake.' p w i h m y he used tugelher with m n s dermhng r e m s , a wage whieh i redundant in English bul mrrristcnt with the pztkm of ~@~rwuih .. . s6yfi as a mjunction (16.2):

N@h h h nhih flnwaill m'i go ybhny%i Eikhdi khih. I nm would b e c a w tliis CL r e m n leave-away him 'I wouldn't leave him for THAT reason.'

Note that the English here is ptentially ambigunus. while in C a n m e the p i t i o n nf t h e y m k flmse d a t i v e to the negation determines t k meaning: Ngdh flnrpalh m d go yLhnyh h h w d i h 1Mh h01 keulh 1 hemme &is CL reason not wwld leave a p i him 'Iwouldn't leave him, for that m.'

and ~ s i o n ofs bath 127

Pre&ohs kPik jim 'among c#hers7ir. a literary +se

a h din s p c h !

W h jnng y%t p jyiing3 h a h Jiingrdhn Daaihhhk r& among one CL e x p r t is Wlincse University

gc

gnnumuh.

LP professm 'One of the m a l i s t s is a

at the Chi-

University.'

It i s commonly m d to refer h c k to a p w k u s dm= or sentence:

Ng6h h t y i h p

p d u n t e after will find job 711 firad n jcib after I p d u a t e . '

Yihchihn khuh gaau Jiingmfin p. before dhe teach Chinese pRT 'He used to teach Chinese.' a

ge

syii,

kGh jiing

j e ~ n ch-q

r n m m r famm grmnmr IP honk rest a haih Jiuh YilhwYahm. LP R Chao YuewRen 'A number ot m l n r s have rvntten hooks a b u t L h l m grammar. among whom the M - k m is O m Yuen-Ren.' ge

7 2 2 NON-SPATIAL LOGALlZERSFOSTPOSmONS

%me

rvprds

which hehw synt#iwlly like h l i u e r s vr &twm

(see 7.1.1) eqxess non-spatial relationships. h l k n marking locatiorr

in time are formed with the prefixes jF and 31: jichlhnlylhchlhn 'More' flmWyihloih 'within'

j$hauh/yihhauh 'after' ji-ngoioihlyih-rtgoih'kpd

The two atternalive. ~T.41ihmlylkhihr1 ' k f w e ' and j?km~hI~$hkmA ' a W

are not inferchnngahle in all environments, although they overlap. The forms with Fare used aRer a n w n phrase, like postposiths:

WkP

-1hn ngbh yiu d Mu W n sq. summa-hdiday before I need write V-PRT CL hook 'I need to finish writing the book hefnre the summer hdiday.' Wry@ tii h w @hil y%uh ge faatjtn. shwld look gal ninety-$wen b e y d LP development 'One should he mimistir: a h t developments beyond 1997.'

ChsamhArru syij yiu hhnp: mhi j%ih whhn. reference h k sdrould rw day within return 'Reference hooks shculd he rerurned wirllin w drip'

These words are a h used rn m j u n c t i m after a clause (16.2.1):

h. PRT PRT

By mtrmk, t t related ~ won% y r w h n ' k f o d and y M a J r ' a W fuw don a s adverbs (10.33):

Yihhauh jdhfaat

jihauh w15h d n @ng

I

Ell

I-@

~

hQ

your U

1

&u

h h &ng

drlill

wamd

tEng d6u 1-1 V-PRT

e g .

'Fmm now on 1 h n ' t want to hear yocm voice again.' yheuhng ' a M and yi7Jmh 'below' are wed with figures toqness lower and uppcr lrmits rcsptivcly:

S?iamhp w i yihseuhng thirty year abow 'aged thirty and ahoue'

YSt kiak m e hundred 'helow $1W

man yiihnh dollar below

Srmildy, p%-ngmh 'hcyorad' may refer to limits in time or spa~e: YSt baak m e hundred

rhh @ngi€ih yih-ngoih %u kilometre beyond receivr: nM

y~hrnhbhseunhouh. V-PRT any signal 'Beyond a range of 100 km ynu can? receive any si-1.' dbu

meverbprme 1ZB

8 THE VERB PHRASE

f i k dung I-&

Cd

ma CL photo

leng.

very nice

The picture's nice.'

In g m l , hih wwld not be llsed e x m p as a focus marker in an emphatic sentence or to retute a claim:

Thii chqter &als with the hmk syntax of verb p h m s t y p of vem (8.1). o h m (8.2) and serial verb c m A d o n s (8.3). Passwe, causatiw and rewltalive mrufticm are treated in s d o n s 8.4 and 8.5. The aspan ma&ers and verbal partides arc mated sgwmtely i n c h a m 1 I. modal (arnril~ary)mbs in chapter 12. Cantotwe verbs do m o t vary in form accnrding to numher. person or teme. There are no verM mfleniw, apan fm the marhers, which behave for the most prt rn suffixes (11.2. I).

8.1 TYPES OF VERB

t#ative yerhs

amion w k auxilEary v e r h

as f o l l m

hail -he' jungyi 'like'. jyuh live'. l h W n k ' @h 'M, heui 'gd,y i ~ k'move' ylu 'need', w61h 'wllVwould', d u n g 'wanr'

The diiinctiow hetween amiliary and Mher verbs, and hetween dative re&- and Mj&ves are n ~ eategorkal 4 nnw, as d i s c u d in chqter3. S.1.1

' T k piaure S really nice.' A: K h i h mhaih

h a lengjei jt. rsn't very w - m o ~ i n g P K 'He im+tvery @-looking.' f~

~

B: K h i h hmi h611 lmg-jl

lth. he is yery good-looking PRT 'He is really g o d - W i n g . '

In most c a s Imrh a n De Omittea wimout affeaing the seme or munure

Cantonese v e h are traditionally divided into ateaopular verh

Gb mk g u n $ hab h h leng ho. that CL photn is my nice PRT

of a senreme:

I*

go [haih) ngbh saiKiu IIPihge. rhis CL (is) my hronier PRT 'This is my Iyoungw] W h e r . '

ui chci (halh) sahp man hat) gan. CL vegetable (is) ten ddlar (om) catty T h e vegetables are ten dollars a catty.' Gb h n that CL

THE VEFIB F W H ' E

That

syii

(haih) n@bh ge. my LF

book (is)

hnnk h mine.'

The wpular verh $I& 'to k'.like other & w e verbs, is invariable in form, hence Ivrih m y m r d a t e rn 'am'. hw'. 'were'. etc. It shwld be

dishngui~hed~K?I !klncalivc mwrh hrli 'he: at' win a high rising mne (see 7.1). As the name roprJu losuggffts, rhe m i n furcthn dhaih ts to join two nnun phrascs:

Gd th yahn mih ngoh ge phngyauh. that CL n o p l e are my W f i i d Wme people are my friends.'

G6 Rlk wB haih n@h ge. that CL fidure is my LP That m r e is mire.' Note that in neuhal c m k x t s k& adjectiws ('3.1):

is nut used to mrmt m u m with

Idtom: in (hnih) ngdh g meaning 'Ws nn mc' h i h m mv&mlly omittcd:

Ni

chSan ng6h ge.

(TV ad)

'This meal's on me.'

In addition to its b 5 i c role as cqrula. haih has a numher of gmmmatial functions: [a) In me emphatic camwmon h i h . . g,wMch should be d b tinguished fmm the V v e ge (63). Like Mandarin sht . . . de and the 'cleft' conin Englkh, it emphasizes the word after h&

130 Cantonese: a wmrxshsnsiw qrarnmar

The verb phrase 131

G6 M n syii halh n@h ckhng p. that a. hnnk ix I order PRT "Itwrrs I who ordered ~t book.'

idiom: h i h .

GBm ge j a h f a a t haih Eih Hnji lam d6u ge. wch LP &way k y only rhinh V-PRT PRT 'Only yw wuld have thwgllt up that kicd of method.'

Note mat p is pqdaced by go in quesr&ns. due q quesrion partide a (18.1.1):

mtpctb with

(c) as an affirmative answer to certain t y p s of question, notably prhcle qwstions (17.1.8, 17.1.9):

A: Lhli

saai cMn ah? yw mt-have all m e y PRT ' M Y have any monqP m6uh

~ g mmmih

gel ~ m uKetIlfimIh stung mm. not-be quite k w they want how 'Ihnot quite sure what they have in mind.'

B: Haih a. Is PRT

I

"Yes.'

B: Haih a. IS PRT

m i h d e i h mhah h6u thllngyi. n d - l x very agree "Tllgr don't really agree.'

they

WR'

(d) to introduce p d ~ m h v ecomplements, like English us. with the verhs syun hnih 'ccunt as' and dong. huih mt as, regard s':

Many skttive w h s are intermediate heFNeen verb and adjmtim; g&g, for e m y e , resembles M h the verh Jmr and t k adkctive afraid. I t behaves as a verb in taking an &pa. but like an rdjectlve in allowing reduplicatim (9.2.2):

Sam h a k

man q u n haih g& @hng. three hundred dollar count i s pretty clreap Three h ~ n d r r rdl d l m m ~ n as h m y rhPilp.' k€uih baih saikruhjai l t i h p je. 1 regard him as child PRT PRT '1 regard him asjust a chld.'

Ngbh h g

YAh~hhn

I

'E\.erym~: k n o w she's pregnant.'

&Su g n g

ni

pzrson-perwn all

a h a ~ d this 'Everyone is afraid of this disease.'

j6ng bchng

CL diseax

Ngbh gEng%ng&i jtk. 2 afrai6afrrrid-ish PRT 'I'm a hit afraid.'

(e) in quantikd mtenws with dm. meaning -every'(14.1):

A n R yhhn d h jl ktoh h l h - j d RSuh. is person all knrxv she hig-PFV belly

go

h m h a b m a d and a n a n r n u m s e . l n r l K : broad sense, traditional in Chi= grammar, stative v e r k i h d e whm we treat as d j e c t k (seeh.9). An d k M d in rhapler 3, there is nn clear distinction behveen shltive verts and Nectives. In a narrower sew,more uwal in linguistics and gramman of.&l~erl a n g u a p , siative wrhs m tliis sense are t h m rvhih are clearly verbs, but share certain properfia with ad@-. Clear emmfies arelTdord'kmow- and ridhngvi 'agree'. which may lx modified hy g#i 'quite' and M u Very much'.

saai m5ih a? all rice PRT

khih p me? k m him PRT FRT 'You know him, do you?'

heui.

the term--rypwr6isuwl in

(h) m A-nM-A fcim, hikmhaih. to ask yeslno queshons (17.1.3):

yw

v stuhtromnm or determination:

L12 STATlVE VERBS

Since rhe h i h . .. also allows omission d h i h . sentence p m c l e ge (18.32) my be seen as a mvz of this cmtnlbhon with h i l t omitted.

A: M h

e

Ktuih mlhng lohk-y6h haib CIW h h daai jE. slhe dear know fall-rain is also mt mny umbrella 'He w n ' t cany an umbrella even when it's raining.'

the

Ni fiik w5 haih Hngo sung ga? t l h CL I ~ ; ~i*+ ~WIW ~ t gPRT 'Who was i t that gave us this pchlre?'

Haih-mhaih m6uh hr-m-be m-have 'Are we w t of rice?'

. &rr

Kduih hmh d i h yiu jihgti Jhp is dm #wed wlf 'He i d on p i n g h i m l f . '

1

Several of them take ohm, bile the corregwrading En-&& canm:

djdjemves

The verb Fprase 133 denotes the ahnity in 'tell' in the seme d&&&PI# with verbs of of rrcogniring what k ~rceived:

Ng6h Gu suhk kCtnh iikkK~yhhn. I vtry familiar hL., hnmc-people 'I know his bmlly very well.' gihn m m ji @am this CL s h ~ r t masr rlglll This shirt suits you F e r f d y . '

Ni

d5k kCuih mhaih Gwkgdiing-yBhn. listen can out dhe nM-he C a n t o n e x - p e ~ m '1 &,kll (by iirsl~ding)f l a t dm's MA Cant-.'

Ng& I

16h la!

you PKI

[Ni +k &tsuh&i n p a m saai slu-pihngyfiuh! Ithb Cl wash-head-wter] right PRT small-friend .[This shampm's] just the thmg forchildren!'

L i i h siikhh-sihk dSk d m t y a m i n y5uh di rnat@'h a? you eat-not-eat can out insCde have m e what PRT 'Can yw taste wlmt's in this?'

pad.)

rhh rhnn is I I E negative w u n q a n of lldk chW (xe 12.3.3):

11.3

slhe ?i.ixry-some 'He's in his sixties.'

B:

VERBS OF PERCEFKW

t6i dh,t&igin 'see' tCng N u , E n g gin "hear. g n M u 'see,notice' w h n g &I, mohnggh k, wan%'

gm Seem h n g 'wardr. -re' d h n 'smell. snifr gol, dak *eel'

mhhn d6u Smell' (transitive) gc4 dak dh "feel' (formal)

ddk is often d u d a n t with -tion may ham thc mbdnl mcanirtg

tbi dSk $n 'can see' W h n dsk d6u 'mn smell' verbs as MI brdu a l o e , fmexample, dak may be nddtd f~

+ a n w', but

emphasis:

H h y6hn f i ~ mhhn (dak) fi~. very far a h smell { a n ) V-PRT 'Yw m n smell it a long way off.' Gnm e h n . 1Bh tsl-hli-rA so far yw look-W-look O n you see so far away?'

+hh ckot

N@h d h n ihh ckwt haih mtity€h meih hhp. I smell ttd out be h a t lbvour PRT V mn"t tell w h t the flnvour is.'

i

The verb and @de in nffse wmbinations, although mually wntten as single words in the Yale system, are all pntentinlly s%pmblt.the neptive rhh and the d a l partide dr7k coming henueen tllem: tBi h R gin 'cannot sx' @m@ mh d& "cannot feel'

w! n d out PTY 'Yru wouldn't know!'

Tgl

M

!h-mpthn vprk am f m m ~ r hy l mhiniw a mwry vprh with a verlwl particle or o m verb. Note the systematic distinction hehveen simple wa-b denoting perceprual d v i q and rhe compound v e r h with d6u or gin which d e w a m ~ apwption l o f a ahmulus:

tii S d . watch' e r g 'IiMcn'

luhksahp@i wui p la. years PRT PRT

Khih

A:

Like a d j e h w , hw.vever, they may be d iby hdu and other m d i fiers ('3.13) and may hc duplicated with dPi (9.2.2).

dak gh a? can see PRT

idiomr m~ilht6i' m'i-hrih or r d i v 'it depends' is fdkmed by an Indirect queshm: A: Yiu g€i loih a? need how tong PRT 'HOWh g will it take?'

B: TGi-hsh Krgo h u h la. see-DEL d m whodoff PRT 'It depends who does it.'

1

A: Liih e i s i h EhEng ngdih srhk fnnhn a? yw when invite me ear food PRT "Whcn are yw going to imite me to dinner? B: T&-grm, sin. see-EXP first 'We'll see rrii h h is used

. . .'

to make an inference l m d on appemnces:

Ttii lsih

Wh gam hi yHtdihng faat-daaht la. (film) rime rklimlrly rnnkemgnry I T T 'It lwks like yw're sure to make money this time.' s=e come you rhls

/ d i m : rbi M u 'be @ m i W transitively:

may be wed intmmirively or

L€ih p h n g t8i-hh ah? ycu still kck& FRT 'Still nptimishc. are you? N&h jauh h h nh-h6u 1 then not look@ "ButI'm d wmistic' m h n g long

air1

tm

la31 cane

Complement c l a w s of Fcrccpfion verb. cbmihing witrmsed events, directly follow theverb without any m j u n a i o n : Ng6h t&i-jyuh

lak. PRT

1Bi

M h Eng-mh-teng &k mlhng kCuih g6ng m i t a? you k a r - n ~ + + a r can ~ i d r m l a n df i e say what PRT 'Can yw u r d e m n d what he's sayng?'

'I'm watcliing the baby sleep.'

116yn1 GI-lldu

Iwk can

p bihbi Tan-.

bkok-CONTCL b h y s k p

I

Iwk-good

g6u4HIL

nineqf*ven

faatjin after LP d w e b p i m n t 'In the long term m e can be optimistic ahwt develqments after 1997.'

j i i u h ge

rdi diki a h meam 'he W r n i d c " . the partide h6i 'away' meaning to look away fmm a problem or difficult situation: M h tAi

Mh di la! look V-FRT a-bit PRT 'Why not lmk on the bright side?'

Ngbh Z h n m h t m p di h o h k S a n ~ Rg, f$q. I alwq hear CL M e n 8 so talk 'I often hear the srudents talking like that.'

L&h yM-rdm~h gin d6u kCuih Mayw h a w - h a v m t see V-PRT her walk

gahp lhih a? enter come PRT

'Did you see her m e in?

k m p l e m e n r clause d e nor change in bm: Note fial the verb in t the prcgressive fnrm -&is mot used. for example. in such complement dm=.

you

Jiinggwok-ylhn t5i chlihng gwmnhaih g. Chinesqmmn look imponant connedion PRT The Chiplace great irnptanceon m & n s . ' L&h m h h t8i

siu

k h i h a.

lPih tAi fhh hPi ng6h knuw yw h k nol up me 9knowywlookdomonme.l jMm

(fihn)

rmg &k d'mg Snderstand (what one is hearing)' k m a similar syntax:

HEmohng Wh m g dBk mihng. hope you hcar can u d e r s m d

'I hope p u understand.'

These verbs indicate mental astiwry or p m p t i o n :

Pdou 'know' (fxF.1 slR 'know' (a p m or skim Ism 'think' yihvfaili 'think' ( m d y m m ~ )

yw don't lo& small him PRT 'Don't undereshmte him.' tlii ddi and rhi rfrA Ii#i look down on' apply sirnbrly to people: Ng& I

VFRRS IHCXKiNlllClN

a.1.d

rdi CAdkng kpdw important' and i a mnverse Mi J2ngor nlistit -underestimate' have a similar syntax:

yihngwsih 'Illink, consider'

pk&k ' k1 (opinion) ' geidak 'remember' yihngd8k Wm@niee' mgei&k Torget' (seung-)seun 'helieve' (have m f d e n o e )

The syntax of these w r h 6 s r r a i w : there being no m j u d o n c m q m d i n g to h r . a verb ofcqmition 1s m p l y Mowed by a dam: gddSh E;h yimsgG .3;&n1 dl. I feel yw shwld careful link: -1 think y w ought to be mme careful.'

Ng&

Ng6h e d 8 k Wuih g3 Ek @. 1 remember h e quite dever PRT '1 rememhr t h t she's pwny hi&.*

136 Canton-

a oorgehensive g r a m m DirG# o b j d Liih duhk

N m : SRmeam 'kncm' a m to ~ q r l e as . in the phrase .d yRhm 'to ha: wnnectims' a d aim to knmvledge d h o w to do things {Sik *h-& 'to know hmv to swim'; see 12.1.2). fl a d k s to facts or

you

Object oj l o c a h ~

M h duhk bin

@an hnhkhaauh a? you study which CL x h 1 PRT 'Which scliwl do you p to?' Ngbh s i h k - r n BHkging LBuh. T eat-EXP Beijing House 4've eaten at the Beijing Garden.'

wo.

him FRT 'Oh, I W t know about him.' M-know

8.2 OBJECTS OF M E VERB AND TRANSlTlVlN The verb phrase, in linguistic themy,includes the object. In Canrrmw, the relationship hemeen w h and object i s particularly dose (see 6 objea c o m p n d s , 8.2.4) and *bjW midy be he -1 distiwt kin&.

82.1 MRECT AND DlREGilONAL OSJECrS Many yerbs of mohm whch are intranative in many I a n g u a p may take directirmal &jccts in Qntonm. Thcre is no need for a prepogitm k h v e m a c l i i t i m l verb and its*: (yee ch. 7 and 3.1.3 fordiscussion of Cantonese prqwiuonslmrbs) heui Mhhgwok Wh H%gg6ng go AnNxim come H W w e 'go to America' Gcometo Hongkq'

r ~ h p Eng c h m miMrnhhu emer m m out ellmnce 'go into a mom' 'go w t of the M V e r b ot posture take objeds W n g locatiom Wih ch6h ni jmng yl la. sil , t h i s CL c h i r FRT Sit on this chair.' Fan jihg&i p chbhng pyiXuhk dT. sleep self LP hed comfortable mme 'It's r m r e m h t a b l e tn sleep in one's own Id.' Many verbs m y take tither a direct o r a locative object, e.g. duhk 'study' and siWc 'eat':

y

gi?

Ngd~ srhk-gwo EkgTng choi. I eat-EXP Beijing f d T v e d e n Pekinese fwd.'

A: A-Tbm jouh mS@h a? Ah-Tam do wht PRT What's the matter with Tm?' keuih

f?~

'Which sub@ are yw dudyirtg?

information, as in fi-rhfi-lihdi fidquh? 'M~ V h V w rvhae it is?' Whcn jlir fdbwd by only a p r w n ar fdlows, #iJlji M ~ i can h he interpreted m a n ellipfica! him of #irh]if i i k jouh m%yeYt:

B: ~ h j i

Mn

study which subject PRT

I

82.2

"

INDIRlXTOtWWlS

Verbs like Mi

may take two conmmtive oljem. a%in Emglii. In

Canmew. however. die: imliwct ohjea fdhe the d i m : Ngbh Wi chin Kih. (rwr *n&h Mi Eih &in) give moraqr you "I11 givt y15U t khtnq:

Note that Cantonese difFers from horn English and Mandarin in the mdcr of t k nvo objects. Howeyer. the indirect object may m e fim when the d i m object is especially long:'

N@h M Kih $i &-n man thhngmhaih I give yrn~ a-few h l ~ ; l n r l ddbr pl~n; *ng gEifiu. one CL air-tact 1 ' 11 givt yrm a few tlwmnd d l a n plm nn air ticket.' This construction is used pprimarily with the v e r b h -'@m'and& meaning ySt

'lend

Ng6h jej6 ySt chTn man khih. 1 l e n d - W one thocsand dollan h k k r 'I lent him mthusand rbllam.' Note that if the indirect object precedes the direct, jc may mean 'borrow': k h i h pit &iin man. N m j-j6 1 bmrmv-PFV him one thousand ddlars 'I hormmed a thowand ddlam hmn him' or 'I lent him a t h m n d

Some -ken we the h b l e object mstructirm wim additional verbs such as sung ' w d . give m a p s e n t ' and W r n *return': K h i h sung W n syij ngbh. slhc m d CL book me 'She gave m e a hnok (as a gift)." Faai fi d a h n E a n tiuh a h n@h. quick a-bit rehrrn back key me 'Return the key to me quickly.' yerbs of giving such as the ahove with the exception of Mi appcor in a k o l verb cod&on (gea 8 .3), typially t d h f&i ithe ~ cveh d2

In p r a l ,

Ng6h srrilh @$ Wng seun E i @. my h h e r mail-PFV CL ktter to me &Mybrother mailed me a letter.'

Ymg@i sung W b6i k b i h . should send flowcr to l w

'We should send her lbwers' maalh ga chc W Eih I sell CL car to you 'I"m selling you t k car:

N&+

A third w r b m y Lr: ad&d aFkr LIE 1mdi
~

'

:

M6uh

Lkih chih dou flhndeih M i h faht l€ih cllm ge. yw late arsive people will fine y m morrey PRT 'They'll fine yru i f yw're W.' Many verbs which take nvo nhpcts in English (call, mnsider etc.) are uFjng serial uwb c o n s t r t d m The v& jmrk 'do' is used as the wwrdl verb:

Yghndeih giu k i h call him

T h i s c m e h d o n with @A

Joah as

t%hl6u ge. fatty PRT

i s also used in giving me's name, with p z ~ h

optional: Ng6h giu (jmh) CMhn Siu B6u. I can (as) Clan Siu 'My m e is Chan Siu Bou.)

dong 'regard as. mar as' takes e l mh i h + noun +rn in complement:

nr a full clause rn

Yghndeih d m g ng6h bah @&hn IGhge. pmple regard me 3s work p w a PRT ' I h being h a l e d 8s a m n t ' M h darg

m6uh dm ah? (idiom) nof hem PRT 'Are ynu treating me as: a ncbdy?' you

ng6h

regard nle

8 2 3 QUANTIFIED DBJECT3

Where the cbjm, direct OT iradirmt, is quantified, tollowed by the qmntF fier d61~, it is placed hefore the uerh:

Ngbh h h n g deui (Maih) d m jungyi. I pail ( s k ) all like '1 like t d h pain (of s h w ) . '

yhhn gam ng6h JIingmAn not-have person teach me Ollm Were's no one to teach me Chinese.'

Ng6hbeih &hng fluh (yi) sihk saai. we whole CL (kh) v-PRT

Ngbh sin m h n 16ii y%t gu rnahntiih. I finrask ywoneCLquesrirm 'Ill ask yw a guestion first.'

Khih [hi%yii dm b& h l n . she CLCL (beggar) all give money 'He gives money to every beggar.'

'We've eaten the wtmle fish.'

'Fhevab -E%

140 Cantonese: a comprehensive grammar

N d e t h t the noun itself m y be ornirted, b v i n g hehind the c-,l when its identity is dear frewi the cimted. The ylafial syntax nfquantifd flrases is d h m d further in chapter 14.

Lkii cK 16uhyhh p g ~dm @tai-fan, e u h di. y w r U mutes CGCL all get-all-marricd have some

VERS-OBJECT COMPO..FJDS

mnh

In many f m d v e h b j e c t m h i n a h o m the object is said to be 'lworporate# into theverb(2.3.3). These are written with hyphenarionmshow rlib relationship: t&i-sya read-book

che~ngm sing-song

'red

'sing'

gin-giing =-work 'goto an interview'

y6m-ykh drink-sluff 'have a drink'

yiu

si%enn

Mi n&

@ah@.

mea w n t e - I ~ C Tto my hmlner 9 have to w r h to my [elder] hmrher.' I

hcui Jim Dong. we d r i v e a r go Tsimshatsui &st We'll drive to Tsimharsui East.'

Ng6hdeih @isY

Note mat the object m rhcse: mnstructirms is genericor mdcfinite: it is mt undeKtood as referring t o a prticulsr object. Despite the close relationsliip between verb and ohpct. the two parb

may be separated as fdlows: (a) The aspect markers and v e h l p r t i c l e (see ch. 11)wrme between the

Wrn and object A-mS t&-@n-syn. Mum read-PROG-book 'Mum is reading.'

git! (gir-fdn 'get married')

d6u also

(film)

not-yct get

Tour friends are all m a n i d , some are alrendy drvoroed, but p ' r e not even married yctl'

(c) A noun or mtewem -en

sewing as the *ect its NEO p r t ~

of the wmpound may

chamJadaih 'Ratter':

rrii alone merely m n s ' h k ' (8.1.3). whle c h m g 'sing' 6 rarely u d withour an object. Similarly. the v& d 'write' and ji? drive' are nm mdily I I mrmnsit~vely ~ as in Engbah. but are typimlly ammpanird by an &&Ias in the fdlmving cases:

N@

h, hi jauh Tihn fin diwmxXFV PRT you then even married

juhng hi-+fin

also 8.2A

141

N g d ~ tsuhqn

llohk-j&@i. I just-now down-PFV-t 'I went &de jusr now.'

Muih j%gwaawcht p la. drive-ud-cmr PRT VRT 'Wle's used to driving.'

&!he

(b) The o b j m may be tnpicalized (4.2.1). h v i n p the verb m n d e d ' :

Khihdeih g-Am ghtg ha* h n g &at Wh h i ge je. talk is wam polish your shoes PUT PRT "TIq't-e juW saying that to Rarrer you.'

they

h5ng-s4u 'help cut': h&hh+hylh

yw mn-notcan

biMg @ &I a? help me hand FUT

'Could you give me a hand?'

pxingehhrkng h p p r ?

Uih Muyln ng6h saht dih pGng W h chhhng. p u p e r h I sure will wppm your show 'Illbe mre to support you a~ your performance.' Note that the intervening p n w m here m y be wen ar the p x s w r of t t w ehjcct of the ccanpound verb, SR in English Hers gdIinfipwrr&. (d) An adverbial noun phrase expwing duration or frequency (8.25) may intervene:

Ng6h m6ih p M yiu ji b m go Mngthh CM man-gng. I every day need drive half CL M r mr return-& 'I h a w to drive Em half an hour a day to get to work.' K€uihdeih yBt go Wihbaai y5m g&l chi clhh. they one CL week drink a-few times tea T h e y go tor t m [and dim m]a few times a week.'

82.5 ADVERBIAL OaJECTS A ncun phrase expregsing the frequency or dumtion of an mion may be used as adverbial

cbjwm

l l m v e r b p k e 143 Go hihbi kHt-jb

Wng

CL b b y owgh-PF'V

IWO

and similar comhinatirms in American Enghsh. I t i s essenrially a simple m c a t e n s t h of v e r k

sound

T h e baby coughed twice.'

BBtyi~hng6hdeih h i tG M. rather we go we film 'Let$ p and see a film.'

+

N@h f u h n ~ j u hl l i h j ~ h @ IIslhlmai. parent? arme lrve one CL week prents are comingto qtay Tor B week:

zy

If the verb i s t t a m i t i ~ i. t tends to bc rtpcated bcforc the time e x p ~ s i o n : ~ s8i ni gihn saam &i-j6 1 wa$h this CL shirt wash-PFV 'I've wrrshed [his shirt twice.' Ng&

I6uhng chl. two times

jynh j h ~ d l mjph-j6 yM p Lib&. live hotel live-PFV one U meek 'We shyed in the horel fm a week.'

Nedeih

pu-PL

pt Lw' rneprhpr wim a nmm may fmm an

resembles a cl-er

adverbial phrase. me F ~ V W

and h sometimes known as a %*I measure

m:

U i h sek ngWl @ d a a h a: yw kiss me one bite PK1' ' G i me a kisr' XngpSi dB k t u i h ySl M h h u W hit him one slap 'We shwld pjve him a slap.'

Leih bang ng6h 9 go tnalmg B. you help m e one CL f a v w r PRT 'Do me a favfflr: These phraw are often formed from M y Pam: LRih tek you kick

khih

lnm

gmk. one h o t

yit

'five him a k a . ' durng tfii lrilll: La; dG ng8ab. wish look baby lodr mme m e eye 'I want te fake arwther lwk at the baby.'

N&I 1

Ng6h tingyaht tzi hmi g i m . I t o m o m fly go see-work ?'m flying to an rnterview tomormw.'

Note that the Canton- i n this example hw three v& while English fm one. Senal verb ~ m s t n d o n e s m many of the relationship w h i i are exp-d by ~reposltionsin English and o t k r Eurnpean langmges. For example. rhe sentence 1'11 phmw fur p a carmd readily k rendered literany i n Canb u m there b nn Ineposilioncorrespondingto 'for' (the wuerb wath has the more spxific meaning 'fm the mke of: 7.2.1). lnsltrad, hm v e r b are med: b&g Yih d a d i h d . I k l p p mflphone '111 phone for ycu.'

Ng&

Nc4e that although &%gin i d a t i o n meaw'help'. the a d d r e m here is n M hs l;Apalc adivrly, mnlllc~.lk qxaktrr i s u r h i n g lo pdbm amcq angle-handedly. This conma i1lustn-a~~ a difference between the English cornpl-tatiwt structure rrs i n 'hetp you (to) phone' and the Chinest serial m c t h n Mil is c k r to 'Iltrlp yuu by phoning'.

txprfil

8 3 1 SERIAL 00NSTRV(TTIONS EXPRESSING ACTIONS Actions which are eqmmed by a verh and a p r q m i t i r m i n English are rypically e xin Cantonese by a serial conshudion containing two m more uerhs. The spcslkd 'w(see 3.1.3 and dr. are very widely used in serial m m c t i o m , playingthc r d e ofprepositims in English. For example. the relation 'fmrn' may he: e x p r e d by the awerb hiAng 'w~thl awornpany':

n

Jeui h u i tilling ng8hnhahq je chin. m m t pnl with hank ~ I T B W money .It's h t to borrow m m e y from bank.'

Such m n s t n i u i m s m n he ambiguous as t o tie relation expresed by nlkng: The 6

1 verb mnnruetion is one of the most imporrsnt and p m l m v e p m m in Cantonese syntax. Althrugh almost onknown i n E u q w a n languages, i t reembles m t m d o m like go s ~ ne movie, o o m ~ f l ywith us

N m tiihng Y h m a i h ga c h t I with you buy CL car 411 huy a car m m h v l m yw.'

144

-verb

Camm: a mrrprshsnshregrarrrnar

1

The meariin~ may be darified by the &tion d aduerlm such as yzrchdih which would give the mmning 'wiIh'. yuhng 'use' qmsxs the instrumental sense of Sm', fdlowed by I6rh "me' or lmi 'i'go' and the verb:

mW t4i

go

p h n g lslh j m h thu In m fame do 'What's this for?'

Khihdeih phng di chin heul d a i h lsu. they use CL money go buy flat T k y f r : buying Q Rat with the money.' 'lwk for' is also used in serial meaning: x&

I

m w h ga? what PRT

d

I

m with an inshumental

IGuih Jkrng dl wiijou dam j l d f l l pehk. slhe take C L diny ckdhes around throw 'He throws his dirty clotha all over the place.'

gauh Sam

CL old

Ckdhes,

Jouh maat4eikbw. do

wipe-flowsloth

- W ccon w c t h e &clothe9 l m R m r cloth5.' Khihdeih po H-ngghg+hn Jauh jyijihk. they elect-PFV CL Hongkongperson for chaiman "TheyehIed a Hongkqperson as chairmanin.' N d e that asped marker may i y r on the first or the IH strb ofthe scrics. M i %to thc con-ion. I t Tvllmw t k first verb with rnm4 serial wrrshuctiocrs. but with jtmg i t f o l l m the stwad verb:

g6

bi31 chin

hpni

&h

hh.

buy

hwse

Go

s l n m g jkmg n@dcih h h n g go fin Id%. CL teacher plxe us t CL separaw-PFV "The tachw separated the two of IE.'

[wad.) SS.2

restrictedro cam where mvliur~Izlkm pl- mill llrt a h c x a m p k . It i s also applicable in metvhphcaiml a?&% of movement w removal. such as eKElranpjngplaces: Yhhndeih ylh@ jbng @l6uh h a?. w l e now put dd-fashied treat f h n a b l e 'Wnple are rreating ~ld-fashionedstuft as fash~onmble.'

con-

y&p "in' duhng 'up'

pw'over' mami Wmc'

j

di m h e m g y4h gdt-9-g CL unhappy LP stuff one-voice:

nn-j6 W h . (film) swallow-FIT il T o l l h i M t~lir. thr. 1 1 n h mthings and mllw them in one plp.' w of the wcmd *I%

OIRECTK3NAL M R B S AN0 VERBS OF MOTION

Serial m t r u d i o m are also inwlved in expressing motion. Thex sh-wtiorn are based on s e w n directiamlw+?:'

jfing is the nearest equivalent to the Id o w w m u r e in Mandarin. Unl~ke &, however, it is mt medwith all t r d l i u e verbs, but b primarily

Note the wemingly redundantuse of k h f i a the o (see 5 . Iand H-N. S. Cheun~1892).

rn

rate-PFV thm CL money go They dt k money to buy a house.'

Np6hdeih j h n g @ bst h h f i n lbhng fahn. we take thal sum money split two pan 'We'll ylli the money in two.'

need put

cmmpdiqto m:

H6yih yuhrtg di

Keuiideih Wj6

ipmg 'put' is used in serial mmhucriomi n d i t i n g placement (m7.1.4):~

Ym

jonh 'do'as the dverb in a serial Eonshudicm introducesprrdicati- ccmpi-.

they

ZRih w h di y& kimkbuih I. yw find CL thing coverCONT it PRT Y3H h ~ k t h i n b g wver i t with.'

phrase 145

I

Although usually hest tramlatad as prepririom. the= a m verbs in their ann~,mdmku~iran~~rrlyw~hdi~ona1&~e&(lg21): phplchht Mg-enternemvethe room' ymhplchlchtut w n 'kavelenter h q i t a l ' yahp j~hk'bcwrrrc nzluralaljzcd' c k u t gwdi 'goabmad' duhngllohk sfihn 'get odoff a W siuhngllohk gCi 'gel c t o f f a plane' duhngndk c h t 'get intdout of a car* f uhndlohk t h e , 'atterdlleaue clasf gwo m6hlouh 'cross the r o d gwo s e u i b h 'got h m @ the tunnel'

146 c a l b m K a ~ e r r s i v e g - a r sentence would mean that the speaker (for example. on the telephone)will merely set wl in frwl minutes' time:

Ban E u n g w g +returnto HK' tsmn O t k t i 'go home' mbaih d i 'take me's e a t ' d m h sm 'approach body'

N m

Some drhese: verb may dsu l d e d i d u l j n w ~ially

verb-ot+x

ill W I I ~ li

xd

mmpouds (2.3.3.8.2.4):

yahpchin 'dqmit mnney' (into a bank a m n t ) yahp$u K11 up with perrol' ctEut-syU'puMkh a b c d d &ut4ihmuhk ' m e UP with Icxamimfionl topf-' lohk-dehng'put down a deposit' lohk-fo ' u n h d goods'

Most d the d i i o n d verbs m also med as directional pamcles following the verb (11.3.1). but with some differenm of meamnE and ammure. I n the serial verb cunstrucrion. the d i d i o n a l verbs wmbine wlrh rhe: ye& of motion, h m I 'po' m d !dfh 'rum'. yahp heui 'goin' cWla Mri 'go witduhng hmi 'pup' b h t hem 'go d m ' p n hari 'gn wer' f%n heui 'goback' d a i h h& 'p cl-' I n ttns mrsnucrion. the and the vmb of movement:

ngh Wnjung hauh jauh hih. five minutes afwr then back come 7'11 m e back in five minutes.'

I

yahp l i i h 'come in' chern lhh 'cwneout' e u h n g lhih - m e up' lohk lbih 'come down' g w lbih 'mv w ' fSan laiih 'come back' mbaih lbih 'come dm+ m d e n come k t w e m the d i m 1 verb

Cgawj6 IAh (nm*f3mn lhih-jai) h n d m a mum-PFV wme Y;randma has come bck.'

A.Mih

m c h h y6uh yAhn y a m bih. seem have person enter-EXP wme 'Someone seems to have wme in.'

The order here contrasts wirh Mandarin. where the aspea marker follow% the second verb (hrlldi C-has come back'). Similarly. verbal pasuch ns dolt (I 1.3) wm betwen the dirdional verb and the d o n uerb: Ngth n@ trnjllng hauh jauh fian dou ILih. 1 fiw minutes after then back arrive cane: be badc in five minutes.'

'm

The addition d d m here adds the meaning of arrival: with& it. the

S i m i , the @de

adds the meaning 'in readmess':

Mt ja~ih MI la, n g 6 h d r i i M t dihng heal %m* main soon nrriw PRT. w r exit d y go first T h e train's arriving, let's go mt ready.' To the manner d mmemenr a tMrd ve& may he added More the directional verb. producing a sequence of three v e r k jSu

yahp heui sun in po

'rush in'

riu

sEuhng h& po

p3h cMut l3ih climb out wme 'dimb out' diF

lohk

lbih

jump up 'leap UP'

fall down come

gwo h i move rrws go 'move over'

M s h n ~ m h i h 1hi

'tall down'

biin

da?e

walk

m e

' m e cllser'

Note that the last verb in thii wmhwlion is a l w a y s h i 'go' w IhiR 'cane', the clpoice *ding on one's point af reference, much as in English; other verbs cannot he s u h t i i t d . Aspect markers and wrbal part* follow the fim w b of the series:

IX sailouhj6i jh-@ ybp I&. CL cnildren run-rrv In p T h e thildren came runningin.'

K h M i ylh@ h i a h n m

lchk

hi.

walk-PROG down come Thefre walking clown now.'

they

now

~lllh m m Gmmt p w 1-i. need move back owr p V e have to move badc over there qain.'

N&I&ll we

The same w n s t w o n may form the complement of a tmmitive & phrase: d ~ id hankynhn p h p hi bring some in go 'brin~some gwsrs in'

The verb ~I-raseI49

kjau d m t Wh

h

take CL beer out 'rake out a kale of beer'

come

I-K

him

di pip h h n g heui CL case up @ 'brin~ up me m s ' m

b rnk ws lohk I%h take CL picture duwn come 'take the picture down.'

j&trdib h i 4 @ arvund' wgges~mndwn mwment:

Di Euil@i jS&h heui m&ih saam. CL girls around go buy clothes 'The girls are p l n around ~ bugng &k.' hmi

... I d i h k a s c r i a l y e r b ~ d e n o t i n g r r t u r n f m m a

nip: N@h ng;iam-ngmm

M

KCwihdeih y3t

louh g h g W M . they one mad lalh continue 'They just carry vn talking.' L k ~ h tbahn lohk hed play ,down

go

=on

piny~n*(tk

Blknng (Ihih).

Beijing ( m e )

K&riideih heoi yklm Oujsu tiam Mh. they go finish Ausrralia reMn mme They're jwl back from a trip to Aumlia.'

B. PRT

i

juelst gc-EXP 'I've just been to mjmg.'

1

joi idih (gwoJp3 chil. litemlly ' m e apin'. -s Jci

Ihih

'ddtry e

n ' :

gm. (med in practising prcmunc~ation)

again m e over

I d h o f m h :[verb]-!Mi -[verb] - h i , in which the same verb is repated, expressff motion 'ro and fro' or 'up ddown':

'Once more.' Ng6hdeih joi Ihi p t mi. (instrunion at a rehearsal) we again m e m e t h e ' k t ' s try m e more time.'

M h hhhng bih hsahng heui h h d t a? p u walk m mtk do wha PRT 'What are you walking up and down for?. Taaih-hn spew-man

sL.hngyaM fi hi Ei hwi. always fly m m e Ry go The g m e n are always flying to and Tm.'

(miRfin#-ydhn' m e n ' refers to those who 'commute' between H m ~ k o and n ~ abroad. often while acquiring a fore@ w p m . ) This idiom may he used to hadate 'around' or * a W :

Di sailouhjsi 9hnpyaht tiu Ihi tiu hcui. CL children always jump m e jump go 5 Ehlldren are dwayr l e a p ~ abmt.' n~ 111s also used more m t a p m i y :

Ng6h ISm l i h lh heui h mh mihngbaahk. 1 think wme think go still not urdersknd 'I'w thought i t over and over and dl1 don't understal~d.' G C q lhih g 6 n ~ heui c h m6uh gtkuhn. talk c h w rslk sill JIG ~~,sllu;a,, 'They talk and talk and still there's no wmfusion.'

Cantonese has a p&w strumre dmiEar to that in Mandarin, distinguished by the woad M.Note that the 'l?y-phw7 (Mi nmn) must precede tk verb:

+

Wichlhn gh

b e i

M &ii&11 E h A h j t .

before tha CL #ecretary by manager sack-PF'V 'The p r & w -lay wassacked by the manager.'

In spoken Cantthe @ve wrrstruction must contain a n w n phrase ~ f t ebr l representingthe q e A f ofthe action, unlike m Mandarin where the ageypnt phrase may be mined (e-g-Ta bPi kdidrri le 'He vms sacked'). If the agent is unknown or generic, the word ydhn 'penon' is used Bdter M m repr€#m the agent:

M

c l & a ~I ~.& yam, ntnLnit~ xlui. m~ people buy a~ T h e oranges haw all been lmtght.'

L h h bCi M n n@ah-jb la. you by people cheat-Pn7 PRT 'You've k e n chealed.' Similarly. if the W n t is unknown bur clearly nmhuman. it will be ~ ~ l l t 3 3 9h . 1,*f, '111;r&: yauh M J& ng5auh than a p i n by thing hte PRT -rvek n bitten rtpSnn.'

N@h 1

Pa&wimoul an a p t are ~ n d under d the influence ~ of Ma,darin. fw cmmqlc m n c w mpwting or In o litcrmy context: JOngguhng yduh nth p chaahky$hn be* hh. almpther have five CL thief PASS arrest ;rlllogether fiw thieves view arreued.' U u i h ge timhhih ptjihk h i mbihrnuht-Jh. LP mknt until nuw PASS hury PN 'Her dent has always been buried.'

hcr

Note fhst the passive marker hrh here has a different form. with a low 1-1 tone (the usual spoken form M~originates as h i h with a changed tone). The pzmive is us& rather less in spoken Cankine than in English. One mson is that the o m c9n readily he topimlrred (4.2.1). often resulhnE in a sentence best hadated with an English passive. A m m o n sentence type hegins with the objea as topic. fdlowed by a modal verb and no subj&Ix: tou hei yaMihng yiu tdi. that CL film must Wprl 'PP m t mrn has to be seen.Gc,

Another farestrictingthe use d the pwive is that the Mi pmve entails that the $ u r n 1i s affected by the action. typically in an adverse nr unpleasant ntanner. English pa&$ such as I wns t~rncmberpdand I was ghc~ a prewnr. for example. cannd be rendered in Cantonese bffause here Is no such adverse eff-1 on ihc s u t j t ~I l. H u w t x ~tlur . Idi pui- YT:;5 svmetimes used with verbs that do not lrrvolve any elemem d adversity. for example: Kguih h6u jungyi WI y5hn jaan. slhe very like by people p* 'She l i k very much to k pmrsed.' The development of clearly non-adw?mtivepsim in Mandarin, i.e. wrbs w h d fh do clearly m v o k an element of adversity, has been

amibuted to the influence of English, e3pxially &ation amppel1 1%).

( C b 1968;

White the use of the pasiw is relatively msmkted in Cantonese in m respecrs. there are also some passive rnstrustions wtih have no e m A counterparts in Fmglish. The ?amIndh.ect p d v e (dram from Jqanese grammar. where analwus comtrwim-6 exist) i d - m that the subject does not mrrespDnd to the direct object of an active mrence, as w l h the q i q l ~~ .R P C ~ Y Pi lFl ~ ~ t r n tin c d8 4 Thmwnterrm are rliffimilt to tmnslalare, the nearest equlvalent k i n g the I r m . . . purtkfple construction: K k i h Mi Jahn mu-+ chin. $he by pxsm -1-PPV money 'He had some money stden (fmn him).' In thii Kmiri~~m, the m r p r mlwrwly affwwd hy thP a h n iu the s u m of the sentence (as in d i n a r y passives), but is not understood as the objectof the verb: the verb niu retringins indirect objed (chh

Note that there is nn mmqmding aaive m m w : the nearest artive equlvalent wwld be Yduh yJrhA mr-j6khih di clfn, which differs in that MuiR is the possessor nf the object chin. Similar examples include: WgSh b 4 yahn ro-& p che. fihn) I by people IowPFV Ct car 'I had my car w e d away.' K b i h b15 $hn

Fdou saai M h di beirnaht. by people know dl her CL mrets %he had all her m b dismred.' s k

Verb-object compounds (2.3.3, 8.2.4) may be pasivized in this way, retaining the & p t : Wuihdeih Ituhng go si2hngyaht M yhhn ---. they two CL always by people say~dle-talk The have p e q k gmimp abmt them all the time.'

Khih gmg H i 9 h n cMau-y8ulyxl. slhe fear by people f r y q u i d 'He's a h M of getting the sack.' Andher form ofindirect p s j w involves a clause after the verb:

Ngdh d g w o ti4 y%n w h Ihh ak Ymgmin. 1 t r y - r n by people say not know English ?have had people say Imkln'i speak English.'

Ktuih b6i yahn dw h h p b h d6u mh dhe by people bent until wife nlso not

Whng-jAi dhngjaht M i yshn jaan kbuihlenm. Simg-boy always by peopk praise h m handsome 'Ywn~ Sing 1s always bong praivxlTor hi good I&.'

yiin~ dSk kbuih. wccpize able him 'He was beaten so that not tvcn his wife could remgnize him '

In this m. a corresponding active senterm i s possible ( Y d d @hn nrnk ng6h rhh sik Yin~mrin 'Yenpk say I. cannot speak English').

Similar to thc indirect passive is the resultahve corshuction. in which a resultarive verhd particle ( 1 13.2) w adpctrve fotllcswing the pa& verb indicates a m e wsutting from the mion:

The passive verb together uith the MI phrase can function rs an adjectival phmw modifyinga head noun: is rwd to link the two m.wher. Mi n@hnh&hnp cMuisiuj6 by bank -bPW

Ni hahp luhkyinngdaai Iffnging G $hndeih this CL d p H a p e already by . p p l e

t6i wmi$. watch bcLPFV "Ibis videutape has dere~iomtedhorn h n g wtmad.'

Ni

$O

11,;.

TL

"the a m n l csmIlcd by the bank' M Kmhhian chhu-j6 by b~ fire-PFV

jS

M fuhmiwh jlmg w d h s d . m n by p m n t wil bod PRT 'The son h a s h spoilt to death by his parents.'

The -my

I,

Ncae that many of t h e constructions annot d i l y be translated with a mrresplnding Eng~shp s i r e . Thrs f d k fmm the difference in the produdvity of resultatwe verb cumpnds in Cantonese and En#&. A5 with the lndirat p&. me sub* affected not J& by the verb bui by the urhole predmte. mnsisung here d [verb + particle] or

Kmih Ki ybhn n@ak dou p-an. fie by people cheat until banltmp-PW 'He w a cheated lo the point of bankruptcy.' jP giX dou m g CL kids a n w until live 'Iwas made hopping mad by my kids.'

Ng&

Mi di

I

by

ha gam tic shrimp so jump

&k liu-jb ge Ehe CL thieves steal-PW LP car 'the cars (which were) stolen by the t h i i '

6

8 5 CAUSATIVE AND RESULTATIVE CONSTRUCTlONS 15.1 CAUS9TIVE CC)NSTRUCIIW$

[verb + ad-muel.

Resultative passives may aka be f m m d Hith d w 'to the extent that' i d u c i n g a complement &use (8.5.3):

fired by t h e e

Wi yihn tau-jtr Ee c k by people steal-PFV LP car 'the cars rvhich w e d e n '

Mnlhi hnl~hlllhh5 h6u p h n g p CL dd ori&!inally very cheap PRT Imter by

DT Msin

r has h w m ~ expensive as a result of

ge kspi LP secretary

TIE structure of the adjectival passive m b k that of the relatiw claw. The fwmercould well k t ~ 1 t . d& a lypt: uf relatrve c l a w . Canpare the fdlhn~:

Deui h h i h Ei @h jeuk l a b & . n shoes by me wear brokcwW 'llese shoes have worn m t (through my wearingthem).'

yshn dhk @j& people eat expensive-PFV 'Thc seafood wed m be cheap, h its popular~ty.*

ge whhhu LP account

1 1

i

Causative wmnuctim take two distinn Forrrrj. according m I I W of $ i t ~ t vr h event caused. rdusathn nf a stnw nf M ~ A ~ 6T P C X P T P ~hy the verb ling "make' or likng 'cause'. followed by an a d ~ t i u e and thc object.

16ih e g n@h jing yiM dihp choi a. pie- yw help me make hot drsh vegetable PRT 'Could you heat up the di3h ofvegetables for me, plea&"

M@i

Keuln msilrssm jhg daud he I~~IZIWU~ make big 'He carelessly made her pregnant.'

yshndeih go t6uh. (film) other's CL Nmmy

Go Whbi haam

k h i h mhhms. h& mother T k b a b y c k d and woke hwmcdher up.'

Chh lihm Eik i h a m mt? money cafi make you happy PRT 'As if money wuld make yw happy''

...

I€ih .jlm@%lm saai! Wad.) mabe you energetic all 'It €ilk you up with enerpy!' Iihq

baby

Cii

jek Ildh-Hn

NF

61

tliest:

CL Alms

texkbmd

wear

Muih. h m i

RESULTATIVEAND W E N T C O M P U E N T S

(TV)

an adjxtiue m a clause m n g a result to verb is [verb - dorr]. doer 'until' inrroduces a cwnplcmcnt, typically an adjxtive (metimcs with an w particle) e%pressing t h end result w extent of an ban or process: A cunaruction which en-

return& 'Parents shwld see to i t that their hildren po to ~ h w happiiy.' l

M o wm the somplement to a

/

RESULTATWE tOMWUNDS

M h Mahng W guih jauh Wmi-hBh 16. walk till tired then rest a-while PRT Yf yw get tired d m k i n g , then have a m . '

yw

A m t h w form d resultatbe cunsrruaiar i n v o l w canbining two verb to form a m l t a t i v e predicate. 'Ik ywtrs - b i d may he rrs&ve or inttansitiw, but the resulting wmbinatim IS transitive (specifically.

Ng6hdeii y6my6h dm b$m saai. drink-th~ngs drink until full V-PRT

causative):

+ =kg

gmu-wmib saai dl

Ng6h h& faai jauh gwun-JenW 1 very quickly then pour-drunk-PFV 'I ppt him drunk by makinr him drink a la.'

lihng dw gailouhjSi hB-lSi-s%m-sZ3rn Fuhm6uh yiu parent need cause that children happyhappy

c h h 'makea nolse'

m a t i o n similarly:

Mbn-jb h i h i m i . out-PFV pair shoes 'Pve worn out thas pair of s h m . ' 1

&n@.

G h pei-jyuh @ &ng q 6 h you remember call wake me 'Remember to wake me u p '

hei

PPTh & EhE. fat CL babies

Ng6h jwk

all mlll&bll 'He makes everyone l w e their enthusiasm, talking like that.'

W

ear

sarlmhjSi. d l C L children T h e x f i l m eRen kmd rnfluences on the children.'

. . .' is a colloquial wsative construction: dou yshndeih m6uh Kkuih g8m y h n g g h g , png not-have slhe way speak make that peqAe so

m k the resultative romplement wrrshucrion (8.5.3).

flhngyih

very

resuItatiVe pmdes (11.3.2) may-

Many of

jfng d m . . . 'make

'Ihiuse of dou m

fii

easy 'That milk p d e r &ly makes b a b h fat.'

ladiectbe] - 1but U n g - [ o m ] - [[adjective]. To wpm causafion of an went ('make m e t h i n g hsppen') a piphmstic cmmuctwn with dm1 is

W h k .

*kt

mat CL milk-pavder

Note the d i f f e m m of word order k m e e m the hw m u d w d: jlng -

smi

&g

a

EOi h i

a.

CL e up'

Mh mh6u chhh

s€ng ng6h a. yw don't noisy wake me PRT 'Don't wake me up (by making a noise).'

clam mimn-zkjs.

pour tit1 full-Row-PFV The glass d water is overRorringas as result of thc puring.'

PRT

'wake up' + &duA s&g W

d6u

I

water

Note the repetitbn ofthe verb where the verb already has an &jcct, as in fimydh above. Thii repetition is reqlnred in order for the do11phrase to follow the vrrb ditocrly (6. ddk a h and 10.1.1). In addition to a resultative a d w i v e . dou may be fdlcwed by a d a w lvhich may be interpreted as a result of the actim e d e d by the main

9 ADJECTIVAL CONSTRUCTIONS: DESCRIPTION AND COMPARISON As d i d in chapter 3, thc distinctim bctwccn adand wrb in Cantonese is mt a ategwical one. Hence, what are thought of as adjxliw% in the Europeangammatical tradition are often &mibed as Wative yerW in Chilinguklic works. As prad~uteu,adpcti~esbehave very much like v e h : the verb 'to be' is not uxd adjectives (8.1.1). and yrme a d j e a k may take ~ cmarkers t like verbs (see 9.1.1 and ch. 1I).

N e w t h e l e a , it m a i m usrful to disringuish adjectives from verbs. The distinctive properties of adjxti*es dexribed m this chapter are: (a) P d d v e adjectives are normally prrceded by hhr (or another m d i fying advdx s e 9.1 3):

Keuih ni

piaih k

M&hn.

slhe thcsc dsys wry happy WZ happy tW d w ' Without fi the sentence FFcP~tihnIpdurX G i G m ) wwkl be inrornp1ete.I

(b) ad*may undergo reduplication. m d i f y h g their meaning (we 9.2: some of these pnwns are also applicable imstative d): i%f?4@i 'brownii

gfh-giwmwau 'tall and thin'

(c) adjedves may take uompdmtitive wwructiorrr & as di and p o

(9.3):

a.

w i h

jihng

here

qnkt &ii

'It's quieter here.'

Ch3h deihtit

faai p ch6h biid. sit undergmmd last than sit bus 'It's quicker by underground than by bus.'

9.1

SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES

As in English. we may distiwish pred~catiwand attrihtive uss of adjedks. P d i adjadjfftivesbehave very much like verbs. following the subject withwt a q l a r verb. A m r i v e zdjectivesalways pmmk the n w n which they modily.

I

158 C a m : a cmpdmnsive grammar verb:

t k relationship b c h w n the main verb and the clause may also be

interpreted in twm5 of a causing event and resultant stab?: K h i h ghgsyn dou @bdelh m a i - g a a u . s(he talk-book talk 1111 people 'His lecturing puts everyone to deep.

hll+11-asleep

Muih haam dmr n$6h go wi. my till my CL heart disarray all 'His crying put my heml in total disamy.'

she

Note that the m e cunstrustion w t h dorr is used s a mplemenl adjectives ((1.1.3). rspresenting a further pmnllel between u e h and e r n rives. Smw i d i i a ~ cumplemenb c with dorr also resemble thase with a d j e c t k (9.1.3):

Yiht dou npah Ji! (adj.) hot rill I d~e 'I'm sweltering!' Ng6hdeih 9* dm lok &! (verb) we laugh till roll ground 'We were hughlng w m l w s silly.'

Chhhng dou t6

d B . (adj.)

long rill drag flcm +(It'%)5n long ar m rlmg nn t k flnnr.' dou b h ji s h ~ .(h) slhe slpep till n d know wake 'She slept w well Lha s k fimp% to wake up.'

KPuih fan

An alternative m l t a t i v e constnmion has the form [verb - dnk adjective]. brsed on a Mandarin wmtmction with de. This wnshuction w m b l e s the adverbial mstruclion with dak (IU.1.1). but describes ttK m l t rather man rhe manner of an action:

Di F B m dBk h6u Wnjehng. CL clc4hes wash ADV wry dean 'Them clothes have washed nice and dean.' Wuih sihk dik h h bhu. dhe

eat ADV ~ e r y full 'She was W1 as a result of eating.' I n t m i t i v e m t e n m rvhere the objaa fallow the verb. rhe verb phrase is repeated. as in adverbial c a ~ ~ r u n i owith m &Tk (10.1.1): Kbih jwh

y€h jouh dnk thing do ADV 'Shels very hqpy in her w k . '

dhe

do

h& hWm. wry h a m

9 ADJECTIVAL CONSTRUCTIONS: DESCRIPTION AND COMPARISON As d i e d in chapter 3. the diinshon bcnvccn sdjCEhvc and veh in Cantonese is not a categorical one. H e m , what are thought of as ad* tivm in d w European grammatical tmdit~m are often dacribed as'statk &' in Chinese I'mpktic w k s . As predhag, *ives behavc very much lik verbs: the verb 'to he' b not used with adjectives (8.1.1), and some adjecriva may take amarkers like verbs (see 9.1.1 4dl. 11). Newnheless. i t remaim uwful to distinguish adjectim from verbs. The diiinct~ve pmpertk of ad-w described m this rhaprer are: (a) Redicative adjeclives are normally preceded by bdw (or ancaher moditying adverb: see 9 1.3): Kkrih nT p3aih I h k i h m . dhe these days vcry happy 'She's happy h e days,' Without k h the ~ xmiemx ( K h i h nrpdaih -1

wwld he inmplete.'

@) adjectives may undwgo reduplication, modifying thar meaning (see 9.2: some of these panare a h appliible to shtive verbs):

f€-f&dA 'brownish" (c) a m X W (9.3).

gw-gh-sau-sau *tall and thin'

m y take omparafive cunstructions such a P and

Nidouh jihng di here quiet a-bit 'II's quieter here.'

faai gwo rh6h basr. unowgroum tasr than nt bus 'I1's quicker by undergrwnd than by bus.' Ch6h deihtit sit

9.1 SYNTAX OF ADJECTIVES As in English. me may d i a i ~ i s hpredicative and amiutive us-m of adjediws. P r e d i i u e adjectiva hehave very much like verbs. Toncswing the subjffl withwt a q l a r verb, A m i v e adjeaiws always m e the n w n w h i i t h q modify.

158 Cantonesa: a cmphensive g m n m 9.1.1

FRWCATlVE AOJECTlVES

W i v e a d m a do not require the copular Yerb 'm be'. Hwrwer, a d i e s h e adjedve is usually prrceded by a modifier such as kdu, *ich s an ml~ectivemeans '@.' lrdu in this function may be m r d e d rn merely an adjetlive marker, ~ t meaning s be in^ much weaker than En@* 'very'. A predicalive adjetlivewhh lm6M makes a m p l e t e senlem:

~ a i h6u pw.

M h go

CL son 'Your son is tall.'

you

(nor haih hbu @u)

tall

The adjective alone occurs only in m r n restricted conre~ts.such as in answer to an A-&-A

question containing the adjecrive:

A: Ni

bfin qll gw-mh-gwi a"! this CL book e x p e m m % m t ~ m i V e PRT -1s this h k expensive?'

B: c h a i

markem and verbal

M h p jsl @mJ6 h& di3 WQ. yw CL m tall-PFV yery much PRT 'Ywr son has go! a ltd taller.'

d k

kfwe

Note that w t m the a d w v e in these phrasais modified by a degree word such s h6u -very'. gdiRPi'raM and j i * ~ ' ge , must he W n t [s pointed out by H-N.S. ISheung 1972):

ylh@ jauh Ehbhngging l e n g p . once beautiful-EXP now then A prpdicative a d w v e must normally be m o d i by one of a number of adverbs of degree. The fdtowing adverbial expressiom are used to d i adjecriven:

ughy-PFV 'She used to be beautiful, but she's kcorre ugly now.'

Ng&

smng @hn j? M u faai 9au &n. I gk.bmh V-PRT rhllrl very frr* thin V-PRT 'Im n gcd slim again m k r pivlng birth.'

These usages may be seen as convetsion of adjectives &nohng stat- inm verbs expmGng change of state (seealso 3.1.1 ).

a1.z ATkIBUTTK WECTIVES linkingprtirle gc

h i i h n chih ~ 'black tea' (lit'red tea') chbn jC 'fodish boy'

M k m&t ht5vhite wks' h6u bmhkge maht 'wry white mks' gauh Gam 'dd dcdhes' @i gauh gp aam 'rmlherold dorhes* l e n Bk ~ 'beautiful hmz' ji h g gp iik ' t l mosr ~ beautiful h d

-&M

Attributive d j &

NOW that thc samc ge sppcsrs in Hher shuctuFcs which modify m n s , such a w e comtruchons and relative clmwes, serving to link the d i y i n g m m s to the nOun (6.3. 6.4). All thew noun phtherefore have a similar Hructure, with the head noun itself at the d of the phrase. As in the of the po-ve mnstrudion (6.3).ge m y be omitted in terrain contexts. It must be mined, in particular, in fixed mmbinAtiorrs when the property denoted by the adjective is an inherent characteristic of the m n . For example. h g Ihi 'bemutiful woman' might be tramdated as 'a beauty'. Similarly baahk jiu M i t e wine' Ek Ibi'bright girl'

G . I PRT

K h i h yChch1hn

m n g m l h n g ge IwWsimg sln fi daap ge. dever LP a u h r only know arswer PRT "Only the clever students know the amwer.'

-

a.

Used as predicates, dj&a may take a@ partjdes in the same way as verbs:

M h msmlh haih go Idu hou-haak ge yBhn. your mummy is LL wry hmpitabk LP person 'Your mum's a really hqitable person.'

ahvays precede the nwn. -ah

f n l l d by

&i 'quite'

epm

'so-

gau 'enough' W~gaau'rather. relatively'

0)'extmneTy' rnjigi.1 '~nrrcdildy' taai, g w d h h 'too' (see 9.3.4) jwi. ji 'm06f' (see 9.3.5) fEuhng

If no other modifier is present, h6u is used by defmult. as i l l u m e d in Y.1.1. I n repthe sentences eimer lith takes the p l w of A h , or the negative q u l a m h d may be dtogether with one of the a h difiers. For example. to e q m s s the idea 'not very' or 'not really'. m h i h is followed by f i u o r gP? 'quite':

Ni

bim

this CL

syii

mhaih

Mu

gwai

em

h - d a k - h h has a ccunterpart in Mandarin, Rir$& an extreme ercrent:

M nu-be wry cxpcnive PRT

"This W"s not very qmsive.' Gg, ykunp, mhaih @I pingplhnp such way not-be quite fair 41's not quite fair this way.'

T!w word dm4 expressing degree. or 'to

-

thc cxtent thud

i m d u c e a dame or maher adjedival phrase fa an wedive:

lhhn dou kt-dSk-lfuh dfficult hll exheme '~mediblydihku1t1

.. ' (8.5.3)

may

=a wmplement to

lahng

two

dou bst-dSk-lluh

sweet

till

extreme

'extremely sweet'

lsahn dw d h n hard hll d i q 'rnin&bendingly dimcult'

Jgnhmii @ h n ~dou M h rhh xun! Iradmd.) really cheap tall you ncd bel-kve 'Ym won't bclicvc lhc p h ! ' Eihdeih

8hm

Some adjectives m b i n e idiomarimlly with a p r t b l m r verb lis wmp lcmcnr ro d m :

dou M h @ rhh dfm! (Wd.) g d hll you gwss mC succeed 'Better than you can magine!' H6u

yowPL

muhn dou baauja h m d till m l d e ' b e d stiff

go chan dou jyuht. CL math till a h l u t e

leng

dou dim y3t s€ng dam one sound 'extremely heautifur (iiwnalic) pretry till

' Y w two are p d l y matched.' This construction with dolr is a Cantonese:counterpart to the Mandarinuse oT dE EO mnrk t m m (Em d Thompson 1W1: 626): d d - , the Clrntanese equ~vmlentof dt. is not u d in this way- Thus Ta pl@ hdo de chide-mIn~ "He's famous fw hi gooB temper' would be expresfed in C h t m w .or K h i h chWmwkg pPihlmer h&+. Khilr $d~lmpi her dar~cI~Pursum dm lihally 'to clear k used to emphaslz adjectives:

&.

@uhchln dou f i have-money till die 'extremely ti&'

Ncde thml dbm y-rsFmgis an onanatopoeic expression de?mibingthe sound produced when m e t h i n g falls imo the wmter.

(#mg) 'ro such an m t ' f used to elaborate on adjeciives in e~clamamryfashion: dou g&

plhnggw6 laahn dou @m yhng @! CL apple bad to such extent PRT 'Wow, the apple's so badly rottenr' Wa,

go

mow

The ~omplementto llou may alm be omitted or preposcd ns in:

...!

chEuhng-hei dou sEi long-windd tin die 'wry long-winded'

LPih tC-h6h

dakyi dou f r cute till die 'extremely cute'

Hsahng rhh yiik la, p i h dou! mlk nM rn~rve PRT tired tdl 'I can't move, I'm so tired.'

bib, h m m dou p u look-DEL him happy till ' h k d hm, XI happy!'

JFi M, literally 'fly up' (i.e. take offj is wed to indhte the: exrreme aw denNed by the a d j d m : h~ d w fei h6i p l t y till take off 'mind-blrwingy h t i f u l '

which a h mwdes

pal

dou f€i

M

till lake d f mn-&blorvingly experrsive'

d m ghk where dora introduces the extent complementand glAk meam 'to the extreme' is used to g k emphasis to predkalivea d j m Ni M n gyO p a l dou gihk. this CL book e x p & ~ till txhwne 'Thii book is extremely expensive.'

Ni tou hei muhn dou gihk this CL mwie boring till extreme "This movie is extremely boring.'

The s i m p h form of reduplition merely repats the adjective. with an intem~fyinga m :

The explethegwcir is also wed to e m p e e adjectives:

psi

gam devil so

c*rudk-dmiI1-ga or d h i - d w i l i go 'really big'

leng

K h i h Ibh-@ngd6al-dadb gocfdh hSidwh. k h en rhh d6u me? Her husband biphig CL sia here. ~u we ncr V-PRT PRT 'Her husband. the bigguy, i s sitting right there, can't p u see?'

beautiful

*damnedm o k l n g '

gwbr may combine with an-

leng treautiful

I t may dm be infaed behwxn the qyllabk of an a m (2.13): mihraahn moublesome' + mhh-gw6i-hhn 'dead troubl-e'

Edinmrgnrrswiemphsism an adjective in an ii-ahve m ' a l l ' (11.3.3).

way. l i n g

RIU "etwugh'wiih illt:mlyll partnk

Mhdeih lhi m b i h jalh gau saai y i i t b u h la! you-PL cmre along then enough all lively FRT 'If you wrrpe too it-ll be mce and I~vely.' M h ylh@ gau saai M k M p wo! LWW tlbwgll all iilrltptrbrltilt PRT %'re all independent now''

92 REDUPLICATIONOF ADJECTIVES Reduplition (dwMingJ is o m of the few morpholqkal devices available to Cantonese (2.2). and is much rsed to modify the meaningof adjectives. Redupleation of an adjective take several differen1 f w k , serving to modify its ~ i n in g a n u d m ofways Reduplmted a d w m are ako used adverbially (see 10.1.3). Reduplicationof a d j e is highly idiomatic. in that it is noIpxsible to p r e d i i ex&ly w h i i adjm y k duplicated, which form the reduplication win take, or how the meaning of the adjejean~ewill change. of form and functron emerge. Nevertheless.mme typical pa-

I

I

Go k h ~ k h h h n g cMh d m h n r n 6 h n p. CL ball-stadium sit till full-full PRT The seam in the stadium are all filled up.'

empharif expression sudr as w'i "dead':

Mi

di Lmg or &ti &ignm dwil dead beautiful devil dead so 'M m u $ ' @rn so

I A

mfihntnfihn g~ or r n h - m i k n g 'really full"

gw5i gam gohbhn den7 so stin~y 'damned singy' (also: pi-gmdi-Iidhn: see 2.1.3)

I

N d e the optimal tone change: for m e speakers, the h t of the reduplC da d j x t ~ w taka the rsmg changad tone ss in dnnili + dbaidnnili. Thischange m M e s that in veh redupliai~on.e.g. si-~-si+si-s7'have a rqf (2.2). T h i s form of reduplktion often sugga~sm elernem of intimxy: sai-sai jek mmaaujsi smaRsmall C L kitten 'a little tiny kitten'

slu tihmtlm l i i sweet-swet 'sweethearr, sweetie'

I n the Ease of bisyllabic adjecIives. b t h a y t l s k are reduplicated%?parately. in the form [AABB]: chingchb 'dear' t c h m g c h m w 'nice and clear' jingsbhn 'energtif +jmg-jmgsshndhn 'dl full of energy" yinngahn "inrimate' yin-yin-ngahn-ngahn *pret?yintimatep u t m g 'ord~nary'+ ph-psu-tong-tong'pretty cadlnary' syahhk romfomble" + syn-sya-fuhk-fuhk'pretty wmforlabW

-

Certain mbinations occur only in reduplied form.

hing-hng-ng6h-n@h'intimate. in low' Two sum adjectives may be reduplicated together, typically for emphasis. The following phrase from a radio sation diw jockey ~llustrares a mbination of; 1 'bisyllabic redupliated adjectives. hif&rrg goan&n -simple':

I1 I

'relazing and

hinghTng-sting+Ung gf1awghd8aw&an -nice:and light and easy and relaxing' Similarly. in a comic fihn a rather mcouth character was &mil& ironi-

-ny

=:

m-mhhn-mbtm wn-dn+uh+uh 'nice and kind and gentle' (sim$hn -gentleq+ dnyhuh -render')

I

I

I

Some idioms take the form A A B , e.g. Mpmi

-

I

~ 5 i q x w 1+hivial': i

NT bat chh SSpSpaui ge F. Mi CL money rather-trivial PRT PRT 'This is a pretty trivial amount of money.' Several reduplicatede x p s i m s of this form are used as adverbs F10.1.3).

A

ccinmon function of this ccmsrmction i s to modifydour t e r m

g6

ga hhhnghdng-d€i that C L red-red-sh Yh3t redd'kh car'

ge

chi?

LP car

CL tin ge sky Ihhm-1Sam-M Mueblwish .the sky 6 bluish'

When this r e d u p l i o n o a r s with a %yilabic adjective. only the fmt

I n a a d form of reduplition. an adjeaive i s repeatedand fdlowed by the [email protected] [ A A I or [AARR] rerl~rpltatinnm r k n an emphatic or vivid meaning, the form [A-A&] s e w to qualify or modwate the meaningof the ad+ive. like the English suffix -id$:

syllable i s reduplicated chIsin

'crazy'

+

chichi4fi-sin 'a bit may'

pachau Shy'

-

p-dCiihau 'rather shy*

fib-EiC; 'rather fal, diubw lyuhn4y6ndPj 'a bit messy'

Note that reduplicatedformswith -$tiare also used m adverbs (10.1-3).

NT

P 2 f RRB ADJECWES

D n g yl waaiwai-dei ge. this CL chair brolren-bmkewish PUT 'This &iris a ht broken.'

A W , rather less productive, fonn of r e d u p l i o n oaun with an adjedive and a reduplmttd n w n or adjeaive. I n this r;rse. only %second noun or adjecthe Is repeated, giving adjdiueb of Ile k m m [A-B-BI:

Wvte that the t m e of the s m d m h p h t d word chanpa to the Miied tone (see 1.4.2) except where it orig~nallyhas a hi& tme (Wn-siindFt 'newish'). mdh-h-dfi "so-so' is a common d o q u i a l reduplicatedform. h k e other [adj - adj - d#ij reduplicated f m s . it mn be wed as an adjtxtiue or rrs an ndwrb (10.1.3).

I&:

A: Dim

B:

a,

Eih?

PRT

you 'How are you doing?' Mah-md-dei jEL. m i s h PUT

how

&u-bngMng m e l l y - r n 'srrpelly. high'

'mundal'

form of redupi~cathtypblly p W m Ucrcqtual adpcfiw, M b i n g

Fit. PRT

ng6h d h d - & -1 nidouh jtk. I wso-~sh like here PRT 'I'm not too keen on ths place.' Note that the disparaging part&jFk (183.5)often aaompanies the id&.

dungkngh-ng mld-im4m Yreeeing mM'

'Ihese mmbmathm occur only in the reduphted form: there is no word dzhtrp or Ehu~rbdng.for example. As these examples s e , the A B B

d w m or Hative Iwhs.

Chihrn h e h n chbn f u e h dhmLd6i M k nl&t CL meal sn-wrsh good+at The dinner last night was medime.'

last

yhhnluk-liik roun-1-1

waaht-r)llr-qwt dt-bare-bare %moothas a baby3 bottom'

'so-so.'

As an adverb, i t mdifres a

chi-hhplahp glue-st~ck-stick 'gicky, gooey'

I

how things feel, look or smell. A pnminent fundion of this type i s to produce mmpound mlom t e r n made up of a c o l m and a M i n g

noun: hahk-sflt-Sym whitmolwnow Snaw-white'

h5k-m8ngmiingor h a k a d blackdark&rk "pitch dark'

Like AABB adjedives, adjectkz of the ABB pattern may be m b i n e d one after the other for emphasis:

Khh

p e i f i baahk-syWw

Siu-Yin l a g gwo ylhchlhn. SirtYin pretty than before Siu-Yin i s pretrier than she usad to be.'

waaht4yiit-tyiit.

dllt skill wllbk+.ikr~-5nw sol(-he-hrr 'Hw ccrmplexbn is lovely and white and soft.' For w l e . gn emigrant m-np m3~lk-b ~hl HQngkQngmmbined firm redupliited udjmtim 20 produce the F d h ~ n gappreciative

description:

fast

PRT

B: Wdbhng faai p n tim.

T h e dwghnuts are piping hot. a ~ t i e i n and g crispy.'

perhaps fast than 'Maybeeven faster:

9.3 COMPARISON OF ADJECTIVES Tlwm i e no single wmpmtive form nf adjedivea: wvenl f o m of mm prim are med. awording to the context and nature of the mmparison:

(a) di is wed where the &@t d comparison is not e ~ p l i i t l ymenhorned, but implied by the wntext: SwWn ylhgs leng S;V.Y;II

WW

di.

,,,tll~&;I

'Siu-Yin i s prettier now.'

Thk strucruw. h m w . may ~1x1 haw the meaning 'rather' or-a bit loo', for example m rhetorical questions (17.1.2): M h haan h n di 18! p u spare back rt-bil PRT 'Why not spre ywrrelf the trouble?'

To make the comparative meaning explicit. i t may he reinforced hy the ad& Mignm hther': Gsrnyaht M p a u yiht $i. mhy rather hot %bit Tnday is rather hotter.'

(b) Where two i t e m s are to be explicitly wmpad. the usual meam of m r i s o n is with the word grw: GBmyaln yiht gwo Whmyahr. may hol than yesterday T d a y is hotter than yeslerday.'

faai a?

'Is a UMW m fog rr,en Alfu?'

*sw

KwShh-LMjjCung dl a? ex-nor-exaggerarr a-bii PRT "Isdt it rather m-erthe top?'

y;iuh-m6uh Alfa gam haw-not4m.e Alra 50

A: &m$h BMW

r h ~ ~ i i - h h k - k ( d i n int )

G ~ w h phr t di. t&aY 1rM a-G;I 'It's hotter today.'

As a verb. gnu, literally means 'aoss' IYT 'p'; it comes to exmpanson by the same m r e as the Englih verb surpas~.Note that the ob@dofmparlson can be omitted where i t may be u n d e m from the mrext:

roo

msaih Idu Ihih duhji, b s w h Luy flat u r r t inkcst rather 111i~~k433WT

Tub@ 16h 1Amjyuh il

yw

d a i h p13~u h$l

buy

gwm.

shares p o d than

"If pu're thinking of buying a Rat a an investment. yw'd do krter to huy shares.'

d explidr wmprlson Ls M. b d on the Mandarin comparative mmstrudion with hl. This bthe f m l Ratmr of Mandariwbased syntax: (cj An alternative marker

A-W$hn b t i k h i h miiihmli leng A-Wan than hw sister pretty 'Wan i s frr~nwr than hm ( y ~ n f y r )mer.' kbuhdhi Mi y4hchihn k&hn&. (mr e p ) balCteam than kbre strongPW Wur team is strongerthan i t rras.' N&h&ih we

Note that the word order in this comrrucrion is IIM reverse Z of the En$&. the objecl of c m m p r h ("sister' and 'W in the exampld p d i n g the adjectne. The adjerrive dnc4 take a oomp;lrati\.e:km?, bur may be followed by fi. a degree M i t i e r such as h5n ldci Vnuch' or an aspect marker ZE in k k u h ~ g - p'has bewme smger'. btrik#i ' m p r e d to- is an alternative. ltfed topether with fior a degree expression srrh as h& dd following the adwive. Ban g n p i G i WhtB @ n p p u k * fi. this Cl w e compre orher store h~ghqlass a-bit 'This department store IS more hgh-class than the others.'

M

U i h go dihnbuh MWl k&iht%g.3 gwai h6u do. you CL mmpurer mpre other machine expemiw very much 'Your mmputer i s much r r w ~ e expensive than other mdels.'

LRih rAh &g Hi ktuih eng. k&uih j o b gang $ ISu. yw not say to him hear s h e w l l mclre add angry 'Hell be angrier will if yw don"t ten him.'

The p r q r m i v e mmqmrison 'more and more' is e x p m d by pth Ihih

A bFi?-phrase can also be added as an 'afterthought': Ni@an j i u l h h mh sywn gwai. M i & a h p%di. (mnv.) this CL restaurant nor m n t expemiw, -re other CL 'This restaurant i s remable. m p r e d to some.*

mi: Dr

hoh-ng

lbih ywht

yuht

CL student

chb

more and more bad

'These sludentr are gettingw m e and -.'

*the more . . . the more' is e x p r e d by yuhr All the above mmnudicm may be mdifred by the addition of degee adverbs. such as k u do huch' and sf&u 'a little' and a-di'a bW:

Ni jek p a i (gwo g6 jek) h6u &this C L dear (than that CL) very much 'Thii one is far more experm& (than that one).'

-

Yauh $i ybhn phi yiuuhdrfn jwht mh-m. haw CL peuple mure have-money more unhappy 'Some pwple ger unhap~y.the richPr lhq. a m '

T6hy3hrdd1k Ihahr~( g w 111bl1111duk) du-slu. Lnguisticj hard (than literahre) little-little 'Linguistb is slightly harder (than literature).'

93.2 EQUAL GOMPARISONS Equal comparim (as [adjective] rrs . . ) may be exprcsd by the verb Muck11'mmmble' together with the a d d gnm 'as, sd:

@

h g sing-song lhat CL pretty somesome The m e who's singing is a bit prettier.'

Nde that the object of comparison (gw + noun phrase) m y be omitted where i ~ identity s is dear from the mtext. so that the only mrt indicator of a mmparkm~isi h d q w e adverh fnnmting the adjectt-te. Other degree eqms&ns such as sahp priil~ 'ten times' (oftenused h y p b l i m l l y . as in English) and Jdr Run 'half may be added similarly:

rCPuih h3uchlh g3je gam lens just-lake slster zs prep 'She's as pretty zs her (elder) sister.'

she

pi&whnggurn *jlst as . . . 'is a more emphatic form of equal comparison. The object of mmpclm6n may be expressed wing fihng:

KEu;h lck p n ng6h whp pfiih. dhe smart Ilmn me ten times 'She's ten timer smarter than I am:

W&l\

di hsaih h8 Yrnggwok h a i h phng y8t bun. this CL shoe in England buy cheap one half IThae shoes are half the prioe in Enpland.'

(36

tPhw I#h ystyeuhng

galla

1

with you onesarrpe as 'I'm just as hoke as ym are.'

NI

Note that pwiJdrpCih means 'twice as expemive' (cf. 100 per cent more). The &verbj~rling'still' precedingthe a d w v e -res

.. .y k r :

E i h go Kui yuM dfrah ~uht leng. your CL daughter rrwre b ~ g more pretty 'Ywr &u+ 1s looking p m r and prettier as she gmvcj dder.'

the emphatic

m m p k 'ewn more': Daap dihnck juhng maahn ( g w ~ damp b*. catch m m still slow (than catch bus) 'It3 rwn slowcr by tmm (thon by bur).' The object of compnson m y again be omitted h, as juhng indimm the comparative meaning. juhng gnng gd k more emphatic st11l:

gaan

thlmg

g%im ylityeuhng gam p i . CL m a m e so expemive Thar hotel 1s just as expensive as this one.'

that CL

jsvdim

khhng. pow

one-same with

mi

thb

Note the me of the c l a w phrax n1 gomr to mean This one' (62.1). ihAng.

. .c%rnd6'almut

as.

. .="is used similarly. with or withoutgum:

chlmd6 Ng6h go j6i t h h q Wuih go Yui CL daughter almost my CL m with her

p n daarh.

big 'My son 1s abwt the rime age as her daughter.'

G h $i

tsuhfaat

Glmg

khih

chSd5

you CL hair with hi* 'Your hair is about as short m hers.'

almm

Adjectival constn113nsln

1

dyh. shnrt

(cf.

833 MEGATWE AND IMTERFWGATIMCOMPARISONS Negatiw mmpamives require the negatiw existential wrb 4 u l i (15.4) and the adverb @m 50': M u i h m6uh g5j€ p m leng. norhave sister x pretty she -5he.s nor as p m q as her lelder] s~srer.' The interrogative munterparr is f v d with the corrrspomdmg A-not-A

q ~ h o ni.e, . ydrrhm6rth; Keuih yiuh-rr&uh FjE gam leng a? she haw-nor-have s~wr as pretv PRT '16 me a5 prettySI her [elm1 wer?' The positive form of this mtruaion, q m t i m (17.3.4) and .to contrast with m&rh

I

I 1

. .p.is used in rherorical . .gmn.

daaih jek. large CL

whcrc@k is a m h a t n e particle meaning'to the limits, extreme' w~tha concassive sense is w t l y matched by ddu 'aill' in the following daux: [djdjemivc] gikk.

KCuih x u i gihk &u a h p u Yih ai. she bad e x t r e m alse nM enough you bnd 'Bad h g h he is, he is rn b A as you are.' Ng6h ssu gihk d6u jeuk I slim elmeme also wear

rllh not V-PRT

@ that

tiuh kw$hn. 'As slim as I can be, I dill can't fit into fiat dress.'

[adjcdve] gikk fl~k-hnhnis a fixed exprwion meaning 'not all that [admve]

N g d ~ h d o n h j4uh kCuih gam Ek a? I where haw him w clever PRT 'Frn ndhing hke as clever as hm:

K€uih stui gihk y6uh-hahn. bhe bad e m m e haw-lim~t 'Sad though she may be, &s m t all that bad.'

Keuih h6lshng $m lCih gam kng. dmhnhaih slhe pretty but maybe hzve yw so

I

&h H h gam lek. not-have yw w, &cw 'She rnay be as m m k i n g as you, but she's not as clever.'

K b i h Ek gihk y5uh-hahn. m a n extreme ha\,e-limit 'She3 no4 that smart.'

dhz

Verbs can also occur with gihk and gi%k y&hk&

k h i h gam Y h h k h i h pam pPhnp m6uh h m it so cheap not-have i t so jeng!

Mudlh 'rc~mble'as in 9.3.2):

Ng6h ihh chIh d k h h gam not l~ke able you so

.(see 11.3.2).

(radii ad. for rrsnrurant) The basic excessnremtnrtim uses rnai %omfollowed by an adjedve:

Anywhere that's as cheap is not SI great!' An alternative form of negative mmparim is the phrase k h @LA ttumlg11':

N&h

Ek.

I

ibh p u k€uih (garn) m t enwgh she (as) -I'm rtoc as smart as her."

smart

The adverb gum %' may appcar e o n a I l y in this mmtnrhon.

'not

G5m Wng taai mfihfiahn la! such vmy roo troublesome PUT 'It's too mwh tmvble that w q l ' The mmplrratiw marker gwo may be added:

w)

bSln sfl mi this CL book m ( e T h i s h k is 200 d i f k l t . '

Ni

Grn

lo.

m ) hard PRT

I

Adjectival mMm3bm 173

Ni

bdn syii

"b m k

Mrn

slhe is whole Hongkong 'He's the ridern in a1 Hongkmg.'

gwothh.

most nch

Knggwok jeui chEutnvhg e-ng haih bingo a? Brirain naost famous LP aong4ar is who PRT 'Who is Britain's mosr famom sin@'

bwk hard em6*ely

this CL

Huhchln g6 go. that CL

K h i h haih chyuhn HEungghg jeui

An altemhve i s m fdbwing the adjective( b dfrom gwo k' and &uh 'heab, like rn t h iwp in English):

boks mesdwly difhml~.'

dhm gworauh. C L w1ip 3wePt exwssively The soup is too sweet.-

LW

1

I

dak jaih. a-bit-much T h i s di-w is a bit (too) long.'

p i n mam c k h n g this CL d e w long

Ni

Saam baak man gwai dakjaih. three hundred dollar expanive a4itrnuch

The superlativemay a b be &ed

4y a numeral or by the $rase g m

&+dassifier,meaningkfofrheman':

I a m Jim61 jeui Yk hail bmga a? three A e r most clever i s which PRT 'Which is the b n g h t d of the three s*rs?' I i i h sSk gum ~ C I .ng bmgo jeui kk a? you Lnow so many doctor which m s t clever F'RT 'Which s the best doctor pu know?' gum d-5 also expressas the experiential ~~, evtr k n m :

Three hundred dollars is rather e q e m i v e '

as in Le ~JWM . . . rw

haih h6u siu hei gwi Ng6h tsi-gwo gam d l I see-EXP so many film most @ laugh is

C h l k f i M h &kjaih a? tateul-lhk &l-mu& PRT 'Isn't it rather late for that?'

&

mu.

t h d CL That w the funniest Rm 1% wen.'

Sup?rl.tk adj.xtiw:

m W m are I&

Ng6h hsau-gw gam 1 take-EXP s o

with jemi

'6'pcedidg l l ~ e

di I ih haih ni hi jeui gmi pe lak. these CL Rat are this a m most expensive PRT PRT These Ran are the mosr expmGw in h e am,' luy

The wvtd order withM is d e n inverted, jm + adjeuive coming betore huik in order tu focus the: subject: Jeui

r h h m haih

mtvlh chin s5i. mwt is rot-have money qxnd The brggest pry i s not having any money to spend.'

poor

haih ni chi. is this time T h i s is the hi-&!# exam Ihr wer @Len.' Note that Engliih uses relative clauses here, while Cantonese u s a topicallzed clause with the experiential asp% mrkw (1 1.2.5). jr i s nn ~d'mmaticnlicmativc to typ~mllyhawng a hyperbolic fuw ticm d exaggeration. While jmi implies 'the must . . . ' within a certain of all (time)' or 'the most. . . ever'. I t is range, jisuggeas 'the most much u d In advert~mng,In pwference to jmi:

@.

...

di

@nyiu

haih gaan

dsk

mrn. ( d e a d . )

mmt important k c ADV righ T h e moat important thing i s m make the nght choice.'

Jeui Sui haih leih! mm4 bad i s pu 'It's all ywr fault!'

The range within w h i h amperlafive is to be unde& by a m n phrase preceding the superlative adj&w:

CE chi slh p u i lhhn many time exam mwt dificult

ji i s also used irorricallyor mdcally: can be &Mished

Yiihnllrih l f i h hoih ji slngmuhk ahall you are moa m a n 'Oh, 1 see. pu're the snmrtest.'

g6 gh (fihn) that-CL

174 Cantonese:a m p r e h e n s i g r a m m

9.4 COMPLEMENTATION: COMPLEX STRUCTURES WITH ADJECTIVES The cwnplernentatmn of sdjediva - the q d m of what mructuresmay fdlow indiv~dualndjedwx - ~s m e problems. Mwt adjedives whkh orc followed by infnitiw I#) or gmndive ( m)complemenn in h $ i h mn be treated relatively srraightfmrdly. Many adjectimmay imply be Wlowed by a dauw. N@h h6u hgin d6u Yih. 1 very happy see FWT p u 'I'm dad to see yw.'

I 1

qieaker. the apparent remblam $ oftem mshding, Th~hereis a 0 infinltive tomr in Cantonese. and the above structura are probably to tre anal@ as serial ronstmctims(see 83). One sign of the difference k thst the mder d the adwlive rrrd Fornplement can be reversed In Cmtonese: I

h6u h d s m ltihdeih p fihn very happy you-PL s o far

This class of adj&

-

Although the literal gloss is 'he very hard understand', the sentence would not -ally mean what 'HBis hard lo underwand' doeb in English. However. a structure mpdcially l ~ k ethe English one dws as s m l r of topicaliition of the objea: Wi dilngm8hn )ih h W ynhngylh r n e d s k ge. C L Chinew charmer easy fore PUT Oinese characters are easy to forget.'

As a m l t . senrences may be ambiguous. dependingon whether the ropic is u n d e m d as the subject or object of the c l a w

KZuih h&

flhngyih jsuh w6n d h ge la. sthe very easy then find V-PRT PRT FUT 'He'll have no pmblem finding (ii).'or 'He is easy bfind.'

H h yiihngyih mgad5k .k

JiinNhn

very m y h g t CL Chinese 'It's esv m forget Chinae c h m e r s , '

h llih tasrn n@h, ng6h Ink also come visit me I very

dezrves spedal attention in that their c m p k mentation work5 d~fferentlyfrom English. In an English sentence such as H e is bmf m tderm, the subject of t k sentence is undetsmcd ~tsthe object of the m n p l m r n w& (tolaw). I n Cantonese. the xntence subject i s u n h o o d as thesubw d the complement wrh

mahnthih).

\ey hard understand (this C L q-ion)

Jgnhsih h h l b b t , mtihnj0k khih. renlly very 11anl MIS& hhn 'He's really hard m satisfy.'

rn

laism. ham T m so glad youmw m e to visit me f m UI hraway.'

go

175~

(a) by using an irnprsonaf structure withwt a subjec~[note that there is no munterprt to the m v e pronoun ir in Chi=: see ch. 51:

faam n m . visit me -1-mso glad p u ' w ame to vint me f m m far away."

@) Uhdeih gam yjhn you-PL so far

mlhngbxhk (ni

n

'Ihe English meaning as in 'hard to u n h a n d ' or 'emy tu forget' may be expremed unambigucmly:

dou I i i h ako

l&hn

O

'He hlrs d i i m l understanding ~ (this question).'

However+ while these 'Al~tura p e n t m proMem to t k English

(a) N&h

KCuih h6u

dhe

I

thhng Yih g6ng. KEuih mthyisi slhe embarrassed with you talk 'He7% ~ 1 b n l W x k t* d talk fi ym.'

O

(b) sltmmhdy. the ad@&

I

ih.

char-

may be Tdlowed by a psBoive M p h m (g4):

Npihgwok-yAhn h6u yiihngyi b& y3hn n-ih. fomign-pmn wry e q by people mis-understand 'Formgrrrs are easlly rmsunderstod.' Mi ylhga h6u

wu

now

'Yw're

b h n t4i yhhn

very h d by pegle d~fficultto cheat now.'

n@ak d6u.

cheat V-PRT

There is s m a l l clasr of adjectiws which behave like lisahn 'diicult' in the example above: yr>/tngvrh 'easy': SnirnbHfii hrh $hngyih fanjeuhk. chlldren w r y eaT fall asleep 'Children fall asleep easily.'

176 -mew:

a cunphsnsive grammar

hk l l h m m g ge. siu g6 f h i i CL svng AD$ hard-hear PET 'This song is awrul.'

NT Isih.

N N gsmyahr ihh fCmgbihn J 'It"

t h y

not convenient mme

snotconvenientfor me re mme today.'

the meaningis not 'hard to hear' but 'backcwnding', indicatmg that these me lexicalld mmpounds."

Nte

drSWlimhn W e , at leisure':

U i dakinhaakhbhn m g dihmd? you free-not-free l i e n phone 'Arc you frw ta a n m the phone?' Khihdeih lirh hmhng jibg& j w h sam. they m4 possible self do all ' T k y can't w i b l y do it all t h e m s e w

Note that althcugh tkx adbehme d i t t y from the came spondimg EnpJiih adpctiver, a similar conm r s in Englih with aher adjedws such as likely and --n, as m WE m L'kcfy IO b r f m or Jokn is d m to win. Thm, the cwLsrruction (swmttimknown as S u w Raising) is not entirely unfamiliar to the English spcaker; the diPFrulty posed by the Cantonese structure k to learn N i adjediws behave in this way?

Idiom: M u ldohn &k meam that something does not happen easily:

U i h go $i your

cki-jd

go

$dm

CL son rnsrry-PW CL so

h6u ge: good LP

&q%uh, h6u l h h n M k pa! daughterin-law very d i h l t able PRT

'Fancy your son marrying such a good daughter-in-h!' Another idmatic expresriim with I d a h is IMn-pw 'haw a hard

time' or 'be heart-bmken': N&II

&jullld

Idu

~ J 'worthy' Z is used in d k u i a l speach to mean 'deserving'. and may tre f n l l d hy a cwrplerrml wrb: Jek W u h6u &i CL cat wry wathy The cat%so lovable.'

sek ge. Ime PRT

LRih wah Wh haih-mhaii &i laauh 97 you any you be notbc worthy scold PRT "Don't y w think )ou deserve to be smldedr

Idiom: dm's+!i F P i h y to die' is a hyperboli u x o f d i (cf.also 9.1 3). I t may mean %ems ynu right' vr 'YPU a s h 4 b r it'; U i h ghn 9ung gdng y€h, jsnhaih d8i d! FW M manner say t h ~ n g really wmthdii *You asked for it. taking that way.' ddi d i in a pnsitive sense may also be a compliment:

NT

tou hei

this

CL film LP dlalogw:

ge

deui-hahk

MI ySumshk wry funny

dai &i. (film review) wwth-dic 'This film's dialogue is funny and sharp.'

hllfi-gw-

I that-time wry hadtime 4 w a s having a hard time then.' 'Ihe a h wnstructh isliable to be mnfused with the use of ?&n and yih rn ta udjcaim such ag W m i d i 'bad-looking' with wrh of pcrtrp tion (see2.1.1). With these mmptunds. unlike the mnstmctions & . r e d ahve. the aubjea if u n & m as the &jea d the peroepionverb.

d6i &k I6m 'selRess' is also a w m p l i m t : Ng6h srk gnm I know so haih

d.5 yhhn jeui dfti-dsk-Em many pwple rnost mh-ablethink

16h! Y-

'Ynu're the rncm selfeffacing person Iknow!'

178 ~~:

a ccmWw&e grammar

jihkduk 'wMh(whi1e)' behaves like the adjectives Ihlin and y+hngyih (9.4.1): These are nnt m h buying' in rantonee may he d e d hy to+liiarion ofthe object:

10 ADVERBIAL CONSTRUCTIONS

ihh jihkdsk Maih. r l o l wortlnuhlle buy This newpaper's not wwth bqing.' Ni

fahn boujl

lhia CL

r w s p p r

m l ~d4i 6'not worth buying' w l d k equivalent.

Can-

lacks a systematic meam of forming adverts from adjectitw, although one funaim of reduplicated adjeuives is as adverbs (10.1.3). Instead. adverbis1 nmdiicarion is by adjxtives. in can~unction with adverbial oonstruaiom (10.1.1, 10.1.2). Predicate adverts (10.1) are those which describe the manner of an Mion. and apply to the verb or verb phrase. Sentence adverbs (10.3) desmbe the circumstances of wen& and states, such as rime and probabilii; they apply to the whole sentence. The syntax of the two rypes k .very different.

10.1 ADVERBS MODIMNG THE VERB PHRASE Mdibtion of the verb or verb p h w e k eqmxaed ushg adjectiw. together with adverbial wnsrruuiorrs taking three mmn forms: (a) verb - dnk- adjecrive (lD.1.1); (b) adJecrlw,- g@m - verb (10.1 .Z); (c) reduplicated adwive - (&) - verb (10.1.3).

Since earh of these p a ~ e r n inwlws s adjective. ma largeexlentthe s p a dadjesi\es described in chap% 9 atso applies to these adverbial m t r u c tiom. Similarly, comparison of adverbs i s based on that of ad*(10,21.

The mosl genetal adverbial conshumion resemblesthat in Mandarin, with dzk mrrespMlding to Mandarm de. The [verb1 - dnk mnstruaicm is follcnved by an adjeaiw. preceded by the ad~cctivcmnrLcr m omthcr r n d i k r . as d m d in (9.1.2): Ktuih hohk dak k u hai. slhe learn ADV very fa4 'He learns fast.-

C6

& Sm8ang garru dsk g€i & we. t h w CL teacher reach ADV quite wll PRT Those teachers r& prerty well.'

~ a l m E i m m nI s81 The adjatine may be d i f i e d in any d the w a p illwtrated in chapter 9. fur example by gem 'sd or by d n p l i r a t h of the irrljmve:

10.12 GAM An alternative adverbal ccmtruction uses an a d e v e rollowed by the adwrbrd grim 4n this way* More the verb grim is to be diilnguishedfrom gnm W with mid level tone (SM 9.1.3):

qikq%fuhk-Rhk. rirh wiiih KCuih J y h dGk she live ADV comfonable-comfortable m4 will

mhaih ylhe r n hohk. not-be genuine thm learn 'rm rtoc srudying (it) seriously .'

N&h I

ge: la. move PRT PRT 'She's living nice and d o n a b l y . 9he ww'r me.' biin

ISu g6m sat-jd sin. very mad thus close-PFV line 'rle put the phanc dawn furiausly.'

G u i h Wu

The s h b i a l comsrrudim with dak i s most rypically wed in a generic or habitual wnse. as in the above exampla which do nor refer to any parhfuhr .roccaslon. By wntr;lst, the slrmlar rse of dak m rewltmve ccrmplements (8.53) W refer to a particular occasion: Dim @ai h h h h diik gam how m e rwuld examine A D V 'How m e he did FQ badly in his exam?

d!S

slhe

This mmmwth is often used with reduplicaredadjdves: kkuih &+IW htm sillysilly-ish T saw him smiling stup~dly.'

ga?

bad PRT

the dak comhuaion: Kfuih fi & ji dak k fmi. dhe drive mr driw ADV wry fast 'She d r i w very fa%.*

g h ~siu thus smile

Ng6h stung m h d y @m thleuhn m

ge mahntlih. wsh seriws thus d m t h s CL problem '1 want to serinusty d m < $rhii pmhlcm.' 1

grim may be used el!iptimlly as a predrrste, together with hurl? w an auxiliary. mnnng Ix like that*: Di milouhjii haih g h ge laak. CL dildren are so PRT PUT Children are like that.'

M h hbahng faai di dk-mh-dSk a? )ou walk fmt-ish okay-not-okay PRT 'Can you walk a bit &aeTI*

ua

mhdu gsm la!

you don't so PRT 'Uon't be llke that!'

ukmlu~tjrlril;5 d. w p i c - c w n ~ n tMteam. where the verb phrase is fdlwred di&y by an adpctiw: to lid

jih k t ~ - d ~ l ~ -a? hg write character nice-not-nice PRT 'h he write characters well?'

V-!JRT

Due to its shwtural similarity to the English pre-verbal adverb, the with g h i may also be used m i m p an Englishadverb into a C a n h m x ytntence:

The repetition results from the m m i n t that bcdh the objed and the adverbialdiik must directly follow the verb. With a tcw adjectives. mmbly fmi 'fast' and m w h n W ,dak ia nc4 needed:

DIm psai w m g6m how come will so 'Why i s i t lihc thw'r

&?

PRT

This use of p-m mrresponds to dfm in questions [see 17.3.7).

ge. PRT

@m

1s also used mth the t

c m h

hdll~Ijrh%in. resembk in Rue ways:

(a) the I16uchlhphrase may function as an adverb with gdm:

KGh d slhe

see

fonsnucrion

Keuih dm-jfi rRau dek h6u h=m. slk care-child care ADV very happy k child.' 'She enjoy l d i n g after t

N@h lduhgng j@ fmhn h la my husband mdr food very m a r l 'My hrshand is a very g o d cook '

pn d6u

I

KPulh daalh-hlh-llhk @m kk gu ko. slhe grear-great strength rhus kick CL ban 'He kicks the ball very hard.'

With transitive verbs where the objed is m t , the verb is repeawd in

A dluqukl alru,,.l;vt

Nghh

I

Go sailouh daaih yhhn gSm gdng yPh CL child just-like big flerson so talk things The child's talking l~kean adult.

182 Cantonese: B m e r s i v e grarnmer

rdioms lwrh gim: [ v d ] sihng @m (nr +tzng *m) ic a d e r m m r i v e phrase used to emphas~zethe extent of an outmme or wsull: Dim g h i wiih bin
@?

FR 'T

h h dfa wGih gsau Ng6h @I 4g u not ~ m e e d would m a n a ~ rear14 I &I

(Wdrama)

50

-1 never imagined i t would hlm out like th~s''

The correspordjininp q r d m corahucrim, [verb] sUNlgdim7 b uKd to form manner a d extent questiom (17.3.7). fitfh #m. meaning Iusf or 'simpw, i s often used in i d a n s : k h jauh @m haahng ~ h p h e o jauh i &k

gz laak. then so walk in gn then okay PRT PRT 'You s~mplylvalh in like this. I t 1 he fine.'

you

h h j 1 jauh @m jso ge wo. you not can then so leave PRT PRT 'You un't j u ~Wue t likr that.'

L4h fib

hurh #m 'that's an' is u d to terminate a m e m h o n :

Haih @m sin. (te1.l is so fiwt 'That's all for now..

-

@) gdm is added pleonashcally at the end of the claux:

Keuih h6ahii mhaih @ mrihnyi g h . $he nor-be quite sar~fied so -She rkrpsn't xern m k w r y WiBtisfierl.' Kkuih jwk aam MrrtnI h o h k i t q g8m. dhe wear clothes resemble student so 'He dresses like a smdent.'

A d W idiom lvirlr gam: Knm (ddnct f m @tw with high riGng tone) is found in m e idions. IyrrhnNyljn Wrn [r*erb]is to in a random w aisorganiredmanner: ride that Earn is optimal: N$h jauh lywhn &n yat go. I therefore random [thm) choo~e one CL 'SoI chose one at random.'

m)

KCuih lywh ( g m ) g@ p h ge je. dhe random (thus) talk thinp PRT PRT 'He3 jua talbng rmmeme.' Note that gum may he omitted. as in the corresponding Mandarin idiom l d n jitlng 'talk nomeme'. Mciahng gum [ v e y is lo do something like mad; I 3 yAuhhaak laih dou H a r n m g mhahng gam CL twrist mme to Hongkcmg crazy thus msalh yell. huy things 'When murim p r to Hongkongthey hry like crazy.'

Ng6h mhahng p m lvhn I

crazy

&u vAn mh d m % thus mrch also mrch not succeed

tluh h l h . CL Ley 'II w k for the key I~kecraq and 4 1 1 can't find it.'

khhnl: 'rrazym. used ns an adverh has a similar mcarnngto mclahng Wrn: F4i di t i k i yiu kbhng yAm4ui. this CL wearher need crazy drlnk warer "I'ou have to drink like mad in this weather." N p W e ~ hkbhng Ism ni go mhnthih. w crazy think this C L prohkm 'We're W i n g our bmim over this pmbkm.'

10.1.3 REDUPLICATEDAWERBS Reduplicated adverbs, lypany fnmed from adjectiws. the verb in three pttems: (a) with the suffix -d& (see 9.2.2):

LRlh M u d 6 1 jing ykh sihk Bh? steal-steal-ish make things eat PRT 'You've been m t l y preparing fd. have you?'

are rsed before

Adwfkl m

184 &nb%se. a mqxehersivegtutlmma,

C m p r i s o n ot adverbs rs base3 on that of ad)ect]ves. Sinoe llh? a m a l o a s t n d o m ckscriid in sation 10.1 call for the use of adjeaives. the synrm of adjdival comparison (RX 9.1)appllm. Thus. rhe bmc ownpara-

Guih ge k h q m h n - m h ~hiru fsan la. sllie LP illslow-slow g m d back PRT 'Her illness is fmdriafly imprwinp'

Ng6h m w l m h l q tSi &I lltih nlhng p Yuihyan yr7tchilih. I clear-clear we V-PRT pi i t l i CL w m n togerher *I clearly saw you with a woman.' (c) together wth Wfm (10.1.2): Keuili . .si?q girn @mg. sllle srnall-small voice so speak 'He spoke in a quiet mire.' Note that the redriplication may rcsult in a changed lone on rhe second a d w v e .hence m h n + m h n -imnn-~r h i t h i w t 8 ~ Pa is M u already has a high tone. T t t w reduplicated ad& c w r s t d a r s are used especially in impmati* sentences. In preference to the a d d a l oonshuctiom with diik and Nrn (see 19 1): L€ih gwkniqpvhid8 Lfih h 8 i h h d Q n ~Is. )mi gmd-god-ish stand here wait PRT 'Be gwd and stand here waiting:

Two rcdriplicated adjcctivcs in the form AABB Ed.9.2. I)s e r e to empha size a 5ugg~tionor i m c r i o n : yZlhn Wn syii t finish e C L book

I

rive cxrmrrunlon wlrh m m h d i o n with dirk:

p~combines srralghrfmwardly ~ 5 t hthe adverb

Khiih mnlik WA waahk diik Mu sthe paint picture paint ADV g c d 'She pints hetter than Ido.'

g . ~ o rrgtrh.

than me

uannaeln aa-gel aa ask lunng s k pwi I C I ~ . pwple playmacfiine play ADV even clew than you 'Other pwple play (video games) men ktter than pido.' Negative and inlemgative mmpahns are mprmwcl by M h and . d u b d u k respectivety (see 9.3.3). fdlowed by ~ r -m n [a+xiw)': Ng6h a h l i i h @mg dak gum 1 not-haw )no speak ADV w 'I don't speak as well as you.'

hh. god

E h ysnh-mhh 1Ah g6hgO hohk d8k gmm fmal a? you have-not-have your hmther learn ADV sn fast PKT 'Do pilearn a f i ~a t ycnir [elder] bmtherT

Mashn-n,&n Irhhng a. (uwd as a ra~wwllgreruczi~g) sbw-slow walk PRT %o s h l y . '

U i h f d f d rhmkhd d fa>(-fnrt crispcrlsp ~ 'Hrrrry up and finish y m r book!'

s 185

102 COMPARISON OF ADVERBS

(b) with certmn adjectives. the reduplited form alom:

yw

m

tx! PR-T

Rehplication of acljmtivfi is highly idiomatic. an13 m r m l reduplicated idiom of the h AB pattern (9.2.3) are r d specifically as adverhs. for exam*: Kiuih jih-si j&u+ die quret-quaet-chicken leave-PW 'Heqoielly went and left.' U i h tih-I$$p hi ai yGh. yw la-la-m~ce coflect up CL wufT 'Hurry rrp and clear up this shiff." Keuih k M m + k h w g sihk saai di y&h jatih jar~j6. slhe nah-rush eat all CL thing then leave-PFV "He ate up his f d in a rush and I&.'

Note the word order here. with {ydr~h-)mdLJtpreceding I I E verb The cornpararive use of rli (9.3) is applicable where the o b w d cwnpclnwn is not expliolly Sated: Keuih yih@ cheung-@ cheunp &k Mu nng di dhc now singsong mng ADV good hstcn o-bit 'She's singng a b ~better t mw.' M h h&ihh-h6yfh g6ng &k mahn d you can-noti-an speak ADV 4ow a-bir %auld you speak n b ~slmver?' t

T k ernmh=mm~ucrions with IW; (w) and &k with ddk: Shgaan gwo dak taai faai. time p s s ADV t m fast TI^ pssff too quickly.' K h l h jfl dsk h a i dskjalh Slhe drive ADV f z r ~ a-bit *Hems dming a hit lcm fast.'

a?

PRT ~ ~ L ; dI ~ u lc ~

;la~l~

Adverbial mstnrdions 187 The superlative jm;or ji (9.3.5) may be applied m adverb ccmshuctinns, wtli the order of rhe verb phrase and subject often mrmW& Gam chi haih A-CMn Mau dSk jmi IMh. this time i s Ah-Clian exam ADV most good 'Chan did lml in the exam thrs h e . ' Gam do dhjeuk-ySu d$ & SO many mahjong-er play ADV

Ek bih clevpr is

-1

ar

there

sing

Ji Ilrn. ji ADV moY cos)' m

K&h dhe

@mg

Gn%gdu@

speak Cantonese

lEk g w ng6h clever than I

g h g YingrnAn. speak English 'He speaks Canrmm. bener than 1 spak En~lish. E i h chung-I6uhng faai gwo ng6h s8i thuh. (con*.) you rake&mm fast than I wash head 'Yuu wkc a shImtcr thnn ILwn w m l ~ my hnir.'

Muih a-rrd. her mother "I'he best mahjongplayer ot all s her motner.

H ~ g6cbn1h I &mg

The comparative gmw may he rsed to compare M v d a m with raped to an adwrb:

This oonstruction aka appears in the idiom:

d&

m

sy0fuhk. (radio ad. for karaoke lounge) oomfortable ' ~ t ' sthe m d mmtortable place tor wnging

The conshuction puht . . . yuhr. . . cthe more . . . rhe more . . . ' may either fdlwr the adverbial mmtructinn with rlAk or w n l r on either side d the verb: Khrihdeih jm~hdsk yuht faai yoM I&. do A W V mose fast more gmd 'The fmer they can do it t h e m . '

mey

jib Bih yuM h h . more early come more g o d 'The earlier )vu mme the better.'

Uih pht

yw

Compumnwe ~dioms:p h n 'as . . as pmslbk? is used wpecifically with adverbs Nore that a? f~ mtenpe adr*erk (see1A3), the *ule adverbial phrase comes behwen thesubject and the verb: Lkih jpuhn L a i g h u dihm lZi! yw oest fast manage V-PRT PRT 'Finish up w snon as possible.' )~trhrr-Ie~~htr~is 11serladverbially tn mean 'as wll as one can' or 'to the M t of one3 ability". for example in expresssng enowragement:

N@h d i h jeohn-teuhng h g Kihdeih ge la. 1 will ~pos.sibk help you-FL PRT PRT 'I'll do my bst to help you.'

Ng6h w i k yihm &

gwo

ltih i l r k m8ih.

more than eat rice The meaning i s similar to the English idiom I've =seen I

eat

salt

more

. . . than

you've had hot dinners'.

10.3 SENENCE ADVERBS: MODIFYING THE SENTENCE Sentence adverbs aredistinguishedfrnm verbal adverbs in that they modify the whle sentence rather than the verb phwm or predicak ahme. l i m e aduerln. fm example (10.3.3). mncern the circumstanoes of exre& and stafes rather than the manner in which they m r . Modal adrwbs. whiih desmbe the possibil~tyand potability of events. are d i s n l d in 12.2.

There are three positinns for sentence adverhx

(a) berween the suwnppic and the vefi; Ng6h waahkjP mh l i i h d8k. I perhaps not m e able 'I muiylll mwl lx able IV wmm.' N@hdeih h6w ch6 m6uh mfiaih dou paan ak. we good luck not-have buy V-PRT CL house 'Fortunately we didn*t buy the house.' (b) at the beginning d t h e sentence:

IUm &6i ~@ r h&h j6u fi llih. g d luck we early rather came 'Lucky we came early.'

Pdverbial c o n ~ t i o 189 n~

188 Cantonese: E- oomprehensive g m a r This @ion is oftem uSBdwhen t i m e is already a manner adverb before the

wh: Waahk* perhapa

E i h Mahngdihm yiu Eih Euih-pQhngy6uh dahkd8ng m6aih yeh +ally h ~ y thing your girl-friend

sung Mi 16h. give to you ' M a y k your girlfriend went out of her way to buy m e t h i n g for you.'

-5 a @hn yuht Pih y h t jungy ei&m-ST. now CL people more and more like wash-water-silk 'Noruaaays people like washame silk more and more. (c) at the end of the sentence. by wry of aftedm~ght:

KCuih jr~hng duhk-@n=cyCi, slhe still study-PROGM then 'She wrrs stall a student, at that hme.'

Saildu hmi-j6 Grin. d h m . brother w F F V play pmbaMy -Link brother has p n e to play. p ~

heui, htybh seuhnbin go rather on-the-way

bTng n@h gei

mlaih seun. help me send V-PRT letter "You have to go or~tanyway, )m might m d l psi the lettersfor me.'

jihnghoih and jthnih 'only. just' are often fnlkrwed by the prtide jdfi (18.3.5): N w d e i h jihnghhnih rAi-h4h

pa j . h L D E L PRT PRT 'We're just tak~nga look.'

w

cm?

y5t

chi

8.

dfik may also mean 'only'. but is used with noun p ~

.

'

b

DBk s W go yihn Iaih jah? just three CL people come PRT 'Only three people came?'

lihng &lr ngdh mhng ngbh u g6 h6imh. only just me with my bmther here 'Only me and my [elder] brother are here.'

B: U i h dGn haih. you nlvl hP 'You too.'

p u -enou& may be usad with a similar meaning:

A: Ng6h M u guih a. I verytidFRT 4'm t i h . '

&ut

need out

on@ one time PRT 'It's only arrr. . . '

dcu. in addition to its many f u h o m in qoantifyingexpressions(14.1.1). =rue+ m an m n i n g 'also' or 'too':

A: LHh ku-juhng a. ymi h k m w PRT 'Take care.'

yw anyway

dihaih

This option is rrstrided to casual oonvemtion (5ee 4.13).

&-u

nWwgdUrm lras a similar meaning:

B: N@h g m haih lok. I ewr~gh am PRT 'Sn am I.'

11, Ilk s k w u r 1 c 1 1 d~ .v a h uflim~nl a k uu llpmliwl41 ; m ~ a p M b m u r ; iu specifying the time to w h i a sentence refen. They may be u d ~ l l y divided aroording to present and future. a l b g h they dearly do nor

m,

system ar such. Note that the adwrb in the Cantonese examples is often redundant in the English trarslation. due m the tense of farm a

ttrtse

the wrb.

may alsa m n 'anyway'. @+&allyin negative m t e n c n : &u inh *tr k€uihg€. I alsn not k m v him PRT 'Idon'?know him. anyway.'

Nfl

~gohaeih QW ~amiyuh jau

ge

la.

we also irrtencl leave PRT PRT *We were going to leave anyrvay:

Ng6hdeih Mnlhih m6uh Ih-jyuh faan Heunggmg. w nrigirrally not imend return Hmgkvng 'We weren't planning to ~ a n back e to Hongl;onp.'

ylhcklhn 'before. formerly':

Adverbial r n s b w l i m s 191

pmRRlsdk 'br the time &ng" e x p m m the short-term or p v k i o n a l

Gwok yidng yihehihn jyuh SBnn Dhg. Kwok d m before live Peak 'DrK w k u d to live on the Peak.'

Rlhlie: Ngdhdeih jaahmslh chtng giingy3hn. w time-king not-need employ m i d "We don't rreed to employ n mald tor the: moment.'

gdjnhnslla or @@hnsi'then, at that time': Ng6h &ahmi juhng meih haau d6u chbphaih. I rhat4ime &ill not-yet PRT vehiile-liwm 'At that time T still harlnY got my driving li-.'

~

t

h

3

~

do~aih'by that time': Ng4h ch& I at-fim

hh Pngyi not like

keuih. hauhlaih him afterwards

vomn

ngmwun p u n ]wou a m geIaK. that4ime we then k m how PRT PRT 'We'll know how it is by then.'

maahn-min pngyl. slow-dow like 'Iused not to like him. t ~gdoally ~ t got to like him.' bijldid

'until now, alruays' is tsed rofferherwith

A: Heui dou arrive

&u:

%at

LHh bstlao &u gam ch0npihng ge. until-nmv also 50 clever PRT %'w a f w a ) ~been w c h c r (until m).'

W u h dim

thert:

do we do w+m

a?

how PRT Ire a n i r d g

ji syun ts. that-time cmly plan PRT 'We71 plan that when the time mmes.'

B. Douslh

@njyuh hexl'. Nehdeih gnjyuh @rrg daikyih go taihmuhk. we following talk another CL top^ 'Next we'll talk a h n another topic.'

A-Ffing y l h p j p h Sgatlhn Ah Fung now live Shalin %ung lives in Shatin now.'

y-r-jnR+n

jrrhng or juhng huih 'still':

Lkih juhng gei-hh-geiik ng6h you s t i i re-not-remember me 'Do you still remember me?' M h deui HEun&ng you towards H o n m n g

chlhntbuh future

a? PRT juhng fitin

'in a moment':

IC&ih&-% yStjahng3an heui s u n M i , they in-a-moment m e arompany-plam 'In a moment they're going to see someone off(at the airport).'

yduk haih p i n are

m

yhuhmim%n ah? h a v d & n c e PRT 'Yw're shll so mrhdent a l m t Hongkcmg's future, are you?'

hdddrl'fmm now on':

N@h

I

mh tuhng Wih @uh yih@ hw fmm nmv k g i n nvl ~ + t hyvu

*g

@.

speak stuff 'From now on 1h.l & p i n g to talk to you.' daIh yih sUr 'in future' (often reduced m dojh slh):

N@Bei

jqhngyihn wdih gaijuhk hhlihk. we hll will mtinue h u e 'We w l l still mntinue to do mn M.'

Dalhylh d h m h h maalh nl Jzk fialh~jl. another time don't buy this CL brand 4n future we shouldn't bny this bmnd.'

Adverbial-

192 Cantonese: a cormrehensive asmnsr

as a time adverb m m 'hrxt ot an'. often tofFth-3 with the delimitative a m marker hdh (11.2.6): Nflhrlpih we

s&r~wht (dcu), n l t h g h usually translated as 'always'. is often u d ~rbolically: L&h &bngyahl (&I) wah d u h sihgaan. you always (all) say nor-haw time ' Y w alwayx say yw don't have time.'

sin

iii-hih dim joi first lwh-DEL how wain

Ih baahnkat. think solrdun 'Well see how it gws fim and then think of a sdution.'

IJserl follow in^ a time *-ion.

I ~ d u$u (14.4) as an adverh has the meaning 'rarely': YTnggwok kh s h y6uh gam yiht ge 6nhei. Emglad rwy little hare so hot LP weather 'The weather's not often rn warm as this in England.'

sinlsmfi wji means mb'vr hvt

until' (see also 16.3.2 fnr thew use in ccmditionals):

Reduplicated time expressim ( 14.1.2) form adverbs of frequ-:

Ng6h mgyaht

s - M jidor~ &ng-mh-chhg d5u ga. 1 mmorrorv first know apply-not-applg leave 'r won't hnow until tomorrorv whether I can take leave.'

Lihmlihn

s

thh s i i . not k m f

a-m8h

aangyaht.

K&uih chixhi

dw haih g$m wn. time-nme all is so PRT PRT *She's lik this tv,,, Iind.' dhe

ddsrdji empthe ~ P e d i n wprd e pr ph=, which may be an expression of Gme or of same olher c i m m s t a m : Ng6h finaaht sinji Mi d i h n d \ah IS. I iomorrmv only give telephone you PUT 'T won't call you until -Iv'.

meiih 'each' (14.1A) also combines with time e x p s i a s to form adverbs of frequency. Unlike reduplicared adwrbs, these form may be d i by numerals or quantifierssuch z& g& 'a few': rnliih chi 'every time' rntirn yaht ' e a c h l w q my' mfiih go Ihihbaai 'every week'

Yiht-lmht-laahi sir@ Wu 9hk eama. warm-hot-hot only good ear PRT-PRT 'It only tasres good rvhen it's hot, you hrrorv that.' d n is also u ~ zsda sentence part&

hingjiik

A-Ktr~hng yaht-ynht & yiu pani hrqf. AhKeung dayday all need delnm newspaper 'Keung hlo deliver newyapen every day.'

:

Keuih Snjr s i i , rrg6h s l l ~ only know 1 'Only she k-. 1don't.'

floh

yearyear all have celebrate grandma birthday 'There's a celebrationfor Grandma's birthday every year.'

I n this functirm srnji is not resZrided tv time. hl i$a h w d to m t r a two m

193

(18.3.5).

Adwrbs of ftequeiq are fotmed using the meam of qtmntficaliunsuch as &u (14.1. I), mdIh (14.1.4) and reduplication(14.1 2).

Tun+uhng dou hdh yuhng nl go bnnhnht. usually all i s we this CL do-manner 4rs usually don= this way.'

mdih go yoht 'each month' milih l ~ h n 'eachhery year' mCih gaak ySt lihn 'everyother year'

m6h a m chi ' a ~ r third y rime' moih leuhng yam 'every hvo, day.' mir~hleohnggo Uihbaai 'mry hw \veeks' milrh gb go yuht.every tew mo& mdih h n nhn 'every six months'

As time advwhials. these phrases cwne Wore Ihe verh: Ng6Meih dii Wng film yiu k4h yst chi me each two year need move one time V e have to move I i m once ~ every two years.'

Ck. house

. .yr% chi ' o m (in . . .3' is an alternatiwe expression of frequency, tvhvhich may combine with mdih: .

N&

go ldihbaai yiu W yit & m CL week wed we one time docrw +have to see the Baror once a week.' yit

I

Mfiih mrn go yuM yiu E i pi chi l e i k l . tdclh t111at CL r11u111lr l~mlp y urle tirnt. in'You have to pay i n b d every h e months.' Compare the question form gPitofi (17.3.5).

. . . )vlt

chi meunimg 'bow often?'

lOA ADVERBIAL PHRASES The follnwingm s e sfun*

as time and manner a d v e r k

chllrn 'ap'may e i t h e r f o l k the time expreseion, as in w i s h , orprecede it: Ng6h @ h cWm pin-gvm Euih. I few y r n ~ I X k meet-EXP hlm 4 met him a P w years ago.' KCuihdeih haih cldm g+i sin p yoM they are hefore a-few CL months iid b=gin

pak-m ge

Zdlurn: &hn 9 p h i I 1 l p a a i 'a w h k ago', has the bed orclm N@I

chlhn

I

befvre a

R m h 'later" is the mn-

of rMhn but mmisrently follows the rime

eKpressan: h h n g nhn hauh two y-m after 'two years later'

fan-j0ng hauh -ds after 'a few seconds later'

johng d6u

Wuih.

while bumn V-PRT him

'I ran into him a while ago.'

Cwnpare the exprepsion nip6aihlM Lfhese day$'. @uA @@ih 'it's been a winle' is used with m W k (13.3. 15.4) to refer to non-oceurrence of an m m in the recent pst: A WClng @uh p p n i m6uh &ut-yihn-po. Ah-Wmg have one while not-lave appear-EXP 'Wmg hasn't p~t in an appearme for m e time.' ydarhpbh orydupbaih 'it'll he a while' suggests an indefinite &d, typically extedlng into fururn:

Keulfflelh ylhm pSaIh dOu mi gtdk-ml~. they have while still not-yet manyahle 9t'll be a while hefore lhey can g& married.' a, lhl? when graduate PRT you ' W h am ycn~pin^ tn @laate?'

A: W d h batyihp

je.

dm PRT PRT T h e y only started dating a few months ago.'

)$it @ih

8: Juhng flub @ih E. still have while PRT Tt'll be a whik yet.'

g5

a-few

dahkdiiAg means %@ally' or 'deliberately':

Khih

dahkdng l8ih taam ngihdeih. specially oome visit us 'She'sming -ally to we ~n.' she

K h i h dahkdang jhg@ ngbh. dhe qecWly playtrick me 'He deliberately played a trick on me' The cmvmw i s rn-gokyi brrintentionallu': Nd11 m-pkyi ch8i &n k.+ulh. 1 un-intenticnal W V-PRT him 'I didn't mean to step on him.'

p r [daajifier] y6t [dasifier]

f a r e d u m e d c o r n d o n -iw by m e ' or 'one after adher', usually used w h e r w i f h dOk (10.1.1) or@

{inlq: Di m n yiii fm-g yiit fing daahp &k h6u jingchaib. CL letrer one CL m e CL. pile ADV rrry tidy T h e letters are piled tidily o w on rop of the other.' Ni dihp dmi yiu pt daahm @ daahm I gAm sihk. this CL food need one bite one bite so eat This dkh should be eaten one mouthful a t a time.'

Ng6h yst go ldihbai yiu t4i pi chi W n g . J me CL week -& I we one hme doctor 'I have to see the docfor once a ~vmk.'

i &clilhn ~ ydf : pblf~lpbal'a whik am', Im tlhlt fixed u&r. N@h chlhn

M6ih dam go yuht yiu bki pi chi leihd. &h tlhu l~dm~th14p y UIIC 1i111r illlcreal *Yo11have to pay interest e v q three months.' Compare the qwstion fotm moih (17.3.5).

. ..

pi dri meaning

amv

often?'

10A ADVERBIAL PHRASES

if

KCuiideih b i b Eh)b g+i an hhaf go ynM they a m before a-few CL month first begin pak-m p je. date PRT PRT 'They only started dating a few months ago.' haufi 'later' is the MnveKC: of rhihn hauh

@i fin-jiing kwh

ah~r

a-few

'two

years later'

worn&

K h i b d a h k h g Bih taam m h d e i h . slhe specially come visit us 'She's mming @ally tn e 11s.'

K h i h dahkdng j t n m

ng6h. q m i a U y play-trick me 'He delibera~elypbyed a trkk on me'

dhe

I

I

Keulhdelh m h p h l h &I mdh gh-dak-fan. they have while stin n o t - p marry-ahle 'It'll be a while before they can get rninried.' A: G s l h w h p

a, I€ih? when graduate PKT PI Whpn arc ycn~@ne tn gmd~latr?'

B: Juhng ySuh $aih

8.

still have whjle PRT ?t'll te a while yet.'

ydt[dmsifier]9[classifier1 is a reduplicated construaion meaning 'one by m ' o r 'one after anmher', usually wed together with d&k(10.1.1) mg6m

(10.1.2):

IX seun pit fing yzii Wng daahp dak h6u CL letter m e CL one CL p i ADV m e letters are piled tidily m e on tcp of the other.'

'This dish ~houldbe eaten one mouthful at a nme.'

'unintentionally?

L M ~&an

y6uhpkih o r y d u ~ d h ' i t l he l a whk'soggests an indefinite +,

jfgch2ih. tidy

Ni dihp choi yiu W daahrn fl daahm g6m sihk this CL W need m e bite m e bite so a t Mdh.

un-intemional tread V-PRT him -1didn't mean to step on him.' I

y h h pt pl:ih mduh chHny11n gwo. Ah-Wong have one wtule not-hawe appear-EXP 'Wong hm'l pn in an appearance for smbz hme.'

after

'a few sea%-& Iater'

dahk&n~ means 'specially' or 'deliberately':

The convew u -kyi

Compre t k q w m h nip&u~711pdai'these days'. yrZuAfitp5aih *it's been a while' is used with mduk (U.3.15.4) m refer to non-ormrrenoe of an event m the recent pa:

oomistently fdlows the time

doll:

F m

khih.

W U y extendrng into the futum:

N@h @ fihn cMhn gin-gr~o k h i h . I Icw F r kbe m i - E X P hlm 'I met him a few years ago.'

hm

phaih j c h g &u

A-Wbg

adverhx &hn 'ago'm y dtherfollow the time. exprmiion, as in English, or pme& The following phrases function zs time and man-

ltuhng Tihn

Ft

I Mm a wMe bump V-PAT him 'I ran into him a while ago:

l3i yhihhaak Mu y&uhdihtjuni gAm @ go gin 3 CL twrim very have+rh so one CL fotlow m e hahng yahp heui. in go ' I he twmfs went in m e by one in an orderly fahon.' go

CL walk

11 ASPECT AND VERBAL PARTICLES

fl-t chi p m 'all in one go':

NflBeih

eung

we

wish

chi gwo bun saai di #h. one time pass move all CL t h i r p 'We want to mme everything in om go.' 10.4.1 VIEWPOINT ADVERBS

Thew phram pr~serrta point of v i m to bpgrn a sentence. m g j l i n 'to tell you the truth' i s used to confide opinions: Gmh6 Grn~ a, ~@lh mlnlh wiilh @ b5 Uuil> speak In= PRT I not will many to h m PRT 'To tell ym the truth, 1wouldn't many him.'

. . . ldih g#ng 'asmxwlwmition:

far rrs

.. .

i s concemd'

establiies a topic of

Gmgjui Ihih gdng, Hi3ing&g @nu dllk mha. economy m e speak Hmgkong manage ADV m-bad -As far as rhe economy is concerned. Hongkong is doing pretty well.' Yahttdn choi Ihih @ng, nf @an jsudim Tun Japan food come speak this CL hotel mnt hsih pt linh. s fim-rate 'As far as Jaw-

fmd is mncemed, this hotel is exrrlknt.'

Chhhng sin bib bng term come

tsi.

r&ih

w e buy

Mu h6ylh Wu Rat can

F e w

jihk. (radio int.1 value Fmm a longterm point of view. buying a flat can be a gond invmtment.'

Eu

nngh t5i. @m-msahn y i n e jouh d8k @hn. I wr tmighl should do able finish 'As I see h. we should be able to Anish up tonight.'

as

As is well known, Chinese grammar lacks didnuions of tense. asmch:

mrn

is. the notions past, present and future are not encoded gammatically by fonm of [he verb. There is,however, a relativelyc o m p k wein ofverbal spa, diptinguishing notions such as events. states and p-~ep. Through the d w relationship behueen these aspecrual d m and time, the q e c t marhen colmihile to the expreshn of time relations (Il.l), ro@her with adverbs of time (103.3). Ais a subjective notion in the serse that i t enaMes the same situationto be v i e d and d e m i d in different ~vays.Aspects can he seen m'uwwpninWwhii can hp akm nn a GPjnlnhm: hm-mnfhP: m e ihmtinn may he Bescribed rrdng two or more d i f f m t a~pzctmarkers. for m m p l e rhe p-ve g h (1 1.2.21 and the continuous jyuh 111.23): Ngoihbihn hhk-gdn y6h. ouwde fall-PROG rain 'It's raining arMe.'

Ngoihbiin lohk-jph ybh. outside fan-COW rain '1t.s raining oritside.'

adion ofrain falling, whilefyuh presents the weather as a continuing situation. The choice of a+ marker is &ermine4 partly by byhe m r e x t a 4 partb by the speaker's own choke of how to p r m t the situation. A further element of &ice is i r m c d u d by the fact that unlike terse in En$&, aspeet markers are in mwt cdm grammatically optional, is. they may he omitted (see 1121). The Cantonese system of aspect ccyqrw& broadly to thnt in Mandarin m shown in Table 11.1 Desplte ths approximate correspondence. aspxt is an area w k r e the hw I a n p a p d~tfersiprnfmrrtty. The Cantorme markers at all follow the verb. behaving emtially as*. Cantmese a h has a habitual marker h%which Mandarin I-. a d there are imponant d~fferencesm the usage ofindividual aspeFts. I n addition to a m markers as such, Canlhas numerous verbal pWTicls whose f u n c t h are dosely related to thwe of a* (see 113). Many of these are peculiar to Cantom, in partiailar the qoarrtifylng particles saai and mhriln (11.33) and the adwrsativehhitual than (11.3.4).

T k progressiregdn describes

A& Table l l d Aspect r m W s h Mandam and Chinese

and verbal parlicks 199

It oomhines with p s t time adverbs such as &hneng

'hefore':

K h i h chhhngpng Ib-gam jCong. dhe e,ously mke-EM' award 'She has rocnved an a w r d before.'

jb,which i d i t - an event, also normany implies p t time reference: N@h mgiwj6 tluh fib. 1 lcM-PF7P CL kcy Tm last the Ly.'

I r mmbines with a d v e r b of reoent pas such as n@mm@%m'juW or r r i s k n 'just now': 11.I

ASPECT AND THE EXPRESSION OF TIME

In the absence of explicit ten= marking. t e m p m l relations are ev-d by a combination of adverbials. z q x d markers and contextual fauon. l i m e adverk G U C ~ as bdxIdIh '&ipinalTy' ond yih&ihn %bcTorr', fw example, amhor the time wference of a wrrterpce in the p s t (see 10.3.3): Ng6h Wnlbih jyuh (%lulhhrg ge. I originally live Korvloon PRT 'I used to live in Ko\vlwn.'

bask meaning of the arpeaual particler concern not the time of an actkm, hut the m y it is k w d : as a state of affairs. an m a or an action in process; these aspectual m e a n i m are discuaced individually in sedion H.2 Nwerthelea, in the a h c e ofspecificidimtionsoftime, the aspca markers imply refereme to certain times: The

@n i s normally used of ongcing acriom. i.e. in the absence of any i d carion m the corrrrary, it k u n d e m as retemng m the present: Wbhng GujC ghg@n

Wvng

Mi= .,all;-PRCK;

dihnu6. telephnne

* M aW o w is o n the phone.' iyl* denote5 a

of affairs, typically present or timeless:

Di w4hn JC-jyuh go taaiyeuhng. CL d d Mock-COW CL srmlighi T h e clouds are biding out the vunllght

'

p,like the petfect in English, implies ttmt the situation took place prior to the poim of speech or rererenee: Ng6h hohk-pm DBkmdn ge. I study-EXP German PRT 'I h a w studied C i i a n Mom.'

LiwhMan ngsam4gEmrn ckut-ji, heui. bosg just-jmt out-PFV p T h e boss has just gme an.'

Thesetemporal implications m y h e thmght of= defsultinterprerations wnlch hold when mner t n r r p are equal. The aspea mafkers ahwad nor be

equated with ten=; in partiollm, j4 and grva s h w M not be mgdrBed as pasr tense ma-. For example, j6 is rmd in imperative sentence and compkmmt clauses refenkg to the present ar funwe:

Sihk*

khih sin. fm

eat-FV if 'Eat ~tup.'

Ng6h &ng maaih-jd ga chE 1 wish dl-PFV CL car 'I wsnt to sell the car.'

Cwrversely, s e n t e m referring to the paft do not q u i r c j d or gmw: Ngc5h k$hm&hn rhhng rg6h ukkCi-flhn silk-faahn. T last-night with my home-people eat-focrd had dirmer with my family last night.'

+

markers i s mlmiw m t M than Note also that the time rrference of as@ a W u t e . Thar is, the temporal meaning of@ and p u may rrot be ~1 in nn n h l r ~ t esense, but only relative to some other reference time. This in seen clearly in subordinate d a m :

K h i h h h yiu heui-gwo npihgwok sin j i b liaih dlm ge. they need p M P abmacl trrst know e Mw Y k I They'll only k m w f i a t it's lihe when liq'we been abroad.'

In such cases. lkvmh m o d i f d by pw 6 actually r e b r i n g to the future: it is psi mly relative t o the main verb, jib. Similarly, a ve* with j6 m y refer to the antkipted Completion of a f ~ ~ event. r e Ngdhdeib sihk-j%halrn h 11cd r118ud1 yell. we e a t - P N - f d hrst go goy thin@

' A k r eathg we'll go shopping'

11.2 ASPECT MARKERS The m p c ~ markers gon, h h , h,gww, hbh and h-i are h n d fOm, behaving cssenhally as s u k e s : in their fudm as markers, they may m t be separated fmrn the uerb, which d~stinguishesrhem from verbal prl*

(11.3).

H Z 1 SYNTAX OF ASPECT MARKERS In general, aspect markers are g r a m m a h l l y o p t i o d . i.e. fw evwy context in which one occurs it is t o have the same senlencewithout rhe aypen marker. Ihls Is s m n dearly la rhe case of the p c g m s k gar! which. unlike the: English w i v e , may freely be omitred:

N g t i h h l yihga @g(-@n) ni gn mahnMih. we now talq-PROF) this CL problem 'We're talbrg about this problem now.' In w b 4 n a y n b z t k contens, however, r k a!spa~marker is amngly preferred, if rot oHigatwiy. The perf& jd w reqtrirpd where the verb

har a quantified o+t

and refers to the past:

N@h

kbhmrnfiahn dj6 lttihng fOng m n . I laa-night write-PFV t m CL letter 'I wmte two letters I& ni*.' This may be o o n t m e d wi~ha similar wntext withait a qoarMed object. in which 16 is not r q r r i d

Muih kbhmmsahn d=d~hnwS Mi I-@. sIhe last night can-telephone to mie 'She Rave me a call last ni~ht.'

The position of aspea markers is m p l i c a r e d in rhe case ofcomplex verbs hcse of more than one vllable). %HAm p o u n d s fall inm three kinds: [a) In the caw of eypiwl v e h b j e d m p o t m d s (2.3.3). t k two p r t s a m sepamble, the -a marker wmirg between them:

Wuilnkilt y t h g pk+dO. they rmw date-PROE-date 'They're dating a t the moment.'

yThgTng Cawj6-gam. already fall-PFV-asleep 'She's already gogone to sleep.' muih

slhe

@I In a a n d grarp of c o m p n d verb., the two parts mnml be sepmted:

N@h 6hgOk-j6 y8t y ~ u l m gfl I discow-PW one CL thing 'k d m v m d mething.' (c) A third m p oF verbs may either be separated or not: yiIwj&m?~hnor yihrnAhwj4 'emigrated' teui-+ySu nr WuiyHu-j6 'retired' W i l e aspect marken are normally sufhxed to the verb they m d f y , g w may be attache$ to a phraw: Ng6h meih Jauh gEirmih 1% gwo. 1 not-* h a w chance hear EXP 4 h a m n t had rhe hame to hear it yet.'

s~

r~ng rather than the verb alone. m d s r s often appear in fonmction~with an apparemly The as* passlue meaning:'

pw here mDdifw the d w l e phrase Huh Bpng

ChLhng Isu ylhg7ng M+n. CL building already buil+PROF The building is already being hi~lt.' l l , ; b ;s m a

p s G v t n l w n i n , hut rcsulh htnpidimtim of tbc objcct cI~fiRngI& 'the buildng' with the subject rmderstmd as a g a r i c 'they' ( ~ 4 . 2 )Similarly . with the pcrlective marker#:

Ni bimsyti dehngj6 ge lak. this C'L b o d order-PW PRT PRT Ths b m k has k e n -red.' Nnre that a n t o n e w m l d nor use the Mi@ve here becatse the objd m m m d (M hrin syr? in the a b w e example) is n u adversely affecred by the action (see 8.4). rdrom: pn-p-m expecred' is an idiom 07 this form: F h n g j 6 wo. China again win-PFV PRT 'China won again.'

A: JIInggwok yauh

B: Yrih-jk ge lak! m i d P F V PRT PRT 'Exactly as expu!ted''

Aspect m d rerbal ptides

-

1122 m ! ? E S S R ( E : G h , Hhmwl

The most familiar of the a m lo the Em@& w k e r is the m i = , marked by the pwticlelrmffnr gdn. Its meaning is similar to that of the Emgl~shpmgressive -ing form In its r w . however, the CantWcle is much more msh-kwd than the English p m g m i v e fwm. It aflplw only to Wivities desaibed as ongoing: Khihdeih l h h n g p pak-g6n-16. they two CL dam-PROF T k two of them are dating.'

W h hsiffruh jouh a? you be-here do what PRT 'What are you doing?' ill cnptssing w i v e

meaning: Keuih h 8 i h @ng@n dihd. slhe behere taw-PROG telephone %he's(talking) on Ihe phone.'

CONTINUOUS: Jnm

While the w

v e marker @I is used for dynamic ongoing x t h i l i e s , implying change o v e ~time,jyuh d a c n i s a wnhnrious adivity or slate w i t h i t change: yihhauh ehngyaht phikjyuh Yh. (fihn) wan1 afterwards a l w s ~ accompmy-CONT you %mm now on I want a l m p to be wilh you.' N@h *mg

b6 c h t a? hurry-COW lake car PRT

car?'

gwrr-jjah his?-':

Mckruh, which literally means 'm be herelthere', i s an a h a t i v e meam of describing an Mion in p g r e s s . Its me as a pmprrssive marker is pmbably influcmd by thc Marrdatin nir Nich mcam tither 'ta be nmniakd' a,.'luht doing'. hdidoslh p r e c e k the wrb:

I

he-not-be

'Are p u in a hrmy to get the

G5@hmlh ni hlmg lAo jrihng Mi-@. that-time this CL Rat stilt build-FROG 'At that rime thi3 block of Rats was still k i n g hill.'

11.25

h6i. CL sea

go

G L n iik deli-jyih U h w s e f-CDNT T7-e house -f the sea.' Wih h a i k m h i h g&-jyih

gdn applies to the p r e m if thereis no indication otherwise, but may to the paw in Emjunaion with pmt time adverbs.

rJuCur~g ~ ;i n

decncn-&I7'face':

you

tmwn saipai. Chan Mr enjoy-FROG w r l d 'MrChan k havhg a gnarl time.'

Jdkbuh is ~ ~ * l l n l ukd ~ n l lu ~

It i s closely associated with p a h l a r verbs. with which it denotes a continuous activity or StaR T k f n l l n w i ~m h i n a t i o m are e p c i a b common:

g&--jvlrh 'be in a hrrrryrrry:

Chihn S a n g

Ng6h hdidwh g6i mn. I be-here coned paper I'm grading ppm:

ZW

Ng6h w6ih h6u gwa-jyih nlhh ga. I will much miss-CONT you PRT I11 miss you a br.' j&iw!fr 'keep hold of:

Mgti k i h b m g ng6h jsjyuh duh sd$~h. please you help me hnld-CONT CL key 'Would you hold on to my key br me, p l e a w r f l j y 1 A 'blmk. obstnrt'

G a c h t j&jyuh

a

wr

bid-MWT

yhhndeih. jM&

'The car is causing an ohhudion.' molmg-jyuk 'stare at':

M h mohngiyuh n m prih you stare-CONT m e &I 'Whm nre yori st3ring st me for?'

mmHty€h? what

In a few mxs the m b i n a r i o n verb -jyuh has a slightly d l k n m t meaning fmm the sin& wrh, e.g. h - j y r r A 'inrend' rs. Ium 'think': Ng6hdeih Ism-jyuh Wn Ilk. we think-CONT mow: horse 'Weye thinking of moving '

An important funchon of f i h is in serial w n s h r d o r n (w 83). marking the first of two verbg denoting simultaneous activities:

204 Csntonese:m compebmiw grammar R&h i mohngjyuh ng6h siu. she starsCONT me smile 'He smiled while looking at me.'

Go b i h h &ni-jyih

ng6h haam. CL bahy face-CY)NT me cry T h e baby was q i n g in my face.'

-

(b) in reporting p s t evwts w%houtany such M t , [verb] - jd meto the simple pa: Giinm gmhlin jaahwj6 msfu cMn. mmpany last-year eamPFV not-little money 'The m n p n y made a gm?U &I of money last year.'

(c) to exprm a pxid of time up up aand inclrding the present:

Mhdeih glt-j6-mn jyslh has certain other hmmcrions in addition to its mtinoous meaning. In s e n t e m , it is used as a partide d the end of the c k , meaning "yet':

KCuih tnh dung gimn jyuh. not want many fl ' S h e d t x N t want to get married yet.'

%he

W i h ) mhki $u (you) don't go 'Dwn't leave yet.'

jyuh yet

a. PRT

A similar meaning 'forthe time being'oocurs in positive sentences with the adverbial p n i c l e dn: Mhdeih sihk jyrih sin. ym-PL eat PRT PRT 'You cmry nn eating.' M h thhng go MhbT H6an jyuh dn. p i wth C L haby play PRT PRT 'You r a n ~y c* playing with tlrt bl%y.'

The p c r f d w agpea is basically used to rpport an event. seen as a whole or as mmpleted. Typically, such an euent is m e situated in the past; however, jc should nor be thoughr d as a paw rense maser. h has a range of meaning which overlaps with both the English perfed and the simple pad. We may distinguish t h w 1usage of 16: (a) the re9ulMk meaning. which may be translated hy the English perfect. where the event has a m i l t :

Ng6h

p

I

CZ car W e n - P F V

che waaih-@.

'My car's broken d m . '

g 4 10% a? puFt mamyPFV now tong FRT 'Howlong h a w you been m~rried?' Ng6h p chE j%j6 ICahng Mm g&im I CL car driwF'FV two years some Tw been driving the car for over two WE..' may mmeqmd to the perfed progrcsriv*l in En@&. A similar sentence with gwo in place: of jt5 jduld ~mpiyt h d the state of affain ra lwgcr hdds (11.2.5). j6 d w s mt occur in negative s e n t e m . Instead, the rrgative existential

Note that this

-

mdrrJl is u d before the verb (13.3, 15.4): Ng6h sj6 ddn. I get-PFV money. 'I got a m m o w . '

Ngal m h l l 16 &in. I not-have get mney 'I didn't get any money.'

To q m s the failure to a c h i i an objedk. a wrbal partide m h 8s dnu (see 11.3) may be used in place ofj6 in a negative s e n t e m : Ngdh m6uh 16 dou chin. I not-have get V-PRT money '1 did& receive any money.' j6 fmnu pafective y

h

s with meih (17.1.4):

Lkih @an-j6 mi meih han&PFV tax not* p i paid your taxes yet?

ck

a?

PRT

jh iir nap11 in A 1 mm#nrfinmto Prfrpw a s e q i p r r p of d o n e (cmtraft jyuk which 7 s i r n u l t a m u a d o m in a similar m!m-whn: jaoh h e d awh rrmhr-yuht. marry-PFV then go spmd honeymoon 'After getting mamed we're going on w r heymoon.* Ng5hdeih git-j6-fan we

Agpect and verbal p d & s

The meaning of this particle sriggests e x p e h . or something having occurred 'at lw o m More'. I t ~orrrspan& closely to the experiential meaningof the premt perf& in English, rn in:

Mih sihk-

@hdn

m h a? you tat-EXP shark-fin m-yet PRT 'Hm you ever eaten shark's fin?' Khiih duhk-gwn daaihhohk, yingwi h& @hngyih wAn study-EXP u n k i t y should very easy sIhe find gong.

V-PRT pb 'She's been to uniuersity. she should be aMe to fmd ajob easily.' Anorher meaning of g w ,like the English perfed. is described rs 'indeimte pa' meaning. The rotion of experience is rot diredy applicable if the p b w is nm human, fClr example:

Hduchlll lohk-gw yiih wo. seem fall-EXP rain PRT ?t seems to h m been miming.' F a dihnlhh w a a i h v &i chi. CL computer break-EXP few time This computer has crashed a few rimes before.'

207

L i i h hai HEungg6ng jyuh-gwo g& loih a? in Hongkcmg I k E X P how long PRT How long d ~ you d live in Hongkmg(before leaving)?'

H m , dW: to the subjective nature d aspmuat choice, alt-M are nftgn p.xdW in the m conCllt. For example, Id wuld be used In place oT gwo in the a h example. referring to the W t e : perioB of time immld. jd and gwn atso combine with different aduerhs, jd with adverhs referring to the recent past s r h as nghm-nflam 'j&. and gww with distant past adverbs sur* as ylhdukn 'hefore':

Ni

birn syii ng(rh n@am-npam t6Lj6. this CL book I just-just wad-PFV 'I've just read this book.'

N7

b i n qi?i ng6h

this CL bonk I 9'- read this book

yiihihn

tAi-w.

before

read-EXP

In addirion to its aspma1 furdon, gwm serve3 several o w grammatics1 fumhom:

-

(a) as a directional verb, g ~ w mans '-'

(83.2):

N$II hbu d u gwu h u l Heunggdng dblhn. very little go Hongkmg that+ide I '1 rarely go wer m HwngkwngIdand.'

Mi akhbahn jauh gwo Ihi The erperiential gwo m t r a s t s in meaningwith the @mtk j6,althwgh hth may be translatd pnth either the English perfeFt or the past t e r m d i n g to the context. Theconmast typmlly hingeson whether a m u l t ofrhe went horn (perfective)or nor (exper~ential).

Ng6h yiiging sflan-j5

rnhhn.

I already shut-PFV dmr 4te already closed the c t m (and it's still clmed).' N@h yFhg7ng mn-gwo yat chi mbhn. 1 aIrezdy shut-EXP one time door 'Tve already c k m d the d m once ~ (and it's open again).' Similarly, whh expr~rsiomof duration. @ k used where the situation dll @ i (is still relevant) and gwo where i t does not:

Leih I d i H&III&~ j y u b j 6 ~& luZ1 a? i in Hongkmg lave-PFV how long PRT Hnw long have ymi lived in Hongkong?'

king-gii 1%. then over come &at P W 'Comeover and chat when y u i have time.' you free

(b) as a verbal panicle (see 11.3) pw meam either m t t or 'magain', as in sP gwo 'rewrite' (cf. A r m r h n English wn'w otw):

NT tw Iwi

chin-keilr

m L u rhu

gd.

rhwsand-py don'r miss p a -Don't miss this film.' this CL film

King seun yiu d gwo. that CL, lener wed write PRT 7har h e r needs m be rewritten.' See also the i d i m [verb] ddkhfrli gwo (123.1). (c) a s a trarsirive verb, gwo mans 'cmss' or 'spend (time)': Y~hga hqoh gwo mt-. nnw can Smad

M

'We can aoss the mad now.'

208 Cantonese: a oornprehensivsgramnar

&m3 and verbal m%cW209

--

Ngfh hhahnghhahng-Mh-gon@ phng dbu go I wlk-walk-DELshop bump V-PRT CL

Eihdeih heui

W o u h gwo Hnlihn a? wlwre spend New Year PRT 'Where are you going to v n d New Year?'

you-PL

go

gauh Whnghohk. old clamate '1 mn inlu w d d c l m a t e : wl~ileshr-ng.'

(dl as a comparative marker (9.3).

Idfom: [uerbj - hbk . . . sin is to do m h i n g temporarily, for examplewhle waihng or to kill time:

.

This particle has the meaning 'do . . for a while', or 'have a .. . '. I t k typically wed with v e r h denoting x t i d e s , with or without an object haahnghah 'take a walk' kinnghhhgi 'have a h a t ' $m-hAh+h 'have a drinh'

Nm chEm hi hbhng-Mh gjn.

tai-hah -have a look' Mng-hsh@n@i 'do some &*gg di-Wh-syU 'do some reading'

I out go walk-PRT =I'm going out for a walk.'

Eih chMhbh dn. please pi sit-PRT h t 'Please take a seal for a while (until I'm ready)." Mgh

N g d ~ h6u guih a, &ung W I M h . 1 mry tired PRT wan4 rest-a-bit ' r m tired- Ireed to t a k a d

'

Nore: when lsed at the end d a sentence as a particle. sin has a high falling tone (183.5). ~ ~ i ~ 'in the I blink r of an n eyelid' serves = an M a 1 phrase:

I n thin fumon. 1i&h resembles the reduplicatedmsrmcrion [verb]- F[verb] in Mandarin(termed defimhthe by h and Thnmpson).2which may alsa be r w d i n Cant-. Thus, e q u i d n t to kiizghf18, we have: kinflh-ng chnt-one char 'have a chat'

first

16m-yat-lAm thimkme-think 'have a think'

Slhgaan h6u rwg

lllln

faai g m . jkmh4h-ng8ahn ik31 p w I~llllh-D-F.

yauh

@t nhn. one p a r T ~ m e R iin i the blink of an eye another year has passed.'

Note that this constructim is often mntracted. with the Ims of y7t and a change of mne (2.2):

wPFV

Siwyst-Siu4 Sjll-siu alllil~vllc-~nlilt 'have a srnik'

A ~ Q u p l k i t everh d followed by Sdk implies repetition or pro)on&m of the actnm. Thi usage offen m s p n n d s ro the perfect pmgresslve in Engli N@h Ym-lsnWh, &u hill r r ~ l u h bill EL. 1 think-think-DEL dso is mt-good mme ~DWSZ 'I've been thinking, it's k t not to m w e horm.' This construction may also expres two simdtanwus scrims, where the reduplimted verb demtes an activiry intmipted by another event:

Go iohbi

sihk-ainc-Mn l h i h fan-jeuhk-jb C L haby eareat-DEL milk fall-asleepPFV The baby fell asleep whik drinking milk.'

The marker denat= a habitual, n m a r y aFtivity. Unlike the English uwd to commtction, i t is not restricted to psi time, and in fact is typically rmd of the present:

I

u

slhe

h & I

Jhg

fl

.

(rumv.)

e H A B Chinme doctor PRT

'She usually goes to a Chinese doaor.'

i '

K h i h jouh-hEi j[lngdlm ge. work-HA13 pan41me PRT 'She -ally w k s prt-trme.'

(wnr.)

dhe

I

I

To exps paS habitual actiom, hrsi combines with pst time adverb such as yfkddkn 'before* and g6jahnd'then':

210 Cantm?3e: a m m i w g m a r

BE&

K h i h W I h n jR-G

before

dri=HAE

@.

Bern PRT

"She rmd Do d r k a Mermdes.' biz is often u x d in relative and subordinate dau% where the main clmw e x F m a s dqwlure r ~ u r r at cualu~~lruy 11abiL. N W h h e u C E g6 gHan jsu@ jSpj6-13p. we go-HAB thal CL restaurant W P F V - d o w n The restaurant we lffually go to has closed down.' Mhuhleuhn Mhbi s i h k M m8ty6h. luhh p yuhr daaih -matt= b h y pat-HAR wbnr six CT. mnnth nld

M

ktuih sihk

@ve her

...

lu tatidg.

her . . .'

(a) rliredi~mul p ~ l i l c J(11.3.1):

~ 'mvlly'

'out' dai 'down' &an 'hack' &ut

lohk 'down' m h i h 'cla?e(r)' duhng 'up' yahp 'in'

gwo hr pag; w i n ' hCi 'up' @) resulmtie p r t i d a (11.32):

Wad.)

eat

'Whatever F i r baby 15

(beginning. Emtiming or er~Iin~).~These partideszrre comparablein form and functim tn the wick of English phrasal almch a% up, which &nms dirmiion in psck vp h~l ~rmpletmnin tw rtp (sae 3.1.7). These:partides may be divided by theirfumtim into categwries:

when slie's six month old giw

Nore: k i is also uwd ES a di&maT panicle. with the meaning 'away' ' (11.3.1). which is clearly distinct fmm the habitual meamng. The stative verbgwamr k also used to indimte hahitus1 aspect. with the more spxifrc m n i n g 'be accrrYomedto':

Ng6h ylhgx jouh gwan taaithi. I now do used wife 'Pm uwd 'tn h n g a homewife n m ' Y h p a a n ni jek sBui jauh mh w h flm p6utmg h i . drink used this CL water then rtot will drink ordinary warer W ~ e ny o u k u4td to thas kind of water you won't drink ordinary water.'

gwmn is rot shictly an aspxt mmker. as i t is a h used indqxndently as a stative verb HEunWng d n p i h t mtih a? you wd-PFY Hpngkang lifestyle not-jet PRT 'Have you got rued to the Hongkong lifestyle yet?' M h paan-j6

Moreover. gwmn may mmbine with an q e c t marker (see nMe 5). and may fimcrion as e vcrh! perticlc in thc pototcntial m n s m i o n (12.3,3>: Ng6h huh gwaan-j6 daaih tik. jpuh h h g m a n sai uk. I live used-PFT b g house live not useJ small house YSnwl I'm u d to l~vlngIn a tng house 1won-t be used to a small one.'

1I 3 VFRRAL PARTICLES In addition to the aspect markers, them is a rich range of verbal partrcles irrdicating rims such as result (effect on an o b j ~and ) phase of adon

bBau 'full up'

h a %rmplcrron' jihng "remain' mlhng 'dear' skhng ' ~ st1 'to death' wbhn 'thoroughly' waaih 'bad, M e n " flhn % the end'

cho kungly'

dihm 'dmiiively' dihng 'ready' &HI 'accomplrslrme~ dw 'arrival' gihk 'to the limits' (c) the quantifying prtides:

(d) d v r ~ a t l l i d ~ a b i l u a l

~

"

swi. mdoik and fim (11.33); (19 3.4).

TheDeparticles are c l m l y related to ain fundon, and are treated rrs q x x i markers in some d w v e wnrb SKII Kwok (1972). For example, the perfective jd and the particle ddu are dose in menning in m e CaYS! Ngdl

n-m

ngMm n i - @

&in.

I just-just rece~ve-PIT m e y T'vt jm rece~wdthe money.' Ng6h n@am@am S%I 66u chin. just-just receive V-PRT money 'l'm just remived the money.'

I

The partide ddu indicates a successful rwxxrmplishment, and wuld be used where the money has been expected, white the p e r f d v e j6 indicates an event without any alrh warppsition. This mntmst i s dear In the corresponding question. where &I would be wed to Ehedc that the money has been received: d u d6u d11n mdl? receive V-PRT money not-yet 'EImpiwavd the monq.?'

M I 1

you

Note a h that the particles may form questiom with 1l0tl"k.like jd and gwo (17.1.4): mi repremls amher similmily herwem verbal panicles and

m a markers. Ve&al panicles differ syntzdidly fmm aspect markers in

rwo main

twqccls: (a) Verbal particles may be separated fmm the verb by the modal d6h (123.1) and the n e e rirh (12.3.3): Muihdeih sahr dhk dsk saai. sure eat can all %ey Fan Mnifely finiSh it (eat it vpk'

they

Ng6h gEng gsmyaht heul MI d6u. 1 fear today go go s u m "I'm afraid 1won't he able to get there today." Aspect markers

asp may not occurin these cnnstructions? In view of this separability the particles are witten separately in this h k , while the a s p M markers are m t e d m wfhxes.

@) Verbal particls may he wmbined with certain aspect

B h qil s5 h h $5 laak. a bwk write up PFV PRT The bmk has been wrmen up.' The particles hiRf and f i i here are followed by the aspect markers jd and gwo. By m r r a s t . aspect markers may mot be combined with o m another. e-g. there is no such rorntnnal~on z [verhj -jyuh - gdrr or [verb] -j5 - g w .

Verbprtide commmiom are also clearly dkainct fmm serial verb cmsmwhom (8.3). Althaigh many of the particles also exist as uerbs. such as doir 'arrive' and f&n 'return', others such as &I 'away' and ddu Luccessfully' do not. The particles thus form a didnxtsynlacl~crntegory (see also

3.1.7). given are immded to be illmtim of typical pattern: as these construmam are hghly pmdudive, ir is nol feasiMe to list all the posiile cornbinatiom and nrmnces of meaning. I n English, similarly, Oldmanes ot phrasal verbs e n s t to list wrbfmrhcle coniblmtmns, and w h a dictionary is -rily mcontplete to the extent that new uerbpartide cmhinations are always possible. and i n d d are cantinually being formed.

The exam*

11.3.1 DIRECTKWUAL PARTlCLES Tk!e particles basically denote d i i m . although many of hhave additional. figurative or metaphoircal meaning w h i h are not predictable

fmm

the mmbinatirm of

verb and particle. I n this they resemMe w h a l

pnrtidesin English (wntmlsir up with freshen up). They me alternatives m the use of direaiond verhs (8.3.2), and many nf the same m d are used in both constructions: thru ftim a p r s both m the verbparticle fongtrucrion ksru fmn and the d l verb construction f i n hcrrr. b ~ h meaning 'go k k ' . Despite this overlap. the part& differ fmm d~rpch a l v& syntactically and wmanhmlly: doT.Idi and do n d omrr in the ramWuctronwith h i d k i h , while r h e which do. 611Ch IS fmn and pm haw a p t e r range: ofmeanings when used as prhcles. The panicles are illustmted belrpw in alphabetical nrder.

cawrr mn'i s u

d in xveral figurative senses:

Ng6hdeih yiiMihng

..e

yiu

Lgm

chml go

baahnfaat.

definitdy need think ~ u t CL sdutinn

'We really must think up a solution.' L i i h dfm @ung you

I K ~ W mlm4llmnt

gaau

c h ~ t& a n gam

lcdb

wl

dm. w

Yk i.lllaml

hohk-ng ga? LP student PRT 'How do you pmduce such a clever group of studen&? d#uf is also wed as a particle with perceptionverb (8.13).

LEindicah downwad motion. as in fimg dm, j6~dni vut hw': Gv Mhbl h h jiiqyi

ybhndeih fm dii khh. poppeope l pr11 down hm i 'The baby ddwsn't like k i n g put dorm.'

CZ baby not like

Ddng ng6h sP dFai go dihnwa sin. me write down CL telephone PRT 'Let me write d m the telephone number.'

kc

Also idiiatically in dloquial sbnp: L h €i

si.ung jwh-d3i

you wanr

n@

d m k w n me

gh'

Mbuh gam so

PRT not

yih! emy

'Ym wtu\t lu du I n n ;~Aruhkulr: rluwlm? Nu1 su wsy?' I n expressions likejiht$ A5 'remain' and I h h diii way hehimd'. dm has the meaning'behind': Lkih l h h dai @I ng6h IS. stay behind accompany me PRT T w l d you behind to keep me company?

fdan used as a partide hm the primary meaning 'back' when it is used as a dim~wnal verb:

or 'in return'. as

214 Cantonese. a canprshensivegrammar

Aspect and verbal

Di ern

LRih gisih fi r i HEundng a? you when ily k k Bongkong PRT 'When are you flying back to Honghwng?'

di dZlk h h gkjehng yiu sh! gwo. clothes wash ADV not clean nePd wssh over These clothes are not washed properly and need washng again.'

CL

M h mng y& Ei ng6h. n@ armg faan yeh Mi l&h. you send ming to me I send badc thing to y w 'You me a pmt. so I'm giving you one in rwurn.'

It may jnd;Fdte resumptian of an Mivity or a rrturn to a state which k e n interrupted:

Keuih g a a u - l h ~ g j$harih dhng go mu saai. dre t e a c h - h c k - h k dtcr wholc C L slim all 'She has lost a lot of welght since she resumed teaming ' L&h joub&n-y+h h h gwn hsi Okkci chawj5i. pi do-back-work better than at home raising4ld ' I r s hetter for yuu to p back to work than slay home to raise kids.'

Gnrnyahl lyiihn Eian rli la. mday warm back some PRT .It's a bit wanner again tday.'

xrmp d i h Paan yW go. quitc wish h y hack me CL 1 rather fancy buying myself one.'

idianatlc meaning (123.1).

Mi 'up' has a *tin1 KJuih

rnwning us in Id

h& 'pick I@:

j i k h k Ihg Mi go dihnd.

atlift im Ci. phnm 'He w e d up t t w phone straight away.'

dhe

L i i i gwa

M giin a m hang up C L clothing 'Hang up this shirt. will you?' yni

a. PRT

M 'look

up to.

respfft':

(corn.)

I

Sb @uh p

tPhn@ih &u all have that colleagues all 'All her wlleagues rqxa her.'

W look

Mi kCrnh. up her

Referrkg to rimc. h6idcnotcs mrnplctionwirhin a certain time limit saht jmh drik Mi. tomormw sure do m up 'We can catainly finish up mmwmw.' Ng6hdeih tTnpht

U i h jXhWik SwMr@ k n y3t eung I#! ( W a d . ) you ata@y back one CZ PKT 'Why not apply for one [a credit card] m i g h t away7 gwo has two distinct meanings asa vertml pamcle. in rtodition m i t s use rs the experienhal aspfft marker (112.5) and as a directional wrb (8.3.2):

(a) ' h y , p l a ~ ~ n c h : k n ~ ' m i s s o u t n n ' . & p l e t F j :

Cbinkhh mhbu c b p o n i go @iw*h! (ad.) ahlurely don't miss-past this CL chance ' h n ' l J I M llll> ~ dldll-. ~ I I A ~ C -d& V~I.~OU

Mmi

je g w ! pkase let past -Emme me (please let me pH).

we

I n Ioih Mi a d Idm 17.5 the particle denotes turning one%m m m a t i o n or rhotwghts to m e t h l n g wlricli hns k t 1 wl ul 1 1 1 +ulc: ~ run a dlilt: (13. En$& bnng up a ropic): E i h mh6u pi OI ni gihn dh. don3 again bring up this CL matter 'Don-t mention this matter again.'

ym

Ngdh @n ddu nn bin gyu jauh tam mi bn. I see V-FRT this CL honk then think V-PRT you 'Ithink of you whenwer I rn this bonk.' I n modal m t r u c t i o m daR LW may have hmeaning 'can afford to. (see 12.3.1):

(b)'over again': ~ g a ~ c ky~on yauh taun n o i h l j m h we need fmm head hegin do 'We have to start again frwn the beginning.'

Note that the above usages of p do not occur in the m n t i a l construetions with ddklMi because t k combination (&) dfiklriJr gum has an

fii may mean "tipwards' in n fiyrative aem, as in Edi

More idiomatically,@n may be used refle~iuelyb dcnulc quisition or retention of an ilem 'for m l f :

Nfl g

215

pwo. over

Gam do chin ng6hdeih sii-hh6nr dsk h5 sin? much money we 1a.e-not-lose can a f l d PRT Qn we afford to 1me ?umuch money?

w

. .'

ladi 'away' is used with both intransitive and transitive d:

E i h mh&i W n g yw don't walk -Don't walk away yet.'

I d

jyuh.

away yet

yiht &. (news) more many 'Che numher of pewple i n f m d with AIDS is on IIM I n mZ . '

KGhdeih m s h g Eih h6i Heunwng. they not-wish learn may Hongkong They donT want to leave Honfiong behind:

yahp 'in' occars with verbs denoting aquishion:

N m :It& a h seneg 85 a marker of M i h i d aspea (11.2.7). lnkk 'clown' is used as a prticle primarily in the potentiat mstructions with cbk (12.3.1) and &R (123.3): Gam d6 yih dim &I d&k lohk a? so m n y t h i i hmu place able down PRT 'How can we fil so many mmgs in?'

Keuih ksp yahp h&i d6 duhk k. h a t h e in =ry much poison gas 'She ha5 inhaled a 1m of p c h r m gas.' ~

Gam yiht, ng6h ~i h h lohk yeh. hnf 1 PA^ nnt dnvim thmgs 'I can't eat when it3 so hot.'

1132 RESULTATIVE PARTICLES

lokk-lwi, which as B directional verb means 'go d m ' (8.321, has the meaning 'continue' in the verb pnkk psition:

mdak

Ng6hdeih giin@

s i M lohk-1Rui

mr

Ime m t i n u e nothkay PRT

ge.

Yhrrcompsny can't atford to Eonllnue m n g money like this.' Similarly, wuht@~h wwld mean ' m e up' as a directionalverbverh, but hFi&lmg-ldilt as a verbal complement means 'begin' (Mandarin qilcfii: Keuih h dahtylhn ghn dhe very sudden so 'She mddenly &st4 crying.'

haam E~lmg-181h. my rise-up-cme

mdaih as awrlml partbcle meam "closed' or tOpthd, relatingto i t s use as a directional verb (83.2) rather than as a quantifyingpartide (I1 -3.3): Lkih fi d i h nghhn jauh pi c l m V-PRT eye then 'Clmyour eyvs and it won't hun.'

i ~ htring ge Iak. not hurt PRT PRT

Ng6h jDngyi t&ng lth Mi mhah yBWhh1. (film) I like mth ywu be V-PRT together 'I warn to be with mi.'

d u h g 'up' is -ionally

used as a prticle, for example to contrast with

Iokk 'down?

b m u M

yshn

chaao h h n g chaau ~ohk. people spcculae up specufate &nm "The sham prim are mnved up and down by speculators.'

CL share by

Ng6hdeih d i h yahp h&i d6 wthnggarn. buy in very m r yellow ~ gold 'We bought up a lot of gold.'

w

she

w

@m *ung company such way

o d from Mandarin such as ngoidulxng 'fall in love' and ylylm-duhq 'get infected Ylm4uhng n p i - j i behng ge flhn yiht l&h infed-up AIDS d'lselse LP people more ~ o m e d u b also appears in a few verbs b

These pa* me usad rnetherwhh a transitivewrh to i n d i e an effect on the ohjm. anrl they fwm rompourds dsh the. verb. Many d t h m exist idqendently as verbs w adjecrrues: some, kwver, such as h k with the mning'hish', do mlo a m independently. They may also be u dinp a w fwm. wljecltn thegeneral mltArtinmnnLhe u%crfIk -.(1(.4,1(.4.2). Bdau 'full up" m l l y apple m earing. hn a h figuratively to other &ties:

sihk bdim I6aih h. haby eat frill milk PR1 gihbi

'7he baby's had enough milk.' U i h tsi Mm dihndh mi? yru watch frdl television not-yet 'Have you seen cnwgh television?'

cho as B particle means 'wtongly' or 'by mistake', as in dfi clm iffinwd'dl the wrcmg number' and ping clm y d h %israke mnw0ne.s identity': Dcrkjyuh. n& 91% clw yihn swry I u.mng, person 5orqf,I rnistmk you for someone else.

v

Ngbhdeih tauhsin

h&Phng &o kwh. walk wrong r d 'We wem rhe wrong way jrM now.'

we

just-

hauhfui lkj6 Yih. regret know m g - P F V you 7 regm thar 1ever m d e the mistake of knowing you.'

Nfl I

P I 8 Cantcnese:a canprehem grarrrnar dihm 'decisively' denotes an activity reachinga wndusion. as in gdou &hm 'settle. deal with', g&g dihn W l e a matter (bytalk~ng)': E i h Ym

dihm

meih

a?

(TVad.)

Ng6h sihk gihk dCm h h Eih ge. I eat at m r d alsu r i d fal PRT 'Idon't get fat even though I eat a lot.'

thmk settle mt-yel PRT c : v e you made up y w r mind yet:j'

Ng6hdeih h h n g go king h h d h . we hvo CL chat not ~ t t k ' T k rwo of us can't m e to an agrrement.'

I n a fixed expression, [vwb] gihk F ~ I i - I m hmeans there i s a limit t~ the action or state denoted by the verb. #uh-hahn. E i h yiu jihg6i Wuih Wng gihk d l Iklr at r r m x t have-lirnir y mcd xlf

d i m 're;ldf denotes an &on done in advance or in preparation:

Eih juhng yiu ~ Q I dlhern leuihhbhng. you still need p ~ c k ready th~ngs go travel 'You m11have m get things ready fm the trip.'

*

Gang fi. jlh@ med hear child now

Ng6h jaohlbih yiu

mw3zdh dRmg

I

huy

Sam

soon

dung brtahnfaat think sdrnion WS only w much that she can do to help. You'd berter think of a solurion yourself.'

ready

LCih gc hrmuht, n w h ji gihk #oh hnhn. your LF s m t I knrpw at most have-limit 'As much as I know about your secrets. there's still a lot that I don%

sin.

clothes fid 'I'm having a child soon so r m buying clothes in ptqmration.' diru is an imponant particle indicatingaccomplishment or ~~l plerion of an d m :

know.' corn-

N@h n-m-n@am tmk d6n hah ySt hSan gEi. I justjust mnn& V-PRT next one CL plane 'I only just cariht the next Right.' Ng6h&ih we

nSdouh Sin MI 66o daaihlrihk tbih. here raeive not V-PRT mainland channel + W emn't r c d w thc mairrhnd [tclmisionl munncls h m . '

m.

ddu is also used to form vwts of perception, such as MI dbu We' 1.3). I t &mild be distinguished fmm dou denoting arnvd as in heui d m or Iriih dou 'arsive':

(21dim

Sam Fhahn SB a? fly a m v e &n Fmndsm PRT 'What time dn we arrie in Sari Frannsco?'

tEi d m

b w time

M u ' h i c h ' r s f e ~ sm the mmplerion of m ectionr U u i h ge

leohnmihn

meih

d

clause with

h6u.

n o t - ~ t write up 'He h m ' t finished his thffis yet.'

sIhe

LP t

b

Jyri I& Faalm meih a? cook finsh T 4 m t - ~ tPRT 'Haw you finished cooking?' J # U I ~ -remain'

as a particleind~mtesthe result 'left over':

Wmyaht s i i j i h g h6u d@ sung. yeslerday eat remain very much food ' Y ~ w r r l a ythere was a Int nlfwd left over.' png ng6h @t p. die remain me one CL -NowI'm the m l y one left alive.'

now

Ng6h @m jiu h&i j b b t%Z ni, a m J6n dm. I this morning vmy early get-up so early a r r w 'Ipt up early this morning so Irrriued early ' takes a &ve

Adjectim can also aDcur togelher wirh this prtide (9.1.3)

Wh@

Note chih dou 'he late' a n d m dou *beearly':

gihk 'had. at m,to the l i m M *tally W u %ilk

giik diju rhh mihng lPih @g mat. I th~nk hard also mt unde~stand p u my what 'However hard I try. Igill can> understandwhat you're sayng.'

Ng6h Um

IaaIm 'brnken':

hbnil~ WI~-jb la. shoes w a r hroken-PFV PRT 'These shws are worn out.' &u4

pdr

Jek g h nghmh h h n - j 6 douh d h n . CL dng ht hken-PRP CL door 'The door i s broken as a rermlt of the dog's biting a+' mlhng ' c b r , u n c k m l M goes with peroeption verb and verbs of tRih t a g

mlhng *§+ah listen undersmod Sir giai Wi ng6h Rng. explain to me hear you

'After you'ue listened and und&

g6ng mat @nub pi what lhen again

say

what the teffher io saying, -Id

mihng &-+%fin jnuh jikltHak gpeak clear marry-PW then i m d i

Ng6hckih g h g

y i h d h n ge. emigmte pRT 'We've said very cle*

that after we get married

ae emigrate

immediately.'

wuihn 'full' indicatethe state of being mkd to q m i t y : Mgd yahp mdhn Wurh r. please m t e s Full it PRT Till it up, please.' (lilling fuel tank) Ga che ch& mOhn smi. CL car sit full all T h e car i s f dl.' dhng denotff m x a s f u l mxmplishment (md s o 10.1.2,173.7):

GiingM Eih, j i i n m g i t d h n g f i n la! camgramlate you finally mamy-ed PRT 'Congratularionsl You finally managed to get marrkd.'

KPuihdoi

g&

PBnjnng jmh

@g

Behng

daan m g y i .

few mnutes then talk succeed CL business 'Thcymanugc to *kc e (business) dcol in a Fm minutrr' 1%

fi 'to death' is much used hypdalical?y: Ng6h Ei Fib glk I

by you annoy &ad

'You're driving me crazy!' dl go HhM h! ( n o r e x h w w d ~ ~ e e 4 ~ 1 2 ) hunpy die CL baby PRT .-The by% sawing.'

Ngoh

You ll wear nut ymr eyes that way.'

GBm yhmg w6ih gaau waalh mi di hohksaang ga. this way will teach bad all CL students PRT nK students will be taught an the wrong l m s thii way.' wdRn Y h m g b l f may he used in a ooncessive m s e to*

you explain it to me then?'

w

LPi g&m y€ung d h ELfl waalh devi ngdalm ga. , wch way will l w k bad pair eye PRT

with ddrr:

N@ win

wihn cbu mh gin E u i h . I seek m g h a h n u see him 'lhc b k e d cverywbm and J still can't find him.'

m n may also serve to quaqtify the qbjed I$the &, in t h s fundip it m M e s s u u i (113.3), with wl~ichit may m b i n e : (saai) AujSu Ng6hdeih ysI go yuM b h heni G h n wc m c CL mmtk within go r b u g h (all) Lurqx gzrm do (go) gwwm m y (CL) ccmmtries 'We travelled thrrrugh all the mntries in Ellrope in one month.' fib 'finish, to the c d in addition to denoting m p l e t i m , also gerves to i m l i t e tmnpmil m l a t h s l i i p ~mm c h m (lh.?..I): Lkii gaa-flhwyij meii a? yvu teach-finish-book not-yel etT 'Have you finished mhing?'

Mi yuhng flhn

yw

@

dihnchih Eyih wuhn

finish C L M e r y can chaw When p ' v e used up the battery you can change it.' use

ge.

PRT

Mo?l of the above wrbmrtide o w n t i d o n s mav l x used m tbe modal @ng&h d6u 'can't (patential) wnstnmiom i i t h rid! and dak (12.3). M,keui &k d h g 'manage to go': @ m - d a h n hDul dSk &ng. gwss tonigm not rmcceed 'I think we'll manage im tton~ght.'

Ng4h g6

go

wieuhng r h hh1i h61 h h s + h ~ M time hotd-meering M d not succeed 'Laatime we wem'i able to hold the meeting.'

N-h we

in the porrmial fonm thus dtitappears in gsn ddc chir 'manage to arrive on time* and g6n tfih ckrr 'hi1 to arrive on time' but the combinationg6n d& alone daes not m r . Certain addMona1 parride6 are used exh&wZy

t?~uhfaal ehng go kng saat. hair whde CL pretty d l 'She looks really nice now she's l a her hair grow long.' W h lhuhj6

113-3 QUANllFYlffi PARTICLES

The pwricles snoi and m h i h behave q m t x t m l l y like other v&l part i c k . but ka distinct quantifying funernon. ffm has a syntrm of I&own which is different from smi and mcimh. They are all peculiar to Cantonese. having no dl& oounlrrpartb In Mandmin.h The l o m l pop?niesof stsri are d ~ m & in Lee (1987). sum 'an. complelely' has m its p n m q furrction to quantify either the sub@ of an antransitwe or the object ofa Wanative verb:

(b) to ememphasize a vwb&jm idiom:

p gehn janhaih IHh-saaCp6u. that CL pffson m l l y leaveall-score That m i s mmplelrly off-the-wall (outrageous).(;i,

go-go q&u+asi-thh C L X L scratd-ml-head

N-h

Di yjhm

j5u

saai.

leave all 'Everyone's left.' CL

Nmdeih dhk mzi di dianggu6. we eat all CL fruit "We've eaten up all the h i t . '

'In a transitive sentence with a plural subiecf. m i may refer either ro the ot@ or m the subject. or to both once: KZuihdrih hcui-gwo suui Auj8u. they go-EXP an Europe W v e k n everywhere in Eumpe.' OF Thcy"VC 911 h C I l hr~pc.' or 'Tbq'ye all been everywhere in Europe.'

HFungg6ng a? w a d . ) H o n ~ k o n t PRT 'If e v w o n e leaves, who will take care of Hongkmg?' @an vifln

di

CL

h&tal

CL

ni

jek

llih-fan.

bihbi c h * h n h h h b y whole-lot

hahnfw. v-PRT means We've all k e n scratching our heads and we g t i i ain't see a solution.' chi

Ng6hdcih ylh* gau mai Hhng we now emugh all poor 'Nmv we're reaRy broke!'

saai. h-ngo Eih Y O h g d gvgo &I jfiu if CL-CL all leave all whu cat^

this

ddu l h hh still think not

Idwmp ~ saai (Rau 'enough*) emphzsizes an adjective:

In its quantifying function m i may combine wth other quantifiers such as &u and rftyhJInbuk (14.1.11:

Ni

chhhng

gmw-PFV long

d

ydm

sad

this CL m~lk-fxswder 'All the h b i R this h p i t a l drink this brand of milk powder.' m i may also be used adverbially, with an emphatic rather than quantifying fumchon: (a1 with an adjec2ive. d e d n g a change of sate: U l h dl-hsh. p a n f h g wjehng saai la I d - D E L CL mom clean all PRT z k , the mom's all nice and clean (ww)..

PRT

mt 8ooi @is an idiom used only with sm'( w k - p kdws not exist) meaning to ae owmmched or fradcally Grsy: Ng6h yst go @hn Wfaahn b8i ?ahp I me CL pxwn mk-fwd fm go flhn silk. jSnhaih tek gaai geuk In. CL person eat really kick all feel PRT 'hwrvkilg t u (ell puplle

drink all

la!

UII IIIY UWII,

vle~lllyd l d d 4 . '

Nute that the meaning dd-teidiomsthe m i t e of the English kirk one's feet m i n p to be idle or have nothing to do. mddh 'in addition' or -along' has a similar syntax to mi,modiFying the d an intramitivc nr thc W c t of o transitkc wh:

suwt

FnRIIm'liVO

Ilhn Bill dm liih d h . ewn Bill also come V-PRT 'Even Bill mme along.'

h

$11n wu, H l y b l ~l&li wd.11 lrl&nil~ Ii. people PRT rather you play V-PRT PRT. 'There aren't enough people, wby donY you join us?' pu

mt enough

mdaih has two other distinct uses:

Tmrrsirtvc

Ngdh hi m h i fahn bwjl heui Mi. I take V-PRT Q mwpper go red

Cia N h n

&i+n ng*. awwckPROG ahore The ship is appmaching Ihe shm.'

'I'm taking along a nnwpaper to read.'

U i h dsllg &ih you wait aka

CL drip

n@h l3! me PRT

Uii ddh-jh

'Wait for me m!'

cnmplcfinn:

Ktuih Jouh m&pth g&n nhn jauh jfiu gc lak. slhe work V-PRT thk y m then leave PRT PR'I 'She's going to work for the rest of rlns year and rhen leave.'

YPhgw6 n&~h d a m if not-have also

ni

go

gEiwuih, ng6h

thin ~9.cnam

I

jauh cllsarn la. then deqmate PRT 'If I lme this hsr cham 1'11 be in troukk.'

The meaning of aummuMon i s seen in the phrases p mrioih and Wn Mfi'includim~':

m h i h ga

blly

@m

go

this

CL month's salary

yuhtge

yihngiing, jauh gau then enough

cht.

a, r f l

-Includingthis month's salary. it11he emu* tn buy a utr: hl ga CE Iih rnsaih seui yiu m h p maahn. t k CL car indude ako tra: need eighty fen-thollsand 'This car $800.OW imluding tax.'

Fli tiis

gEi

nhn ng6h few yews 1

Qm ihh gau

a? (atAstaur8mletc) I'RT

dlian m h

clwcPW bin not-@ 'Have you paid the bill?'

you

In its quantifyingfunction m h i h denMes exparsion of a domain to indude the last of a series of items or to bring certain ongoing actions to

G i &I add also

(a) as a directional &, meaning 'approach' ~a +close7(8.33:

&aha earn

chin &I bi V-PRT CL money

ylhmhhn, sill nor enough emigrak 'The marey I've k e n saving up lttmz few years is still nor enough to emigrate.'

L3i mh6u mblb Isrh a. (see8.3.2) yru don't &se come PRT *Don't get ~ d o s e r . '

(b) m a asulltwive pwtide waning 'dm' or 'together' (m11.3.2). h thh m&ih 'can't say for sure' only exists in the form where the m i n g of mtkdk is difirrnt from & usual

rdiom: m ne-

meanings: w h ihh miaih ge,

Saisih

ge y41

-Id-matter

LP thing say

red sure

m6uh

PRT no

Jahn @ iingyaht wi%h dhn. person know twnormw wll how 'One can't say for sure abDut things i n the world; no one knows what's @g oing h a w tomorrowrrOW'

Both smi and mhh may m r follming a diredim1 or r e s u b h e pnide (113.1.11.3.2): Pin dhnjeung s4 h6u U M e write up The art#& is all written up.'

~ a la. i

Ng6hdeih h l Ean d a l h w arc h c k also 'We're badc logcther again.'

yWh8ih. togcthcr

all

mdd~ and m i may also oocur ic@her

Yhhgub k h i h it" dhe gau

PRT

(in this order):

di

pshngyiuh hi

CL

friend

m W i 4.jauh

come along

-iyimlaaun. enough a l l lively 'If her frimds all come along, it'll be nice and lively.'

all

then

&X and I verbal ~E*licles227

113.4

a mm m q be used with a pelmti= meaning, implying that someone does eveqt111ng (swi) even including [ m e ) the outrag~ousor e x m v e :

Idiom: the combination [ve~b]m

1

KPuih d h mhaL sssi g6 d i gaakyeh sung, dhe eat V-PRT all that CL l e f b e r fd

Ihh gwaaldak m h h

ylhngyhhng. surprising wt-have n ~ h i l i 0 ~ "She rneats all the leftover W,no wonder she's in bad shape."

M h sfudm, m b lhhng than. yw d l don't cold V-PRT a wid.' 'Be caret31 nor ta

D i sailoulq%i @wh h ism- di faahnfmt ge *h.

CL drildren do

also

all

C L illegal

Similarly:

LP thing

T h e r h ~ l k pi n up Inall mta of illegal thing.'

ngoh chsn 'go hunm' dung than @ dddd' pfik chsn Trip up'

D c l w thc usc d m1 i s d i s e u . . IImvcwx, noZc that thc pmitiom it m r s in ate very dierent from thme d the particles s w i and m i d ; in p h m l a r , it m n o t occur immediatelyafter a verb. SyntaUblly Fm h

With manative

h h n g yiu fim faahn sill need add rim ' Y w need mwe rice?'

'Dont frighten her.'

Ngdh f i u h - m h

I

ah?

Ng& I

w6n tCmg Gm an jjsu. 1 dknk une buwl S U U ~ V-PRT then 1'Let me eat a bowl of soup and then leave.' iii

pl

can a h functinn a?;a mtcnEe wide in aentenwfinrrl IWQjtim SW

chapter 18.

jek

duji

Mi douh

mDhn gihp chsn.

CL finger by CL h lam V-PRT 'My finger got nipped by the door.' Mi man nghuh chsn. I by mmquito hike V-PRT 7he been btten by E mosquito '

N@b

W s i k y8t

Ng6h y6m

chAai chsn 16h a' havenocham r r d V-PRT you PRT 'Did I tread on you'!' 1

chiin naturally wcurs in &%e mnshudons, emphasizing the efCen nf the action on the subject:

PRT

jahn tim joi hhahng. m e moment V-PRT again walk ~ ea blt ~ m t m for a while and walk agmn.'

me adremhve m m n g ot chm a p p l e to W e n (animate djecr) rather than a [hang.

Mh6u hmk &an ktuih wo. don't ware V-PRT her PRT

When functioning as a quantifying element, hkl h8s a m l a t d meaning, "-. The positmn where lim can mar i s very rpstrkted: i t only mcws after a complement phrase (mually with a quuntifter or n u m r ) -

rest 'Let's

V&E.

obpct. h c h must st a a

not hehave as a verb prticle, huwcm, it tbx. serve mquantifying function. has the meaning 'add' as a d Tim ding faat chhih! (greetingwed d C h i m N e w Year) aW male make mmmey 'Haw a son and make more money.'

ADVERSAllVEWHPJAL GM-RI

The verbal particle chan i s pculiar m Cantonese. It has two distinct meanings: the adversative meaning'to one's d s a d v a n t a g d m ~ n eand ' the hahima1meaning 'whenevererer Thr byntan uimlv&ivc u h m m b k Illat dmti a ~ &iIs d ill Illat il mod& either the subject of an intramilk u the object ofa tramitiue wrb. With inhansinw verb, the disadvantage is m the subjxt:

1

Itisalsoltsed dexivelywifh lmdypam:

than go t h h bump V-PRT CL head h4m

-bump one's head'

chin rarely m m n e s wan q x c t maficrrs or mner vemd parDcles. The perfective jd. for example. i s redundant. as &II already mmep the notion of result:

12 MODALITY: POSSIBILITY AND PROBABILITY

Mi haak M n tib) khih. you scare V-PRT (PFV) her 'Ywscared her.'

Adisrinct u s e o f c f i n is in habitualcontexh, with themeaning'whenever'. This diffm fmm habilual Mi (11.2.7) in that it oonirs only in the first of twommecutivpl clause% jauh maak d m Go bihbi siu go h5u dSn C L baby laugh v-W'C ~9.m r h rhen open rill

The nohm of modalii i d d R ~ i b i l i r y ahbili , and r e W conwpE. M o d a l i k expresed in Cantonese mt only by d a l verbs [IZl) and adverbs (12.2). as In English, but also, often more idioansrically. by a number dsptacticmnstructiom (123). TherPl is m subjum3ive mood or anything comprable in Cantonese. Imperarim. wh~chare h m e s begted as a fcim of mndalily, are d i d in chapter 19.

w

Every time the baby Inu&s, his m w t h opem wide.'

121 MODAL VERBS

K h i h hhu-rllm-sih c h i 16 jeui g 6 ~ ffin ge. she rake V-PRTexam all FL mlal ~ r ~ a r kPRT "ever she takes an exam she gets the highesl marks.'

Ktuii g h g f h M h n ~ 4&%I

mh tlhng da7r ge. wyV-PRTphme all no€ stop able PRT 'Eyery time he talks on the phone, he can't stop.' dhe

tllr: firm c l a w i s marhod by qhc quaNUPClhal Illr:puilidc d m (14.1.1) in the second. I t may also oocur reinforcing&-chi and m a chi n'ever':

K h i h &ISM

dClu

aai4Em-@m

she time-lime aqueV-PRT a l l 'Whenever she argues, she has to win.'

N g W h Aih

lsfh

n

ehng ge.

must w n

PRT

w6ih WilUwmlG h6ylh 'can, may' Sik, 'know how' lbhnggau 'be able+

&u

*h.

LP thing Whenever we m e , we cat the same thing.'

sihk ystyeuhng

eat

0-me

yTn@ shwld. ought to' yu,e d y i u 'want, need' m a , mxuiyiu h o need' dung 'wash'

-

As d a l verbs these mllst cwccur with an!verb. although of them (&. (--)ym, mwffil may also be u x d alone as main verb. These rwdah -ally precede the main verb:

Ng6h ylh@ yiu

hm-wui. need hold-meeting T have to attend a meeting now.' I

every time come V-PRT all

we

P

chi

yiu

A- in FnpJich, rhmf i e a m a l l rlaw nf mnrlal vertrp, nr uuxiliarks which behave differently fmm ordinary verbs. The main mcdal wrbs are:

now

They may k separated from the verb by an adverb:

DT

@khsak wbhn. immediately return 'We shwld m r n those books immediately.' s*

yine

CL bwks shDuld

Colloquially. modal verbs are often heard attached at the end ofa clause as such modal%men come after the an 'afterthorn (4.131. Note senparticle:

Hb

fmi jnuh flhn ga la. y w . very fast do finish PRT PRT shwld "We should be finished very soon.'

Modal8 maybe used in w impersonal sew, without a subject:

gukdak mh yim& lyuhn gam di chh. feel not should random so spend -money feel one shouldn't go around qmding money wlldly

N$h

I

'r

MsSi

k w e u n g g. nuneed so e x a p t e PKI "There's m need to exaegerate so.'

gmn

Modal vertn may hbe classified d i n g to the m d l n d o m II-WY +note. such as passibility. n-lty and obligatim. 121.1 ~ I B I L T T AND Y PERMISSlOhl

wriih has a complex set of meanimp relatingto possibfliv or pmbablity. Although mmt d m l y glmed as 'will' or 'vould.' it sh~uldrwtbe fhmght of as a future terse x such. F~raly,reference to the future i s made largely by advelts /10.3.3) and d m not q u z w 6 . Momover, the verb tdih itgelf has a n v b e r of ~ l a t e dTuncrlvns. of which predinrng the future 1s only one: {a) futurity or pdiction: Ng6h wdih M u p - j y u h Eih ge. 1 mll wy ~~s-COW you PRT 'I'm fling m miss you a lor '

(b) mditional (we a l w 16 3). N@h h h wfiih g8m @ng ge I not would thw say PRT 4 w l d n ' t put it Ilke that.'

Myfh means 'can' w miin the of something being pc~ibleor p-Me. It has tm senses, a d i n g l o the distinctinn hcrween demfk and ep~slmicmodality:

I

(a) permission (deontic: ginng or requesting permisrim):

1

I

M h Myfh yuhnrjyuh ng6h ga dihnl6uh sin. yw can USC-COWT my CL m p u t e r fiKt 'Yw may use my opmputer for the time being.' Ng6h M h - h a y r h j6u jh di a? I can-not-cm early kave PRT

'Mar I kayt a bit early?' @) ~ i b i t i r y (epistemic: mfemhg to an eventuality which may m r ) :

thh h6yIh daap b8sl Mi M3hnfa Jiing%n. you can catch bus go Cullural Centre 'Yw can take a bus (to get)to the Olltunl Centre.' Jauhsyun Eii mh a, dm h6yih gU-nah. even-if you not know also san guess-DEL ' E m it y w don't know the a r m , you can have a glle.'

and p o p s l i i i may alm be e q m z e d by the potential curshuctmns w t h dak (12.3.1, 123.2), a d impsibility by the [wrb] I h - [prtklc] m m n x i n n [12,7.3). Thew allernafiw am vfm m v idiomatk than Myfk. Tlie w i v e meaning 'could have' may bc by Myfh -her with W n l i h 'originally':

N m

~~

My& ganching M fahn gimg p. apply this CL job PRT you originally can 'Yuu w l d I~uvcnpplialh t Llib juL.'

LAh

(c) willingncs3: G h dih-mh-Wih Wng ng6h would-nm-would help me Would you do me a favwfl

-

MxIMiy 231

a?

PRT

(d) habitual action or occurrence: G h wiih-mh-wCih 15m hti keuih a7 yw wnuld.not-would think up her PRT 'Do you (sometimes) think ahout her?' (e) Alternatively. wuilr may have the meaning 'know how to'. thk being one of the meanlngs of the corresponding Mandann auxiliaryhrrk K t u ~ h wOih gdng M diS long flhylhn. she aMe speak wry many CL languages 'He can w k x w r a l languagw.'

Ngcihdeii bbnm h6yli m6h 9 h n gwo laih ge. we originally can sit bmt over mme PRT 'We mid have come over by boat-' p u n 'allow' may a h e~presspermi&:

Halaauhjhng j4un n w e i h j h jsu. headmaster allow IE early l e m T k headmaster is aowing us to leave early.' The negative f

m rsli&rm (brsr p cm in formal w d written Cantonese)

exprsses p d i i i o n . I t is usually used -ally,

q n nhng&. here not-allow slq)-car 'Ym're not allowed to slop (the car) here.' Ni-h

withwt a auqieEr:

. I I

1

G%wm&hn mgun gSng s 8 ~ g y i wo. lwnight nbl-allm talk buslntss PRT 'No talking abut hsinms tmght. okay?'

k h p m h i b i t h .apply W everyone V

I

n t or concerned.

1212 ABlLrrY sik'know3 is used fur can in rhe sane of k i n g able to do something:

fnh

sik

j-ht

I not know driv'I can't drive.'

ga. PRT

(~bnv.)

by a modal adverb such asp'fdilrng,meaning 'musl':

fJng s m n

ysWlhng yiu

Wih ch-m m h g

lmer definikly need ynu sign

name

sin

*M3auh. find havwz1'idiiy 'This letter must have ymm signature in order t o be valid.'

Note that the epistemic sew of mrst (meaning that, by inlerenm, 9wnething m W be the case) is exby Fdihrrg kmh (12.22): K h i h yitdihng hdh mgMtik-j6 hk. slhe definitely is forget-PIT PRT 'He must have rorgntten.'

klw r e f m to the knowledge of how do d o something:

Lkii ystdmng haih s& rho dcihji lak. you dehn~tely IS write m g address PRT 'You musl hove written t h address -81y '

bk. ng6h h h Mu dim jouh. you teacn me PRT I rm know h o w do 'Tve m ~deaholv ro go a b w r it. yw'll have m teach me.' n m

need: The cumpnund form s3tCyird unambiguomly fuhm6uh g M13ih go smiouhj8i d w sai-yiu

l and written

Cantunex (cf. M a d a r m hi).

each ability:

all

need

prenl

LP

pint.)

care

'Every child needs a parmVsare.'

&.L*M"i+

1 @I as a main verb may m eilhm 'want' or 'need'. As an auxiliary, y k

CL child

WarGirn.

go migaai ji $uh lCih 1 8 h n e mihngbaak ngSh. this CL world only h m you q m b b underwd me 'You're the only person in the world capable ofurrderstand~ngmc.' Ni

has the meamng 'need' or 'have to':

-

this CL

LCJi rlrlr m i diik e n gc mE? you not know can distinguish PRT PRT 'Don't you know how to tell Ihe diCference?'

Icihnggau 'be able' k a formal word referringto a

emrndahn yiu cWut heui sihk. ronigm rrped out go eat

'We h a w to & cmt mnigbt.' Jouh A hMmg yiu dAng h6u loih Sinji jaahn d6u do this Ime wait wry long only mr~ W R T daaih chin. big 'In this busines yw have to wit a long time to make big money.'

Ni

M h @je h6u slk duk tiuhji ga. p r sister bmy know can imesl PRT 'Ywsister r a l l y k n m how to invest.'

mZlh (12.1.1) may a h mean 'know how to' in h

w

Lkiideii h h n g p godihng giu gin-hfihihn. you-PL two C L definitely musr & - D L & 'Ywtwo really I-PM get together.'

s& is also used together with &k. meaning X n w , how to':

u h gam

Ng6hd-3

yiu maybe rein-

Wh sik-ihhi y&vh-&yi a? ynu knw-not-know swim PRT 'Can you swirnT Ng6h

Modality 233

& m , " h l h nuWb uli d 4 - n o t - n e e d - m t whole buy all PRT 'IMwe need to buy the whde lor?'

sdf

m= SG

Ji t l i y%t p dihnwd jaih rlihm sy la. just need ht one CL telephone then done PRT PRT 'AM it takes is one phone call and it's done.' Senten- with y* or yIngBiai (12.1.4) may be reinforced by the phrase Hn dbk. used to give m3viadvioe or admonirion:

1

1 2 1.4

@ng

jam

ws

sln

nh.

need s p a k W e words only good 'You need w tell the truth. o k a q

geui y& ms6 fi pi la. this CL thing nuneed again correct PRT "Thm's no nood to oorroct this scntenoc again:

Mseui-yiu pi g6ng lnhk-heui la. nm-need again talk mtinue PRT ' Ihere's no r e d to go on taking.‘

m d i is r e p l d by yiu in replies m A-noa-A qwstlms: A: % i ng6h lhih jip kih a? need-imt-need 1 drivear come m w t you PRT

'Doyrruneedmetopickyouupinthecar?'

B: TN need

a.

PRT

'Ye%' The poslhveform cal questiom:

occurs in notionallynegative Eontextssuch 8s rhrhelori-

JUnng sai gong me:l shi need what 'Need any more be said?'

(raQea0.)

(see 17.3.6)

PKI

dsUGATlMJ

whether the modalilyis &tic

i distinct o mearnnp accordlng to or epklemic:

(a) obligation (deontic: i n d i i n g a requirement):

Uii f i n e dm8m di. shwld d u l a-bit 'Youshould be more careful.'

you

Ng611 gakdL h h y i n m y h h jfingiuhk k$ihsih I

ge.

&wld

have r a x discr~minarionPRT '1 feel there shouldnr be racial discrimination.'

fel

:eel

(b) prolmbilii (epistanic: making a prediction): Ng6hdeih y i n m chB-m& sei dim douwc should a h t four o'clmk c k M 'We should be there s b w t four.'

The negative coun?eqmrt of yiu as a modal is msdi or m i - y f u 'need nor':

N7

jek?

p@, like shuurd in English, has ~

This aiom i s a b usd in impwatives (19.1). sm Mu is a similar pttem, which e m p h m the i m p w f m of follonrng the advice pisen: U i h yiu

douhhip

T-~ere'sno need to aprkgize.'

E h yiu hhoh dSk faai bi sTn dfik p! you need learn ADV fast &it only okay PRT 'Youreally reed to learn a W t f-, you know.'

y m

miil

need what aplogize

Idioms wiih yiu: jfyiu 'all you need to do' is typically used impersonally, with na s u w mentioned, for example in advertking:

fin& mhh maMh g i la. should nd-haw problem PRT PRT There shouldn't l x any pmb1em.' may refer retrosp3ively to the p d , with the meaning 'shmild have'; in this c3ise. an adverb m h as Mnldih 'orig~nally'or ycst-jdu 'much earlier, at the outs& may l x added to indicate referem to the p s t (see 10 3-31:

yi-

N@h T

Wnlbih ymggUi onginally should

gamyaht Ean-hohk. today w o o l

7 was suppwed ro go to dtoday.' Ngbh y?nggOi flt* $6ng Mi ICh Eng. I h i l d meearly say to ym heahear 'I should have told you much earlier.'

1215 VOLITION: WISHES AND DESlRES ~UII~Y~IIIW. ail, IhMli. take-finishleave only t a w a m The students donY want to have their exams till after the holiday.'

M hohkskng &IE CL mdent want

Ng6h rnhaih @i dung pi M lohk-heui. I not-k quite want e n drag m t i n u e 1 h * t m l l y want this to keep dragging on.'

Now. yiu

as a mmain verb may mean 'want', but as a modal aunilkry i t expresses b t y (12.1.3). Similarly, the mmhination s h n g y i r ~'want' also .expresses desire, but is a tmmtive verb rather thm an auxiliary:

KCuih m n g yiu dzr go bihbi-lhi. she wish need more CL baby-girl 'He'd like to haw another baby girl.'

(a) Ngdh &ng tituh Eih yst piu. I wish w t ~p u one vote '1 want w vnte for you.'

-

hdng rneam 'be willing', i.e. nd o w i n g to dning w h m g :

M h mahn k€uih hSng-rPIh-Mng je ghn G&m bEi ask herwill-not-wrlling lend CL shirt for you ask leih puk IS. you war PRT 'Ask her if she'll lend yw a shin m wear.'

jui 'comply, agree' and rkhjai'mt comply, not agree' is sinnlar in meaning to htjng and mh Sdng @ml?y used in response to a prqxsal or a hl; unlike kdng. jni annol occur with a follmslng verb but is itself a verb and can only be wed transitively.

Ngdh +ung I wish

(b) Ng6h a n g Eih tsuh r$6h ylit u '. I wish you mte me one vote 'Iwant ycd~to mte for me.'

'

I

Modal@ 237

K€uih thhhhg je cMn Ei ng6h. h e not willing lend money to me 'She won't lend money w me.'

Like hghsh w n t . rn'$ may l x followed either by a verb pMse wkh the same subjecl as in (a) below. or by a full clause with a charge d subject (b):

tlivm. ~ f l IP~w~SC l ~ ~ L L an inanimatesubject

I

daahnhaih ngdh my

many but

lizhmp5hngyAuh boy-friend

jai.

ltlh

not

mmply "I'd like to get e t e d h t my boyfriend won? comply.'

d a d d p,cd;etion and may take

can appear in A m - A qmsiiom. A N@h&ih

we

H6uchlh &ng lohk-fib gim. smn want fall-mn so 'It looks like i t 3 golng to rain.'

hhhnplouh heui walk-md' go

chE jaahm.

Eihdeih bus station you-FL

jai-mhjai a? a g e e - m t w PRT 'We are walking to the bus statition, are you willing7

Ri

h4uchih dung w a i h ghm. fruit seem want bad so That frurt I& like it's going bad.'

n

3: Ng6h jai ktuih inh jai. I agree .she not agree

'1 am,he isn't. hmmhg'hnpe, wisW hrs a similar syntax to s h n ~

Ng6h heimohng hah chi k?au diik hhivL 1 hope m l trme exam ADV god 'Ihope to do better in the exam noR time.' Ng6h hRmohng ltih wliih yahnleuhng ng6h. 1 hope p i w111 forgive me '1 hope youll forgive me.'

ylJmyi 'be willing' is a more formalterm, mhMe for solemnundemakiw: di. a-bit

U h yuhn-rhkyuhnyi j i u 1 1 ~ f f gu G i r l a? y will-not-wllling accept this CL challenge PRT 'Are you willing m take on this challenge?'

g h '&re'

and the colloquial gar &m

'haw the

m'also function as

auxiliaries: U i h gh-hh-gdm jeuk sEzm dim slk wlhngyl a? you darenot-dare wear three point style swnn-dortnng PRT 'Wculd you dare wear a bikin~?'

i

U i h jOngyi heui Faatgwok dihng heui Nnggwok go England gn yol~ like Fmnce clr

Ng6h h h gau dsam d n kCuih I net enough guts x e k him '1 daren't appmzrh him.'

121.6

d6

di a? m m a-bit PRT

Wkh do you p&er to gc~tu, Frrmrr: u BIilai~i'r

PREFEREWE

jiingyi cheung bm leuih @ a? l ~ k e sing which kind s c q PRT 'Which kind of song do yea prefer to sing?'

L h h jeui

nhgyun 'rathd expresses a preferenceamongtwopa!ibilies. It may be u d , for example. to express the speaker's p r i m t k

N@h 1

fihn@n rather

d6 61 tahng ngdh m o r e a h i t with my

p u rrmt

iikk&@hn home-&

ywchsih. mh w h gam&. mgether rwx play so much 'I'd mther tR with my family m m , and go nut lm.' K&ih she

h nhngyjn &, &u mh ~ i jouh rather die alm not w l l do

faahnfaat illegal

I

ge sih. LP thing 'He'd rather die rhan break the lm.' Note the mnjunctions jringjj % long aS and ji yiu 'if only', a prominent function of which i s m i n t d u o e a clause following Singyrin: jk% Ng6h hhngyin jaahn siu &. 1 rather earn less some as-long-s

?hh siht not lose

jauli d%k ge lak. then okay PRT PRT

I

I

'I'd rather make a bit lm. as long as I dar't make a low' Wih P m jibe dhe rather self

jfti

ski. Pylu Myih @u t%m go die if-only can save back C L

m b l i t y and d t y may also k m p r s d by advadve Like mlence adverbs in general (10.3). thw iterr6 immediatelyp r d e the verb. Wht-n used in wnjumhm with a modal auxiliary. they precede the mcdal rather than the main % ~ r b :

N@

dhou wfiih chtirmngij l(duihdcih & fillii. I probably will attend their LP wedding 411 probably attend their d i n g . '

Note that the typical English order. with the adverb between auxiliary and we*. is mt p ~ b l here. e Collcquially. modal adverbs may cwne at the end of the sentenee (10.3 1.4.13): A: A-Whg hsi bin a? A-Wmg is w h e r e 'Where's WongT

PRT

B Heui-j4 mAaih yel. dasou. p P F V buy thine most-likely 'Gone shopping. rnrm likely.'

tiuh rnehng.

son CL life

'She3 prepared to die. as long as she o n save her son's lie.' As h e examples s u e . R h n g y h often implies a rather negative form of pderence the preferred option re rmt particularly attractive. but the alterrrative is worse (i.e. the preferenoe is for the 1-r of two mils):thus Ng6h CitngyBn jd@ hm! 'I'd rather go myself' i m p l i i k t the m k e r prefen not to trust someone else with an errand. Mme positive prefemces m y be expressed by jnngyi . . . d.3 d7 'like . . .m'otjeui pngyi 'mmt Ilke':

I 1

iI

!

hdkkng ' m a w typically mmes b

m the subject and wrb:

hNAhn~f i i h @ mui. government m a w will raise tax 'The government might 'be going to vise taxes.' linfll

whkp'perhaps' may also begin the sentence: Waahkje n@h haahng-h%hmn@ ni$

~ r h q x1

wlk-PEL4m

fnst

CBan

ikk€i.

m m

'Perhap 1 1 do some shopping before coming home.' do11mdihng is u s 4 as a tag after a sentence mising a e b i l i t y :

I

A: A-MUi dnl@&k-@ @aU Abfdui prdmb1y forget-PIT pay 'Mui pmbbly foFgor m p y her taxes.'

&: $aht

meaning ' p r o w :

& 'mostly' may be d as a modal ad&

sure

Ng6h chtut-lln d m w~Xh heui Meihgwok I Arnerics next-year probably will go

M h

13.

Is

PRT

S2d.

'She must have done.' I

ivlJW'deiiaitely. ahhrely+may m d f y a modal vertt Ngah jyuhtdeui rhh wGih jungyi ril ring $hn. I ahdutely not will like this kind p a ~ m ~

jwh

dangyi. do hsiness "111 p r o mgo to the !State an IXE%ES next year.'

IThere's no way Imuld llkc this k i d ul ~CEUII.'

1222 ADEWS OF NECESSITY

snhr, fltdillng and khgdrhng all q m w ctrrainjr ~definibtly').They am often used to rein€orcethe niodal verbs, such as d i h and yiu:

G6 jek m6h d d d i h Fhng ge. that CL horse sure will win PRT That h m is h n d tn win.'

mtih bH is a negatiw counkrpn of t h e e a d w d x . litem* meaning no mpl"ion', i.e. 'nnt necessarily';

G6 jek m6h

meih bit *hng ge wo. that n horn nol necessarily win PRT PRT - I nat norse may mt win, p u M.' (expmlng huh)

It may combine with a d l verb:

L&h hsh chi @tdhng $In d s i l m di a. p u next time definitely need careful a-hit PRT 'Yru really must be more careful next time.'

-

Ng6h meih brt wGih GI1Ching p h h h n . I noi necessarily win apply emigrnte 1 w n Y mcs?arily t o emigrate."

T k w adverbs, together with h d ~ 'be'. alw q m s s the episfemic w inferential

of m W ('x must be the case'):

Idiam: the phrnses [wrbl

L€ih yMRms haih Mrp %ang Iaak. p u definitely are YIP Mr PRT You must be Mr Yip?'

W di mi MiylIhg that CL furniture certa~nly

Like the modal wrbs kp'h and pH, retmpxtively, meaning'mhave':

-d-hand

%e.

PRT

thii cmmtmction can alw be used

yardim haih keuih Iim go p & y m this CL d v e n m definitely is she think

Ni

cheut Wh

. .. '

k u s i d . dT @piu M @ng. @A rn 17 rfockq riw hmld 'With m much @ news, stocks a m h n d to g up.'

Cwm &

!mih ylhsaU

B T h a t furniture must be second-hand.'

w [verb] n p h n g ' h n d to

exprrss the inevitable: sa

much

Giim di mngrehng la, ldhl thm time di hwnd PRT you 'You've had ilrhis time!' ngaafrng ir an sdjeenw meaning'bird, h'as in klih n@ng

%and

firm'.

ge.

come PRT This advertkment must have heen his idea.' out

Scuhng chi hhgdlllng hrrlh Uih last time certainly is y y 'It must have k e n your fault last time.

dm. CL wrong

12.3 SYNTACTIC CONSTRUCTIONS EXPRESSING I\nOoALrn I n addition to the modal 6 and adverb. modal notions such possibility mn be omwyed by v&us s y n t h constructims. These

as

pclrtiadarly m m m n in their negative mtms. i n d i t i n g i n a b i l i or impsjbiljty. 123.1 VERB

- DAKMPRESSING POTENTIAL

'Ihis u x ofdbk shouldbe diiinguished from drSk in adverbid WmhvCtion5 (10.1.1). a l t h q h the same character i s used fw bnth. This wnstruclion i s qdd rn indlmte w n t i a l . indudingM h posslbilily and pcmnssion:

J6u a k g e Ink. kave can PRT PRT

I

I

d&

I

The construction i s also widely used in neffmive and int-ve

di

uk

thi

CL

h s e

dm~ haih masih also are buy

gm, miuh not pass not-hm

with peroeprion verbs (8.1.3), verb -dirk d?W In addition to its an indicste ability with a negativemmtation, mcming 'cpble nf

form:

doing':

!M@ad seui

yihhah yshmih inh yahp dik heiyik eighteen yean under person mt enter can cinemn

i

m m ksp pln. watch three class film Tkm under erghteen are not allowed to enter a cinema to watch a -gory IllAlm '

A: Ni jek d u h h euh-yihng wol this CL mrth wry havc-stylc PRT That w t c h is pmtty ~4~1ishl'

I

Ngah Gi dak cheut lfih jiingyi khih. (ne-0 I see c a n n u t youlike her 9 can see that ynu like her.'

hhl k w i i mW@h dOu Mh &k CL Madc society what all do can cEut our

ge

(negative)

PRT

T h e rriads are capable of anything."

B: LRih m H a i h - M h dGk Ei sin?

G&m d m g6ng dHk chCut ~1 (qatke) dso say can ouf PRT 9 didn't k m w you were capable of saying such things!'

you buy-ml-buy can up first 'But can you gfford itT

KEuih G n syii h6u nmmh dill? wo. slhe CL tTak yery d l able PRT "is bmk is very marketable.'

NT

maintenance PRT 91's nor safe to buy these houws, there's no maintenance.'

T a n I try this on?'

~i go i e u i h ~hbu ~ ds d a ~ ga. this CL girl very Qht able PRT This @rlreally k n m how to fight.'

hjk

m h @.

a? (used in clothing stnres) PRT

Tkc diik c n n ~ c t i r m mey Isc modid by hdu or g& or alsil~q:

of &k has a

mning:

Yahp diik lhih meih a? enter can come not-yet PRT T h n I m e in yet? lJy*l-Ly

rhese; figures are not worth believm&'

Tlw nepptive munkrpart with rith in p b x

'We mtt b n v c : t n w . '

Si-hh-si

Q S k [m] dnk g w implies-that something is safe or can {ck:vms bermad N&h seun dak gwo N h . I bcluvc can pw you T can trua you.' Ni 61 flfu h h soln d ~ kgm. thii CL information not belw can p s

so

i n d d n g potcntinl

Cdi sihk d8k wo, Wh! quite eat able PRT you 7011 mainly can eat a lot!'

&-k alone may be used as a predicate, meaning 'dcay': M h khrm4h

dnkmdak

takee~am okay-nol-diay 'Was your exam okay?' you

a?

PRT

Cki

dm

ynu

sn

y h n g mdik ge. way n o t d a y PRT 'You can3 behaw like that.'

h h i l i t y or impwibilii may a h be expressed by the € % s t e n t i a l d yduh and m#uh cespectively {see ch. 15) followed by dak and a verb:

DSk m i a? okay not-* PRT 'Is it ready yetT

JsdPl &H ~il~b. Is. (mcptliug lllar a n w l b ready) soon h a w can eat PRT we csn eat soon.'

rhh d ddk is a m n p k dim with m l related meanings. With a noun as its object, it means '-not do withwt':

Mi h h 1

dHk l€ih (go) leuih-phhngySuh hh? you nol miss can your (CL) @+friend PRT 'Missing your girlfriend. are p u ? '

Fdkrwed by a verb phase or clause, it means m n m t face': bak I&% jjsu. inh 8.5 not mi= can you leave 'I can't face your leaving.'

@ ;

Khih dlrn daW hh d &k mamh-j6 keuih slhe how all mt mi= can sell-PIT his p

n

4

G a W h m6uh dSk dehng-th (referringto restaurant) holiday n d h u v e cm reserwtable 'There's no way n sesem a table m hlidm' Y h h h& do faatsang haih nduh gwaai sih n is not-have have very many strange thing m ask gthi ge. can explain PPHT -of

Idioms: mduA d6k Mi there's mc o m p a M is isllsedwlth the w e r b tlrhng:

*&a.

Yinggwnk rini thhng Fad@ food with Frwh English

me-car 'He can't fax selling his sports. car at any cost.'

aMe

n&'

The rheroricol vmsion with b-dm&jVbrk (sm 17.3.1) in flare d m h h is equivalenr BIndouh e u h dsk M a? where have an compare PRT H o w csn yam compare the t d &h

&k ding u r dub JQk t . . .':

M r r

illcula

'thweb

IN

'there's nothing like

a m h y i n g h h e s . when

diik

mmpare PRT There's no mmparim between Engliih and French d

a h gam haan, dim gbai wriih gmn &dEk frugal how m e would so wilting you so m3aih e r n @? buy cloth- PRT " H w m ycu're w a t m a g a n t yw'te SO frugal?

thoi d i h f m d nw-haw

ge-

The p i t i v e C m s+ d& means 5uiIling to part with': l X h sddBk yuhng g m d0 chln Bih m h i h se much money mme buy yw wining use leng j&u Ah? fine aim PRT 'You ran priwiW t h a m1n-h m m q to buy fine wine?'

61mnp thin@ hmppunw h i i cmnnot ba explained.'

Gun-hhh skilldea

mhng ni di d'msam jmhah with these U pstries really

mauhdak ding ge. cannor sumstirure YKC The's no beating kung-fu tea with these: pmhie%'

h l ; ~ g 'w

This construction is alm used in qwaion h, i.e. ~ ask a l w t a v i l i t y : Gddouh yhh-m6uh

dSk yhh-shi

there ha--haw can swim 'Can you go swimming there?'

M diikd [verb17

1m

ga?

(w-VERBAL PARlXLE EXPRESSING INAStlrPl -

-

The combination [verb] riJr [psrtkle] i s the negative c a m W r p l of [verb] -diik - [prticlel, as seen in the fnllming exhange: A: N&h @ng &an hh dihm a. I h r nunage mt V-PRT PRT 'Pm afraid I can't manage it.'

win

enter

no1

then need

giing jouh.

seek work do 'If sndens mn't get inm university they have m find d.' NMhderh

a k h b Bsai di

mng.

eat nol up CL food 'We can'tfinish (eating) the food.' we

M h ySt

go

you

CZ.

gohn h n a m h ddihm s#am f!p ]dl. V n care mt manage t h m CL son 'You canY manage three sons by yourself.' one

Yiuln fi

wiijX

have m e -in

+

&i-yi3ei dGu h&uil~ washingmachine also kallvith it

mh dihm. not manage There are some mim even the w&ing

machine can't gel rid of.'

y h mh jywh h l M by a verb meam 'canno# help':

h h jyuh siwj6 I endutt not V-PRT lau&PFV 'Icwldnl help bunting out with laughter.'

daaihhhk jauh yiu

V-PRT university

+

mi

Ng6h y6n

The negative mnshuctlnr~Is very widely usal tu irlrlitala &&lily; ally d the verbal p t i c k s d i d in sechon 11.3 may he wed in this way:

CL mudent

(d.Ng6h giurhhdngkhih.)

Ng6h &j6 b$u h h , d?ju k$ih l h h. (fihn) I seek-PW you very Long sbll seek yw not Y-PRT 'rve been lookingfor you for ages and Istin couldn't find you.'

id&:

13: Gbnghih g h dik dihn IS1 o f a m nianaF can V-PRT PRT 'Ofcourse p u canl'

Dl hnhlrssq p h p rhh d h

T help you.'

Ng6h gin Wuii a h shg. we call him mr awake '1 canV wake him up.'

PRT

G6 jling hehng yhuhm6uh d& JT p'? that CL disease have-mt-have can mt PRT T a n t h d d i w w be hated?'

12.3.3 ME8 -

Ngah bhg l6h inh d h . (d.Ng6h hmg h h d h Wh.1 ITV) I 1wIp yo11 not suooperl

Ng6h ffm h h hiii g6 deui msaang jimiii. I tell mt qm-l that pair twin-born sisters 'Imn'i tell t h e twin r i m apart ' As an alternative word order, an c+ctpmnoun orshort noun phrase may wme behKeen the W and the -rive dzh:

cheut 1& h.i out orme

inh jyuh g6ng Wi Kih eng. endure not V-mT talk to you hear 'Ijust had to tell you.'

Ngah yin I

13 NEGATION

13.1 LEXICAL NEGATION: NEGATlVE VERBS AND ADJECTIVES

I

Canhw a rich range of negativewards accordingto whd is ne@: the word (13.1). the adjeaive (13.2) or a verb (133). Crlmonese alsa makes extensi%euse d double negation cI3.5). The native Cantonese neptive words are dingushed by beginning with the naslll mnsonam rn- m d low-reg&- tmes:

An importsnt distinaion is tn be made between 1negation. which m t e s a an& word, and WFWIncgatim which negates a statement (13.2. 13.3). A large number of v& and a d m ~ v e sare inherentl) -ega tlve in form. For example: nhgin 'he' mgeidak 'forget'

mh6uyisi ' e m h d mgyafuhk 'unmfonable- or 'unwcll'

Such words are wrirten here as prefixed with m. as the M i n g r ~ m d p fib tends not m be clemiiy heard.' These prefined negative fwns are distim from negatbn w t h Mi in m

inh 'not'

mhsih 'nnmot'(iAh + the q m l a r karl~'be? m6uh 'hme mt'(negative form d the existential verb y h h 'hme'; e

(s) The waningd w t i v ~d h sad adjntives i b mt simply thd of the verb or adject~venegated, but often more specific:

15 4)

gin meam W but mtn means specifimllv lase"; IAItng meam 'with or '-me' hut m&ng rn onony l mean UiFFerenl': syufuhk 'mmhrtable' butnrsy@ihk 'unoomfortable' or 'unwll. sick'.

mcih 'mt yct' (uacd to form qucstims: wc 17.1.4)

mMu. m%h 'don't' (in imperative mtences: mz 19.4) mji. mh daan j i hot only'

(b) Verbs and sdjeaivcs with the negative preiioc rimy fake zht: @dire

I n additinn to these, the follmng Manhrin negahve words are lsed in formal or literary Canrnncse and in faced expreswms:

ztspxt jo, which is inoomprltiile with the neganw prticle t?di { I 1.2.4. 13.3):

MI.thc Cnnrnwcsa wading fm thc Mnndnrin negpgarivc rnMkcv bfi, is hcard in m e mied e x p t m o m adopred from Mandarin. such as:

ern

h t tlhng haam not stop so qf 'cry without slopping'

in

-s Ng6h hat SE dsk Wh. I not lose mn you '1 miss you.'

(cf. h h l dBk: 12.3 1)

f i is an nmhnic ncgativc wmd mraning * n dW in Mandarin. Like h,it ir also used in Cantnnese primarily in hed expressions and compounds:

Mi m&l%ik-j6

I

bM h6 B-ylh not c m think "unthinkaMe'

MI may aim bc suMlutcd fm rbh to @c a literary quality, f m ma@

1 repas

I

sii ddsgg. forget-PTV rum& light 'You forgot to rum nff the light '

you

N@h m h G m j 6 hbu loih. I un- hap^-PW very long 'I've been unhappy for n long time.'

(c) The prefxed forms dstative v e r b and djectivesmay k pmmcld hy modifiers such as M u *very' and fPisPeakng 67~"mhemely': Ng5h h6u m&ng heui. I very notwant p 4 vary much don't want to go.* Ggm lCih hiru you very

mdakhhhn

11'

mt-free

PRT

&mp, sih-@i

so

talk right-g 'gw4ip'

"Ywmust be rery b y . then!'

fii hi l%t M (Mbe the h b k neptibn: 135) not gn m possible 'absdutely m w p-

Mhdeih j w h dsk Eishhng WIT do ADU atmrnely 'Youdidn't do I d l y w all!'

-

37

mdnl not bad

The difference is h g h t out where the adjective k qualified (see 13.2):

-

G6 p i n mhsih h6u leng jE. that CL nd-be very niw- PRT That one's wt very nk.'

Mhaih hbu sy~fuhk.

not-be very cnmfortabk 'It's not very ormfortable,'

G$n Wung mhaih p5 @-nplhq. an way mt-hc quitc f01r -It's not quite fair that way.'

H6u rnsy3uhk. very un-mmfnrtaMe

'ITS very uncomfortable.' (d) Only sententialnegation with rhh a

h an indefinite i n t q m t ~ t i o d n

a qu&-m word (15.4):

Ng6h Bmyaht hh &ung h w i HnTndcuh. I tday not rn m, where 'I don't want to p anywhere today.

The same vMb prpfimd with m- dries nnf allmv this (it i'invl p?Sikk tQ modify the verb as in (c) and have an indefinitequestion word, as in *N&h hdu r&ng keui bind&). Wh~le the d i i n c t h betweenmenth1and d dn@on is clear in principle in the above mnstrudions, in some casm either form of negation in particular with adjeaives and stative verbs: will be +bk,

Ni

thh m h h naarn. this Ct figure mt rorrect Wu figure is not Sight.'

A: A-Mng slng-jd Ilk wo. Ah-Ming rise-PFV grade PRT 'Mng's km pmnwwd. you know.'

B: klh gwaai no

d a

khih

wonder ADV she

em

~s~

la!

sn

hqqq

VRT

'No wonder M s rn pleasedl' YnhnMih Wn finally CL

haih Eih Ejjb,

book

is

you

inh

take-PFV rm wonder

d k ji d n mh d b . ADV k m w find not V-PRT '1 see, you to& the bwk. no wonder I couldn't find it.' riih chFm k+ih means 'not surprising'.

ur Ni

Idiom with ihh: mh gwmi dlik (13w r?~hg~t'm'jidiik'no mdei i s d o n rearing an explanahon:

tluh

sou

m-ngiiam.

A: A-DSk

kahmdahn yhwjwkjd Wh. dnnkdmnk-FIT PRT 'Appa~ntlyDak pldrunk last night.'

this CL figure incorrect T h i s figure & wrong.' N g d ~ gmyaht I tday

Ah-Dak lastmght

MI ahng jwh-@h.

nor wish d-k 1 don't feel like working today.' or Ngdh gamyaM d u n g p u h

w.

I n such mses the difIerenoe in meaning is minimal (with ~ i v verbs, e thc: rwo m y be diiinguished by criterion (6)above.).

132 ADJECTIVAL NEGATION

B:

h

chmt k2ih e. nor surprising PRT 'That's rot surpriang.'

It may also br IERI) rh~~orimlIy, with the firm1 partjdc ml(18,3.1)in place of rk11: H6u cheutkkih mE? ~ r 5uipi5i11g y PRT

That's hardly surprising?

To ne@c an adjective, the prtide &A prwedm the adpctiw:

a m f i ~ h leng. CL shin not nice T h c shirt h n ' t lock nioe.' Gin

Where the adjective is modified, mhuih, the negative form of huih 'be' i s ud:

13.3 VERBAL NEGATION In tlre w e d v c r h tlrc negative marker wed dcpends on the t h e b w h i i the verb p h m refers. Where the verb refers to the present or future. rkh is is:

B:

Gnm-yam ngdh h h gin haak. torlay I nol rn client 'I'm not &ng any dientstoday.' liingyaht ng6hdeih ihh heuiwian. tumorrow w r w t w day 'We're! not e o i r $ out tom-.'

meih f d m Idih would imply that the person is expeded to return whmduhfmri #h wmld MI haw, any such implhrlon:

B: Keuih giim)aM m6uh

Where the drefers to the past, and the funclh of negation is to szate that some event did not -, the &stentit11 negative word m6rak is used ilmxul: Wgdh l(bhmymM m6uh

chgut heui.

I yesterdsy bve-not out 9didn't go out y e s t d y . '

faan

Iaih

rercrrn

m PRT

wo.

'He ham3 heen i n today.'

meih may he reinForced by the adverbs juhrrg W and d m $I@ 'up till @u

nor-yet pay 'We haven't paid the rent yet.' still

we

K h i h gmai y?n psi inh dhng. dhe qu~t smoke quit not succeed We can'l manage to amp wndring.'

@I. rem

Ng6h don @gii hhng meih heui-gm I36iy&hng Gngyiin. I until now ail1 -I e E X P Oocan Pmk 'Even now Istill haven't been to Ocean Park.'

mcfh is a h w d to h

im

q W h , @ally

pet-lecrire and eqmkntial

(17.1.4): A-Diing &n-j6 Bh mew? Ah Dung return FFV m e mt-yet 'Hss Dungcome h k &3)Y

--

Idiom: j u A q m R 'still not' is used rktmhlly to make a fwceful suggesnon: rhh jbu Ah? mt leave PRT 'Why haven't you gone yctT juhng

No such quesricmcan be formed with M . m i h . . .jyuh in !mCemenF and m&

. . .@!I

in imperativesalso meam

'not yet':

ynu mill

faaim heui fast-ish go

m-have

Ng6hdeih juhq melh

I n the caw of verb1 prkh (11.3), the negative marker d ~ h m s e n the verb and the psrticle, with a meaningof inability (12.3.3):

Lei juhng lfih ynu still not

m y

ILW.'

go

Gsm-yaht mduh lohkyjh. not-have f a l l rain

Mi

K h i h meih Ban I b i w. he tlOt-yet return come PRT 'He h m ' t mme bsdc yet.'

anchfng? (did.)

apply

Mmh dm

jyuh.

nol

Y

O

~

w

"It's not ready yet.'

mi

mhdu @ guh. yaldDn'tleaveyel

'Don't go gn"'

Thii urn afM differs syntactidly and semanh~allyfmm m a t jyuh (see 11.2.3). Note also the uw nl rn& in meih chi3 'it's not too late' ITEWlkf h t t b i T k 1 tim6 hl A(r:

'MY not hurry UP a8-d wPyT

phng h@i SHnching ga, ylhg d€iu meih cMh. you still can apply PRT no^. alm not-yet late 'You a n gtin apply, it's not t m law.'

Mi Bnth rnM nnd maih c w q u m d tn Mandarin m

M u in ne@ing yerbs.

They differ in meaningmd grammatical function: maih e~pressesthe s p e d h meaning 'nor ye€':

A Cl&g

IIW &IIEI~ IIII %11g ~ I & - I ~ ~ I - I I A ~ ~ I I ? reqwa a& Tang Mr h-t-here 'b Mr Tang there. p h &

Wih nngynht

gsau @it@ c h m i chlh. m ~ m handill hnmvrk alw na-Kt IMS You can hand in your horn& tomorrow, it'll still be in time.'

4.9~ I

Note that mne of the negative d &, lllduA or meih can m

r

fihjoi 'no more' combines with wfh@hn

preEeding a verb with the perfective marker$. jd i 6the existence of an event (nmally in the papt d 11.2.4) and k imrnpahhle wilh n e g tion, which would entail that such an event did not take place. By conIran, the ey@ential marker gwo (11.25) occurs with both m W 'and me&, i n d i i i n g IhP h k nf an r q t x k n c t or m n c e : N&h

mhh

N@ I

'I'll t

h i - g w o dasihbhk.

I have-not p B P mainland 'I h m n ' t ken to maininland China.' K h i h ylhm8hnj6 p l o r 1 juhng long still miw i rlhe

fsan-gwo

nnfyP1

mtmn-F.XP

'N","zy ~b mji

Hmgkong Both mdrrA a d miI~may bc reinforced by the adverb &hngI&k to mem %ever' when &ing to the past. -1Iy 4 t h rheeaperienrial p w

"

N&h 1

'I%

W. t

I

the present, ~I~uhngIbih is used with the modal verh mh d h (I2.I .I): rkh m w 6 i i jc ~ chin not would lend money

b€i yhhn ge. to people PRT ch>hngf&Fl i s rwl -d *r d d to tlk future: ilubtad, r l l r h ~ Jd6u ~ and wi7mgvhhn d m are used with rirh kh.

yfhhauh

dou rhh w6ih

&erwads mlsa 4 1 never come bsdi.' I

rot

wifl

a n Ihih. mrn cnrne

(film)

h h wdih r~~gri&k1611.mill) also not will forgel you 'In ~ h g e t y o u . '

Ngdh wrhngy~Ihn &u

I

fnrpver

'not only

. . . but alsd i s mmpleted by the w r h l prticle

slhe

not-only help

cMn

flm

me

chnose even

prry V-PRT

I)rh&njiorbiirddan

jfkdjusl..

.' i s d i n t h e s a m e w a y :

yiu mbaih f ~ k tlm. wml huy hl?e too 'They're nor only staying here, they're evm taking about buying a house.' mJ.

. .+rhk

is IWIG

rurrrd:

Ni vdi du* ybhn leng, ylh& mji this CL young-lady ndanly person bewtiful also dng thm. wice meei

'People 11kehim would never lend monq. to anyone.'

pl&

scrrttntxs:

yAhn

Wuihdeih rhh dam ji l h h M i h h , juhng wah they not just only stay here even say

As noted above, the choice nf r n d i m p l i i that the speaker may have the eKperienoe inthe future, while m6lJl bno such implication. Referringto

I

. . .j u A q

kng,

money too 'She not only helped me chome, she even paid hr it,'

marry

d-dhnglbih m i ihk-gwo &h-Sng. ncvc? not yet aat EYP c m k e m p never eaten snake mp.'

K&h m jdng yAhn ~ .the thin kind p m n ever

business

mctoiR (11.33) a n d h the sentencepartirk flm (M.3 5p juhng M d a i h Kkuih mji h g ng6h @an,

'She ham't been kmk to Hmgkong since emigrating.'

Ng6h d-dhngbih m6uh lam-gwn I never no?-have think-EXP I thought about getting married.'

dangyi.

do

& kng bi. (lTad.) hot0 pretty person a b prew some in than lot lxtter too.' the pictures l m k @,the

&ng

Mji

mngg6ng.

jwh

@iWordy'

mjr'not oaly' is used to m h i n e meih

to mean 'never win':

wh&bn Ihh &I tbhng k h i h forever not again with him never do business with him again.'

T h k young lady it not only beautiful. 8he hss a h d y Mice.'

mjfmay be used alone as a mpomtu a statement or question;

eung h6ud-h mmsahp@i appearance seem thirtyShe looks abut I-hn i g.'

A: Khih gn

she

CL

B. Mjl pal not-only 'She must be more than that!'

m

seui g8m. y a m so

256 C a m : a comprehensive grammar

mhdu wah hei @hn Eng wo. people hear PRT

bihdonh jf. with the rhetorical w ofbfndoEak (17.3.4). is qivalerrt to mjl in rhi sense.

(yw) don't my to

rnhufh meaning 'it is not t h e e ' may be used to toan error or Fake

CMh) d i h g8m g h g #h la? (you) don't so talk rhlng PRT 'Don't talk like that.'

(LRih)

'Don't (you) tell anyone.'

impression: Ng6hdeih mhaih f l u h a m

jfnggS

Eih ga.

See further 19.4 on n e e i r n ~ v e s .

wi-be have-heart do-hick ynu PHT

we

'We didn't mean to trick y m '

Mhaih (mgyaht. haih hauh-yaht. nor-be tanmrmw i s afterday 'It's mt tmmmw. it's the day after.'

Note that rnkm'h. unlike the other negative words, can be used with the perfective j 6 N&h mhmi dBl'~-p Mu krlh p. 1 not-be w i t - P N very long PRT 'Ihaven't been waiting very long.'

m h i k is dm the form of n-n

used with quantitied phrases (14.1.1).

Idiorn: m h i k rvlok 'it's not m if i s &n m d i n n h b k n q d v c wnstruction (13.51 and fnllowed by a h r p o clause: Ng6hhdeih m b i h m h m h h chin, kitgwm hmn we rot-be say not-haw money but srlve

di

sC

h6u

bi.

m m d d a-tit

'It's 's as ifwe have no money. but it's better to spend a bit frugdy-' Ng6h mhsih wah HI JOI@ Wuih, htgwa I not-be say mt like hlm howwcr yfhging yhlwj6 Pahm-pZlhnmuh la. I already hsve-l'bT byfriend PRT 'It's nor that 1 don't like him, bur I already have a boyfriend.' np6h

m6UA IS the negative fwm of ydrrh (15.4), and means 'have not' or 'there idare not', m M ( m e the low falling tone) i s the C a n m e pmmnciation of Mandarin lvli 'without'; it overlaps with rrrdlrh a d hence tends, to replace it in formal and written Cant-. dis a h used in a number of phrases and i d i i :

m d w w n h o matter. whether' (16.2.4): Mbuhleuhn chhhng dihng W n , leih df tauhfaat n-rnatter long or short your Ct hsir

dou haih gam leng ge. also is m fine PRT 'Whether it's longor shon, your hair &llImh so good.'

rdwRwaih 'no need' or ho ux': Ng6hdeii mbuhwaih grrm hlan k. we nwrm?ml so frugal PRT 'We have m need to be so -1.'

h M h w a i h la cry also nwmmm PUT 'It's m use crying (over spilt milk).'

Haam

Blhh @uh jahn dh &hagon-dyUn haam Mi Seubqq-lhih. baby have wme time mreamrem cry up be* 'Baker. metima emn orging for or no-.'

13.4 r ~ W and u rf&~h

The words mhm and mdrh serve ro i n d m neganvemmmanbs: rnlaou is the m a 1 4,whrk t d h is d a t i d y dl& and more likely to be rrsed close friends or peers. The subject pmnwn is optiorml:

lunong

.

INDEFINE NEGATION: 'NOT. . ANY'

Indefinite expressiofis meaning 'not . . . aqmdanything', etc., are kmmd with a q-ion word (173) k@her with a negative word guch as hh. d i r k , m i t i or mM#. There are two distinct hrms, with ~li!#~tly dishades of meaning: (a) h k , mduA etc, t d W by the question word:

253 GantwRse: a aorrpeheegrammar Ng6h @m-yam m6uh

heui

Ng6h gam-yaht Yndouh dixl m h h hi. I today anywhere all not-have p 'Ihaven't been mywhere today.' 'Ihc s h w t u r c (n) is lcse cmphntio man (b) w h i i might be mnslnted 'any . . . al all'. This dihference:in force k brought out hy the fnlknuing two wntexs:

Ng6h em-yaht m h h heui I tday not-have gw

bindoah. jihnghaih hiahng walk anywhere merely

hbh giSngyin je.. a-while p r k PRT 7 haven't been anywhm (much) m y , I just went for a walk in the

prk.' heui. jihnghaih Ng6h g;bn-yaht k d m h dCm m6uh merely I today a n m r e all not-have go chdh hB ukWi je. sit at home PRT '1 haven't k e n w h e r e (at all) today. I just sat around at home.' Note thm bind&

d m m6uh I- i s inmmpstlbk with jihrrghmh h&n$

g%~un P

nnmr;ls~n M h s

fnr nther qu&m b h a r merning -mything' and dtm yPung 'how': A rlmllnr

Note that i f the indefinite phrase i s the subject of the sentence. only the W u wmtrucnrm (h) may he

hndcmh.

I today not-have go anywhere T haven't been anywhere today.' (ti)the q d m word hllowed by the quantifier dm (w14.1.1). both mming before the verb regardless d rhe grammatlwl futlctlor~d Ik q d o n wnrd (m8.2.3):

wnrds. such as ~ W f ~ 6 h

g&mg mity6h ah-. not-have my what PRT 4 didnr my arrything(much).'

1

1I

Gem-pht b-ngo d m m6uh & Eh. tnhy who all nothave emtact you 'Nohody has contacted you d a y . ' I n the akmarive srruculre. undoglod .rw 'wh?':

PS

in (a) above. brrrgc would have to be

FBmyaht hngo m6uh wAn Kih a? who not-have wntact you PRT

roday

'Whu didti1 w~ilm you d a y ? '

I

I I

I

I

Mmkh. . .mtWy6h) with a noun means 'hardly any' or 'mimuch':

mS$h Ng5h b?mg thh d& I help not PRT m y

du. daahnhaih hand but

hfyh $i-hah. can hy-DEL 'I can't be d much help, but I'll give it a hy.' Khihdeih dou yih@ h m h h d n d6u they until now also nd-have find V-PHT m w h jinggeui. wbat evidence They still hawn't found much in the way of evidence.' Similarly. m&h mEi dlm is an adverbid p h s e meaning 'hardly':

U i h m6uh

m i t dim tin wo! mt-have what how change PRT 'You*ve hardly chnged at dl!'

yw

(a) Ng6h m h h

I

@g r n m )dk~ mduh what all not-have say rhdnr say anything [at all).'

@) @ ; I

'I

mean 'mt ak.

a

PRT

i dim h ykmg chaamu ge. they not will how manner interfere PRT 'They won't interfere in any way.'

. .anyway' or 'm matter what': m

,

u

I

I

tag

n&ll

how all not willing hskn me *Hewon't Iisren w me. m matter what.'

(a) KhiMeib h h ~

(bj Khihdeih dfm yhng don Ihh wdlh c h a m g ~ . they how manner all nol w ~ l l interfere PRT There's rm way they'll interfere.'

,

13.5

&ll&

talk

DOUBLE NEGATIVES

A b r e of negatiun In Chinese is the us%d d w b l e negatk!., typically to make a p n t in an indirect or suhtle way. The meaning is m that of

douMe m e g a h in mm-srandard English, as in Cmkraey English I dunno

14 QUANTIFICATION

mhmg meaning '1 don't know anything', b ~the t logiFal w m ~ n whereby g the tw nephves make a (qualified) positive statement: N g d ~ mhsih &g heui. I m-k m-wan1 go 'It's nM that I don't wart to go.' A: Clp daahnpu

lkl sihk-hhnhsihk &k saai a? U cake p u eat-nofesf able all PRT 'Cam y m eal the whde cake?'

B. Ml-I,

,,&I,

not-be mt-have -Me PRT 'I wwkln'r say it's impossible.' Sirmlarty. the existential negative m6uh M o w e d by a negated verb g the meaning Aall'or 'every': R G u h ftlkm6uh rhh sfA

no

pmt

f911 parents

"ot

jih@

love self

i

gc jbi-hi p. POSS children PRT

Imp their children.'

M&h yhhn hh gA d7 $hngOngno one not want rarse more A t salary 'Eveayne wane a pay r k . ' DouMe negahves are widely used in modal oonshuEtions. for example to express obligation: mh h i mh d& e. I nM go not okay PRT 'I absolutely have t o go: N@I

~ e i h mh h4ylh h h t a g keuih gdng ga. you nc4 can not l i e n him speak PRT 'You ham m listen to him '

~

~

Quantifntion con~emsterns such m aU, meqwme. mryfiing and s m t e w M , which do nc4 refer to specific d$e& bur define c l a w s of objects. Quanfifiers in h g u a a generally have a syntax which is dishnct fmm that of ofher of speech, and C a m is no exceptirm here. The express~cmof quantihcation in Cantcmse d i e m substantially From Engliish There are n o wmds corrrspondinp, stra~@lfowardlyt o 'everything' w 'something'. fur example. and each o t h types d yuamificwioncalls for a d h n t srmcrure. To express unkerull q u a n t i h t i o n ('alllwegvtany') a quantifying expewon is used in conjunction with d& before the verb (14.1.1). T h e are astinct -&om comsporading approximately to the meanings ' dl'. 'eacNevery* d'my': h o h l c s g dih e u n g jdu. (14.1.2) 1111 wmt k m e 'Al the students want to go.'

Go-go

C L d student

Mm yaht &I haih @. (14.lA) each day a h is so 41's like this e m d a y . '

h o h k s h g aKm sik hem &kyii@n. which student all know go library 'Any s t d e n t kthe way to the lihraq.'

(14.1.5)

l o express exldenhal qumt~hmbcm(+some. none'), me existentiat verb ydrrk and its negative counterpart d u k are used (malso ch. 15):

Ydoh di *h misrk h h d h @ (142) have U thmg explain rot W-FRT PRT "Some t h m cannot ~ be explained.' h @hn b o q - w h . not-have person help-me-hand -PJaone is helping me.' W

(14.3)

Cornparkom w i n g quantififfs ('more' and 'W: 14.4) follow the mme pattern as comparison of ad+ves e.3).

--

14.1 UNIVERSAL QUANTIFICATION: 'ALL', 'EVERY' AND "EACH'

A wrietyofmeans are w d to exuniversal quantification. ing to English QII~my and pach. Quantifimhon in C h i n e ~ is d l m d in Lcc (19%). o throrctimt study of Modorin Hfin which Is largely applicsMe to Cantorwse dm. (Notethat Gnmnese ddu, bwever, may have the ~ n i n - ga W . cmmpnding to Mandarin yP. w z 103.2.)

Quantificatan 263 Similarly. y e s t i o m invdvmg quantifiers are formed with lun7mRaih (17.15) sather than a rlrnple A-not-A questim: Haihmhaih c h &ng Jauslk h=-not-he CGCL. all w& rrst 'Dws evqonc want a hreaW (nor T w g o d m s & r g d u n g -us11 a?)

a? PRT

Wh-mhaih 14.1 -1 SYNTAX OF

The adverb &,appearing immediately before the verb. is wed in neady an h s of universal quantiiicarirm, i.e. in expressing the meaninp 'a11'. heq' and 'each'. The mims mnshuctions w ~ l hddu have a similar sptax; in particular. quantified objects wrh d6u p r e d the verb (4.1, 8-2.3). W l e dbu imrneditely p o e d e s the verb. the qtiantified p h x may come in dther of hw positions:

In) betwen the wbjeFt and Ld: K ~ l h Ihril'S c h jtui ge. srhe CtU girl all pursue PRT 'He chases all the RirtS.' (b) preceding the subject. a s sentence tnpic: G a g I h i f i i k h i d6u jcui ge. CLCL pirl dk all pursue PRT 'He ham all the girk.' W h m b a h an auxiiiaty and a m m verb are m n t ,the quplnntifd p h m a d &u typically pecede the auxilraty N@h rnd h yiu jih&i mmgaih. 1 what all reed self buy 'I have to b!iy mrything mysplb' Ktuih jpk-jpk SBubm d6u d u n g maaih. she CLCL watch all wan1 h y 'He wanb to buy all the w a t k ' The negative word w e d in sentetms mth dm i s mlmik. which immediately plBCedes t k q u a n t i k l phrase: Mhaih go* d6u gam &khsahn p. nor-k CLCL all LO free PRT 'Notevet3pone has se much frre m e . (nor *Go-go &% mhaih gam dakhiahn) I h i I ~ l ~ d~ndrniln ~h Linngfi CLJ a 1 w. university nor-be who all accept PRT T h e univenity doesn't jmt m p t myone.'

douhaouh dOu y8t-yeuhng ga? Wt-be t h e t h e r e all OnPgame PRT '1s it the same everywhere?' ddu is also wed in the expresm MuRng L

U ] dGu"both"and slm~tBrlywWll

other numben:

LRuhng ga

dOu leng.

two CL. all niae "They're both n W KeuiMmil s-m

go W k u i . they thnx CL all go 'All three of ahem are going'

.

I d i h x haih . . & may express the meaniq 'way' or 'any' in colloquial v:

d h ji ga 11. people all kmnv PRT PRT

Haih film

k

'Eyeryme knows thm.' Haih y+hn

d6u wiiih ~ h n g d i i h q Wh ge. people all will sympathii you PRT "Anyone would syrnpthiee w ~ t hyou.

is

sPkng ?he wimle' is optionally accompanied by &u andlor the quantifyinp, verbal particle & (1 1.3.3): sehnp, gn

whole 'The &whole:

CL

gei

(h) Mau saai.

plane (all) plane is M I .'

full

V-PRT

Note that the presenceof d m requires an objea with &ng the verb. while m'alone does not:

to come heFore

~ ~ h d e i&hng h gaan uk d m chaak sad. we whde CL hwse all d e m l i i V-PRT

'We're k d n g the whole hcme down.'

--

N@h&ih

chaak

e h n g @an Ok. we drmdish V-MTT w h l e CL houm We're kraacking the w b l e house down.' Phrasa with &g

saai

may k used e d d y :

Keuih khrtg gu hrthjm j a u d i h hsahngpng+i. slhe whole CL afternoon around walkdore ' S k went arcund s b ~ p i n agll 3ftemmn.' Idiomatically, sPhng has the emphatic meaning 'all of: K h i h k h n g %?lawahps 4 dm% meih @-fin & whole t h i i years, ako not-yti rnarry 'She's an of thirty and d l 1 IWX mrned.' Ghng h h k dim jiing dOu meih N@h go ldtii CL daughter yrlwle six o'clock dm not-yet my finn nkkFi. return hnmc 'It was all of six o'clock and my daughter stin wasn't home.' Gl~ngvaht-always' i s an adverb which may oprion;llly be: reinforced by &u:

K h i h dhngyrrht (dm) chih dav Jhe

always

(all)

w-

late arrive PRT

We's always late.' Note that sPhngyhr is raed hyperbuliwlly, m Ihc nbwt- anmpk, and should n M be taken to mean iiterally 'every time*. c f i y h b o u h . . . dm 'the whole lot' is a mlloquial quantifier phd W;UI JGUU&I t l k q u b ~ i f ~particle l ~ l ~aaai (11.3.3):

fdb~rc6 ~ h r r - l m h n ~ m I musually g. reduced to Imkmba'Iaohng. b. used cdlquially to m a n 'atr or 'cwnpletely': Hahmhlaahng (dm) haih 11Bh p cho. completely (all) is your PRT fault 'It's all your fault.' Note that ddu can be omitted here, or replxed by the verbal parhcle m (11.3.3): DF yhhn hahmba'laahng CL people m p l e t e l y T h q y t e all gone.'

jhi

saai. leave Pl?T

di ch*hnbouh (&I) this U whnle-lot (all) 'All this m f f is Japanex.'

Ni

haih YahtWn fn Whga. is Japn goods PRT

Ng6h chflhnbouh (dm) yiu uai. I whulcckrl (nll) want all 9 want it all.' Idiom: IUrn

. . . dou 'even'

emphasizes a noun p h m or pmnoun:

h i Yih &u rhh M m h nMh. even p u a h nc4 give face me 'Not even yw lPsPfft me.'

Uhn jeujeui

d h o h k a n g d6u t1h3r that CL student alre not

@

li%

even mosl smart

daap. k m amwer 'Even the brightd studenf?:didnt know t k answer.' sik

sf c forher ~ sentence l y p s with ddu, objcms modified by IihnmlMprmxktheyerb: Nnte that

N&h guih dou fihn faah &u dhk rhh lohk. I tired unhl men food also eat not d m m 'Ihso tired 1 can't even eat+

'evetyone (here)" i s used espacially in plblrc contexts. addre* ing or referring to everynm present: Yuhgwd daaihg mnngyt if evelyorae a p ~ e e

ge

wah, nmhderh

the

fase

we

~auh then

kyutdihng gdm jouh. do

decide

so

If eve-

agree%well

deEide to do it this way.'

W j c h &&a &nu-deng. (radlo anmncemenr) thank everyme receirne-hear Thank you fm listening'

$ok wrii, Ilsinp, the polite classifier lvlri (6.2.4), i s a formal term to address everyone ptffent: F w h n g pbk wAi. w e i m e we^^ 'Ladies and pntlemen. w e l m e . '

E6 Centcnese: a mprshensive gammar 14.15 REWPUCATED QUANTIFIERS

A dasifier (6.2) may be reduplicated to express qummhcahon, with dm mming Mgre the verb as discllssed in 14.1.1. The noun K, which the dmifier refersmay beomitted where the context m k s in identiw dmr:

Go-go

(yhhn) dCiu &wng yiu d0 d rnhhnfi. CLCL ( p m n ) all want need more m e demorrncy ' E ~ e q m ewants a bit more demnrracy.' Mhaih jekkjek (WN) dGu Sng p. not-be CLCL (&share) dl rise PRT Wor all sham go up In prlct.'

Haih-mhaih yeuhngyeuhng aLrv &u sihk @? (at meal) all g c d eat FRT 'Is everythinp,good?'

(w

1 ~ ~ 1 - k

N d e -ally douh-d& dou 'ewqwhere' (do& being d as the clasdher for o r i n s mrch as Whfang'plxe'): his T ~

di

dnuh4ouh dm y6uh p lahave PRT PRT o find u these pmple everywhere.' yahn

CL pcoplc thcrcthere all

In a d d i h to classifiers. certain m m o n nouns have reduplimted fm, such as yRRn-@Im &M 'everyorae': Mhr~@hn

dtiu yiiggdr b6uwuh whhnging. slrould pmtfft environment 'Everyone should ptutect the envimnment.' person-person all

euh

Ng6h&ih Si-gwe (WJ rig@. we W E X P whatem have (LV e v j d e m 'Wr've a m all the evidence t h m is.' Ng6h daai mal s6 y h h (ge) jiIfu Wih. I bring all whatever have (Lq material rn 1 1 1 bri~~g all the m~uttrialswith m.'

Time dare reduplited to form adverbs with habitual meaning: $Lru haih g4m time-t~me all i s bo 'Ir'q l i k ~thiq p ~ p r y limp '

Chkhi

s. PRT

Llhn-Mm (chi) flub ni go mhntsih. Farye;lr (all) have this CL diem 'This pmblem arises every year.' K€uih yaht-gaM hetii yhuh&ui. she day-day gv wimmt~ ' S h e w swimmmg every day.' In cumpound m n s such asftsnmg 'minute' and mfuhjung Jemnd'.

. . . fhere are', and is wed in relatively fwmal m w n t e x t s as an emphatic ball'. If the: quantified phrase comes beFore the verb (as the ~ubjector topicalized object), i t must be m p a m e d by ddu: $6 flub (E) fihnmih d h tiihngyi. whatever have colleague all agree 'All our d h g u e s agree.' Ng6h s6 fluh (gc) fliu d h dasi sasi Ihih. I whatever have (LP) material all bring at1 m e Tll bring all the materials with me.' 56 y h h (ge) j~liu d w yiu daal saai bin. whatewr have (LP) material all d brlng all m e 'We need to brinp, all the materials with m.' If the quantified phrase is the object of the sentence, it may remain in its usual position after the verb, which msy take the guantifyine;w i d e swui 'Ibis phrase l i l l y mesns 'whatever

K€uih tou-lou (hei) aLru wuh mh6u @. (film critic) ma (film) all say n a - p d see PRT 'He pays every film is not wwth seeing.'

Ni

the firsl syllable is reduplicated, givinp, f i i m j n n g 'my mnment' and mluh-mfuh-jhg hny second': Fan-fin-lung &31Mdhhnp, bfi chaail6uh jnk d6u. mmuteminun all m n by q m catch V-PRT '(Tuu) mukl k caught by Mc cop a t any moment.' En-Wwjimg mi-yiu H h . (titk of a sonpJ minu*minute need ya~ 'I need you e v e q moment of the day.'

cmb

The w w d d i h 'mch' fiiractions like br-n relevant dasiiier and a m p a n i e d by d& Mulh go h o h m a n g yu each CL m d e n t all n e y 'Each student has to pay tuition fees.

'which', h i n g fdlawed by the I d w e the:verb: @au h o h k h . pay tuition

oxmmak269

b i w and m@h are used similarly wirh n w n s to m n 'any7:

Lkih mhih gmg &an

you

each CL

c h yiti dn-m. fom all nccd sign

dm h6yih *g p. you which cdleague a11 can i d PRT 'You can mnwte any d your dagues.' Leih mnpo tirhngsli

'You have to sign every form.' mfih m b i m with time exprasions to form adverbs of frequency such as mrirh yahr 'eachlevery day' (10.3.41. d h cht "evetyrime' s e w us a conjunctinn to mean %herever'. often W t h e r with the verbal particle ckn (1 1.3.4):

.~

NgM rnvb s i l k g. I what frph all eat PRT 4 eat any kind d M.'

(chin) nr Ng6hdeih mdih chi lsih gaan j5ul3tuh every time wme (PRV this CL restaurant we

The questbn words may have the indefinite meaninp, -any"in a n u m h of

mu h8i

(a) f o l l d by dm. m abme:

gddwh ch6h ge.

all at there sit PRT 'We sit there whenever we come to H i restatirant.'

Khih m w h

baatpw *h dFu yAuh-h~n@mi ge. stuff all have-interesr PRT 'He's interated in any kmd of p-mip.'

slht-

14d5 'ANY' The quantifier 'any' difkfersfmm 'acw and 'every' in tmplylng an elemenr o f c k : the sentence is tnw whichever ywi chocse. Ttns Ree clmice 'my' is clwely related to the megalive p o k i l y 'any', which o ~ r u r sin negative mtenoes (w13.4). the t w o t y p being expressed by similar means in hoth E n g l i i a d Cantcmse. Cantexpresses t h u oonoept using the appropriate question wmd hllnwed by dm:

bingo &u who all 'anpe'

what all 'anyrhing'

h*lh where

@isih dtiu when all

dm all

'allywhcre'

bin [a] dW which all kny'

mB*h

&

(Wng) how (manner) 'any way'

Bindovh n@h dUu hdym heui mywhere 1 all m m p 'I can go anywhere 1 like.'

gossip.

(b) in regatbe mlexts (13.4);

N@h d u h gbng m w h ak. I not-have say wbat FRT 'I hsvcn't said anyth~ng' (c) in condioral sentences (163):

Y f i h p 6 flub mbty5k mahnthih, E i h jikhlak wAn ,,gdtw. if h m e my problem you atonce seek me PRT 'Let me know W i g h t away ~fthere's any problem.' Lkih e m y a h t y l u h d t i h gin p u today have-not-have we

dliu

a11

Like d h e r &u-ph(14.1.1). these phrmes must precede the verb, whethcr thcy lurpction a s subjem or o w :

Ng6h bindouh c h Myii heui. 1 where all can go 'I mn go anywhere I like.'

whnL

Id) in A-rat-A questirms (17-1.2):

*any tim '

dfm

mntexls:

rnFiq&

what "Havep

chi

PRT

sSang h - y i h n a? onfarnilisrqmsm PRT i m n any stmngen today?

G h d e i h fongga

dih-fmh-wGih heui bindouh a7 go &re PRT 'Will yw be going anywhere in p u r vacation7 ym-PT.

t n k p - l ~ m will-tmt-will

Several a h e m a t k terms meaning any- exisr:

ydmh6h k a 1term for 'any'. As with other quanmkm, d6u is required when the , m m M p h m comes Wore the main verb: Yuhrnhbh flr w yhhn dou h q h sancnmg. any ore CL p e ~ o nall can apply 'Anyore may apply.'

Yahmh*

Yhh

'Ey

hare

nhng€i dtiu finghng. age all w l c m e age i s w e b e . '

y&h

mhaih

(CL.3 thing rwt

g&

t6h.

quite r i g 1

"Something's nnt qulte right.'

The adverbs sihdaahn 'at random' and ~ h b f '85 n y m please' are cdlquial alkrnatives to ~xpressthe choice 'any'. As adverbs, thqy m e &fore the verb: U i h sihdaahn 16 yfit go dUu minlh s6waih. you at-random take one CL all nor-have importance 'You can take any me, i t makes no difference.' Eih & i @an yat gihn. you as-you-please h a we CL ' C h o c ~any one you like-'

(m

(1.eferriq to clothing)

Simrlady, cMuiis111'at any h e ' : I i i h rhhlihdh PI Aiu dlk. you any-time leave all okay 'You can kave any time you like.' dlm & 'anyway' lypblly expresses resigmtiun or determination: Ng6hdeii dim d m yiu ylhdhn. wc how all reed migwte 'We have: m emigrate whatever happens.' KCuih dim t3%1 rRh hang k m g ng6h. dhe how all not willing help me 'She doesn't want to help me anywsy.' U i 1 1 Mi k&uiln kit jvdpk, EuJr dim d611 jni. you allow h i do leadstar she how an awgrt 'If yw give him the lead rde he'll agree to anything.'

ylrtfh mmhines with time and place wnrds te produoe indefinite adverb%

ylruh

m)A ' k m e s '

Y4uh (jahn) sih ng6hdeih l h h g giingpb dou d i h have (CL) time we rwo couple ailt will

aamau ge. PRT ?Eedmeamesw (as a mple~ mil argue: yduh dideilfdng or y6uh gP7 dmh (deih@igJ m

An alternative form of inMnite quantifimtion is a quewion wvrd faowing an expression d possibiliry s w h as h d d 3 r : '

Mi bindonh g i q w o Yih. seem at where see-EX?' you 'I seein to have sen p u mewhere before.' Hduchih

rAA~Wh&uh 'I rkm't knuw where' m y alw expres?an IndeRnheW i n !

Mhigwck Amrica

rlrh @ mdouh y h h nM know where have

@an gim C L such

ge

hohkhaauh. LP ~ h m l 'Sornewhsn in A&

there*^ 3 school like rhm:

Similady. rhh ji gPirlh 'I don't know when' might be wed to express 'mnerime':

Ni thrs

14.2 EXl$TENnAL QUANTIFICATION: 'SOME'

e places':

d e i h h g rlrh bti )9l\n sihk ym @. have some place not let people eat smoke PRT 'In some p l m they don? kt yw smoke.'

'IlM Bi

tluh tsihmuhk n@hc!eih CL t m we

h h ji nM know when

gh@. talk-EXP

'We've ~ w W thk tcqic Mynetime hie.'

1421 INDEFINITE 'SOME' Jndefmite or exiwentiat quanhfication ('some') is expresd by the exIwential word jiuh (we dr. IS):

Y h h (Bi) yhhn pk&k ni tou h& hbu dhi-tdi. have (CL) pwplc IGCI ~llaC L 5 1 ~w a~y ~ ~ertlk* 'Snme people feel tKis film is well urrrth seeing.' (i-e. yw get your money's wnTh)

1 4 2 2 NEGATIVE N"ONE.

NO ONE N W I N G "

Negative quantifiers are h e d with rhe reprive existential word dd~ (15.4): nduh ylllm 'm one' 8nd Muhy& 'nothing':

M6uh @hn mlhng(imnkk) ltih mat. nc4-have pmon understad you my what 'Nu cme udeelands what y w k talking abour.'

The~maybedified,forexample:h6udd'ald',gm&'somny/much', ~ "dddi 'quite a lm', kdu 5fu %my IMe', grrm 8iu "so little'. & and dm function as 'more' and 'less' respedhely in mmparatlve wnteKfs (14.4).

Ng4hdeih m h h @ I m h h - j y h Wh. we wt-haw thing hideCONT you 'We have &g to hide Tmm you.'

These d n s may be qualified by the addition d mar, W dB, gldng the: meaning 'hardly any':

h w @i

I d h z : h i h gnm & ?hot's nll' m m d in w i n g , dinmg and other xrvioe situations:

Gam-yaht mlluh M t yshn k n gihg. today not-have any pm-m return work 'Hardly myme is going to work today.'

A: Juhng s s i - d i

M6uh mty&hsyij g6ng Gwhgdiing-wt g~ y6hLat. not-have any bwk talk Cantonese L l ' grammar ghere are hardiy any hodca about Cantomme grammar.?

R: M d i la, haih gam do p lwk. nc-need PRT is LO much PRT PRT 'No thanks. thatll l x all.'

h46uh

gi

dU

sihpan jhng

not-have how much time "There isn't m h time I&.' m d d with

hl6uh

la.

remain PRT

the numeral 9 "one' represents a memphatjc denial: go

h h h i hi gam W n p. styrid PRT

no one. CL like you so 'There'sno me as stupid as yw.' Yat lap &I W h . one CL mrtd also not-have T h d s not even a sound.'

h u h @i fl dl yuhsg dtiu m6uh. this CL mmachine one bit use alm &-have 'This mafhine Is rm use at all.'

Ni

mduh is m d i l y llSBd in b b l e negarives (13.51, meaning 'wmy':

M6uh k h m n ihh &~ngy8uh gu leng hhpbh. not-have man not wish have CL pretty wife 'Evety man wants to have a beatltiful wife.'

14.3

giu h a? needw-need order thinp PRT 'Do yw need to mder anything else?'

still

daaih M 'plenty' is a collquial quantifier: h i h M @hn y6uh hingcheui big b u d people have-interest "nty of people are int-ed.'

(wnv.)

N@h yh*g daaih ba y€h puh. I already big bunch things do 'I a l m d y hme pknty of work to do.' msfu 'not rile' is often used U, mean 'quite a fewPY or 'quite a bit?

Jeui gahn mdu yhhn Mrsching yahp w6i. d m c n t nul-fnu popk lrpply enter miety "Quite a lot of m e have applied lo f i n lk saciery recently.' m h g n p i - n g CIng* d u g la. flat-price already rift-PFV nnt-lmle PRT PRT The price ofAats has gone up quite a bit.' I&m: md.3 mdu. l i i l l y hot a lot but not a l i k offen oonveys

m: A:

RELATIVEQUANTITIES: MUCfllMANY, LTmEIFEW

~m

yamngohK a-f knwngf-know musk PRT 'Do yw know about music?' six-rh~x

you

As there is no systematic didimction between munt and maps nwm in Cnntonese, do may mean either 'many' or 'much" and afu Lfew' or Tile':

di3 @hn 'many people' dBy&lr'a lor d S u f F siu yhhn Yew/nol many people' siu chin Sitlletiw+ much m m q '

p. PRT

B: Mdn k u d m sik ndmuch not-link! all I;=

'A r e - '

d

m n - h uhm a Gmilar meaning.

di

a.

some PRT

-

274 C

a

m a wrrprehwlsivegrammar

The quantifiers d6 and dulmsh may be used as predimtes, like adpctiws: Cdbihn

@hn

juhng

a.

that-way pmpk even more There are even more people over there.'

H6ucMh k h i h like him

gain

simahn p

so

gentle

lhih

yuM

yhhn

LF people more and

yuht du. more link 'People as genteel as him are getting fewer and fewer. Waih buy

%.

ge @hn d6u tnsh~ w. insurance LP people alm mt-few PRT are quite a few ppeople buying imrance.'

Muhim

When u d pedipredicatively m this way, & and sfu may take the perfeEtive e j 6 :

BGn G h g y 3 h n h dPj6 yat @a. bcal HK population m&PW m e part The poplatinn of Hongkmg has grown by IWI per cent.' Dim @ai du-j6 gain d o @? how come less-PW LO mvch FRT 'Why is there so mu& lm?'

Ldih fkii siu-siu jauh l e p f i l ch. you fst l i & l i i then pretty very much 'You're mwh prettier w k n you're a bit fatter.' The excessive mnstn~ctions with m!.g~Whrh and diikjah (see9.3.4) may tsnui with &ar.d du: Ng5h him Yih taai di5 la1 (film) I owe you too much PRT 'I owe toe much to yw.' Leih y h jAu y m d$k yw drink winr dri~~kADV 'You drink a hit m much.'

gwthh. ~ l l n ~ lm t

d1

rlhmbsn tbhng fi dF+kj;lm CL dessert supar much a-bit I)i

'The supar in the dffswI is a bit much.' little. too few" k &en e q u h l e n r RI 'nu# m w c :

roor stit

Leih silk taai

sit1 e h la. eat too litlie stuff PRT You're m t eating emrugh.'

;you

Taai sfu

y3hn

g w l m m Nuih.

tew people care nmum 'Not enough pwple care for her.'

too

d&jd and sIwjd h a w the idiomatk meaninp 'exha' and 'missing'

respcctidy:

14.4 COMPARING QUANTITIES

G3m chi (yat) go $hn. this time more-PFv ( wlCL vaxm 'Ikre'5one extra person this time.' GSm chi

The words db 'muchimany- and s* little(rew' also mean 'more' and 4es' respectively when mmhined urth m p r a t i v e mnshuctionssuch as those with gwo and M (9.3):

(flt) go y3hn. thk time 1-PFV (one) CL p e ~ n There7s one person missing this time.' W6ri

d

sWj6

nr the rpchiplimted fnrm sh-firr m adjzdives:

little'

%i

mu d

N@ mdverbialIy with

I

sihk &k

&

ear ADV -1 em more than you do.'

grso Yih. than y w

K h i h Gwbn+ylih~g-d jeunbouh-j6 siusiu. dhe Gntonese improw-PFV little-lime 'His Cantonese has i m p w e d a little.'

Ngdh jaahn &k dh grso nng6h I cam ADV less than my 'I eam lem than my wife do^ '

M&i g3m fl11gj6 US g d d &W

N@h h n d a M ylchihn I sleep ADV than before 4 deep more than I wed to.'

s*u. little: She US ddlar has gone up a little.'

Ib-.

wire

a. more

Where the *ect of mprison is omilted, & i s wed (9.3). As wth adjedives (9.3.I), such m p a r i m s may he modified by luh & much, a lot', &'a lirtle. and its r e d u p l i t e d form di&or dir-du 'a wee bit':

Muihdeih funp, yiu dm3 di sihgaan. want d mwc a - l i tirllc They'd like a little more hme:

Chi. g m mmr than

thcy

YlhgA 116;

Htull&m~g

8.z

Hongkong

that minland

in

dnnihluhk yAhn w l e

sahp g%n Jiingpmk pingsi tcn CL L n c s c mmpany

19ih

wmc

Heungghg !kuhng-sh. Hongkong p u p m a r k e t 'Over ten Chinese companies are to be l i d on fhe Hongkong stod;

Ngdh l i h m i n jaahn du di chin. 1 mther earn less a-bit m m y T d rather make less money .' now

M;laih Srt che yiu rhiu p o sahp m a s h rnm. buy new mr need more than ten ten-thousand dollar 'To buy a new cm ow& wer $10n.W.'

exchange.'

yuht &!I yuhf *mom a d morc' m y hc usod with da a d du, ac with adjectives (9.3.1):

bel than

yihchihn di5 W ql$, More more very much The mainland ppople in Hongkong are many mow than they used to

G G n e jaahn g chin yuht lsjh yuht slu. company earn that money mwxome-more: lesg 'The m p n y IS making less and less money.'

be.'

YuM lhih yuhr d6 hohksaonp duhk dnmhhnhk. morr-rome-more mamy shident study u n r d y 'Mwe and more shidents are going to univffsiy.'

K h i h ni p a i h si @,h & dd8 BU hb d6. sfhe these days write thirg write ADV less bery mwh 'He writes a lot less n n w a d a ~ . '

do and siu also take on their wmprative meanings hnre' and 'less' when fomclwed by a quantity expmxiion: Um-jyuh jni jyuh W siam pM. we think-CONT s p i n I17e w e three day L W ~ 'thinking 4 of staying three more days.' N@&h

K h i h yih@ fahn gong jaahn dij darn ~ i dhe now CL. inb earn m three time 'Her job p w three times as much now.'

s* sahp Tan g6 give IH ten fib.& Ihnt 7 gme ten marks 1- to that student.' Ng6h Ei

go

1

CL. student

h

hohksang.

& $wo and sfu pmay m p a r e two c l a w s B h jOngyr chin & p o jungyi ng6h. (fflm) I Lnnw yw like money more than like me 'I know yori lovc money mwe than p u l w e me.' N@h jT

chiu gwo 'more than' is used with figuws. being more: formal than d8 pv: Jek @u aqung chiu gwo @om p h t . CL dog missing more than three d a ~ 'The dog was missinp, for more than three days.'

h i m h h k fdi~,, brp part' mn&n r7ra.w af [noun) K&ih s6

$i

$h

daaih bwhfahn haih j8n

write CL sruff l a v C L pan is

true

ge.

PRT

'Mm of what he w i i l e s is true.' Daaih b w h fahn yhhn dCa wCih lsuh hSi HEunmng. large CL part ~ l all c w i h y ot Hongkong 'Mnst people are staying m Hongkong.' N d e a h the related phrase sfu h u h fahn 'a small portion' and p7t bouh f f l h Wrt of. swne of'.

6-most' nr -mostif is wed as an adjenive crr adverb. lo quantify people. thing or events: Dosw yhhn

sy+ga heui l€uikhfihnp,. people s u m m e r - h d i v go travel 'Most people p travelling in the summer hdidnys.'

most

YBhndeih

yuhng ni jek phih-ji. mostly use this CL brand g e p e o p l e ube this brand.' dMm

siimu is the o p p i t e of d m u . m n i n g ' f e w

278 Cantonese: a m-wmhwrsive grammar

Jwuh

&mu $hn j a a d h n g g6m y&ng jmh. only-have few peopk a p p e this way d o Qnly a few peopk apprme of this way of doing things.'

15 EXISTENTIAL SENTENCES

Yiuh sitmu hohksaang hew sihwai. hove fcw mdcnt go dcmonstmtc There are a few srvdenn who dernomrmte.'

Nore the i d i ~ l l l t i cex+n: Silaou

few

fuhkchhhng d m . obq. -nY

'Minority obep rnajo+.'

Unlike d h u , however, s i w u is nM uged as an adverb.

Exrstpnhal sentences, mtroduoed by t k w v d @I&, are imp(lrtant to idiomatic Cantonese. yduh essentially means 'have' nr There i d k t r are" tut often does mfcorrespond to anything in English. Fnr example, rn many cases ylrsrh is q u i d to introduce an i d f i n i t e noun phrase as the I;ubjen d a sentence, due to the m l r a i n t fiat subshould k clefinire (we 4.2.5. 15.5). The negahve counterpart JWI 'there isn'thhere aren't' behaves in a parallel fashwon: essential8y all thase stnmres which omrr wirh yiuh also occur wilh mciuh (15.4). The mrresporading A-m4-A q t e tim f m , yhubnadu4. is used to form existential questions (17.1.5).

15.1

YAUH + NOUN

yduh transla& either as *haw' or m "there Mm'. There is rm clear d i s t i h o n benveen the ' m e ' and 'existential' fuimiomof yinrk, and senterms such as the mowing hme a similar slructure: KPuihdeih yiuh saarn go jC. ( m s i v e ) they have three CI. son 'They have three sons.'

NT

go

this

CL place

deihfrmg $uh rnahn~ih. (oristentian have proMem There's sanething wrong with this place.' As a verb. y6uh can take the a s m markers gwo and jd. (but nm g h or nwh)and verbal particles such as f#n ( 113.1):

Ng6kdeih hohkhaauh chhhngJbih meih $ohgm rhod never not-yet have-EXP so

our

1Ek ge hhohksHan& m n LP studen1 Y)ur schml has never had such a bnghr student.'

KCoih +hj6

h&l

dhe

ni p k h n g have-PFV this CL dim= 'She's had this disease for a longtime.'

vegv long

loih.

kuh mduh mllhnthih gc la yw hawe back confidence then not-have problem PRT PRT 'Wbm you get p u r d e w back there1 tre n o problem." Lt3h y4uh lsan xundrn

Y

1!dims: ydvk-j6 (bihhi, with the pxfective marker$. mllcquially meam 70be pregnant':

MMv fing

Wi fihn(deih) Cng ng6h yiuh-j6 wo. don'l s p a k to people hear I 11aw-PFV PRT 'Don't tell a q m e I'm pregnam, okayqv?'

ybcth fdaA gum s e u h g hd i d i o m h l l y b b e s a recument or typical quality (me:the charqe tone in huh to Id)'

Lh d h

ki dbu haih y4uh

di

gunp

V-PRT award thmc CL film all are have

get

ffin

gam xuhng hfi

V-PRT

So

p.

dam PRT

T h e films that get rrwardF are all of a certain standard.'

~

U

~+ VERB I H

y h h and rnduh are used before a verb primatlly in questions and negative statements referringto the past (l3.3,17.1.5):

fi rlirl A-h a? have-not-haw see PRT AhChan PRT 'Did you ~ e Chan?' e

A: YBuhmfn~h

Wg6h gam-yaht mduh heui I today not-have go 7 haven't b x n out today.'

B:

Yhh. have

'Yes.'

ai. street

These cnnmxctbm mrrepd to [verb] - jd in aPmmatk s c n w n ~ ~ ~ (11.2.4. U.3). Tn addition, me wmbinatim ydddm&B katmws in hvo ways:

+ verb can wcvr in declarative:

(a) M m g to the pa&; this usage is Ewnterpart of the negative and intrrmgAiw comhuction d i s ~ ~ g ssbme. d but k highlycmphatic:

Ed&:

ytiuh am. litemlb To have a heart'. meam 'lo have the intention' or 'to do somethingon purpose': Ktuih yAuh s9m jing-@ ng6h die ham heart trick me 'He tricked me intmtmnally.'

ge. PRT

Deui-mjyuh. ng6h mhaih $uh a m p. aarrY 1 not-be haw hearl PRT 'Sony. Id ~ d ndo t it on plrpose.' The negative form m h h Wm has a simiIar meaning:

Ng6h M u h e m &nghoih H h p. I not-have hearl hurl yw PUT 'Ididn't mean to hun )ou '

yhdi Mm m q also refer to a well-wisher's concern: A:

Mi

hehne

go

jii

CL

m sick

4H"m your Eon r B: D w h .

Mh

Ban

well back

d w?.

mpih a? nd-yel PRT

jZnhili yduh Gm lo! Oh yw really have heart PRT Wou're so nice to ask!'

A: G6

chi ng6hdeih heui-j6 C h e k s m t h d time we go-WV Stanley That time we went to Stanley.'

Haan. viut

B: Haih a, ngbh d h y h h is PRT I slw hq% gv

mat's right, I went tmr R: lRih flu-h sihk saai yeuhk a? you hwe-not-Rave t a t all CL ~ l d n l n e PKT

'Haw you taken all the medicine?' B: EBnghaih y h h sihk mi have eat 'Of c a m e I Rave.' surely

W h

mW*

a. PRT

all

@ jc-po

l€l

Wn qm

I nd-remember have borrow-EXP your CL h 'I don't remonber borrowingyour bmk.' @) M e u ;mlg

lu I l ~ p c m i , wtth a

wo.

k FRT

hablrual meaning.

huji Wt-yaht &I ySuh g h g g~~slh. yewqmper day-day all have talk Mmk-market The p p e r talks about the a m k market wery dq: The habitual inte-pretarion @) also -1s

LRih junng F - n u k h you

still

haw-not-&

'DOyou still go sw~mming?'

heui

go

in ybuh-mdzdr q y3uMui a? swimming PRT

w

~

:

7 Existential sent-

283

Note the rhetorical vse of fin(11olJI): see 17.3.4. yAuh

+ verb idioms: this m b i n a h alw oocurs in some diomafic

eKpressionsand proverb:

M@,

gaal

Mu

@ ~ h lohk. (wal UII I I ~ I I ~ ~ U J CsIL.) S

c d k s in exdndves: p m [adj] tifit# yfwh is an exprrssion of exclamation or surprise:

Lohk gam daaih yi5h d h flub @I fall so big rain alsa w s t PRT T h h , 1 ntv& k n m it ~ v u l drain like this!'

please street corner Rave &scencl

War

'Please let me ofC d the corner.'

wow

lhhng y h h w k ysuh sin. rho* two CL have talk have laugh Tkw twn ( ~ I P wt ) nn well rqtther.' K&ihdeih

D 6 u d f n ganghaih J.Buh FImg yaah r y l ge II. betlnoney o f m m have w n Rave lose PRT PRT 'In gamblmg, of m r s e there are times to win and there are times to lose.'

1 5 3 YAUH

y€h

h15ucmh Pnl~ a

[adfl is used to qwry the value of sornettnng:

JC~kksuh jduh mHwh h h t6i a? football haw what good warch PRT 'Wliat's m, gnrrd ahnut fnmbdl?'

M

flub

mH#h gam dahkbih have what so spscial 'What3 so special about shark fin (soup)'?

shark-fin

yduh with a quamity expressim such m biordu-siu may be used to n u d f y an a$j&=: ge

yciuh -tyA

Y

+ ADJECTIVE

Wuih g h g s k say

Gam yuhksyBn &U flub @! udy also exist pRT 'What wuld be so I@) 7'

m - w .

LP things seem have bit nN-right 'There seema to be mmetbhg not quite right in d a t he ~ p . '

N g h gokdak j4uR d u 4 u mtiihng. I feel have littlelittle different 'I h l t h m ' 9 a $tight d ~ f h c e . ' N@h di guih, d u n g i%an u k M sln. (film) I have m e bred want mrn home first 4 m a bit tire$. I'd like m go home.' yduh is also used in m p n m of @ e m (9.3.3) and adverbs (10.2). in the form ~ ~ 4 for 1lnrermgartve h cornpirims ur duw in 111duri-1 qdms;

Mi )duh-&h

kkuih gam fm@n a? h-t-haw her so energetic PRT 'Are you as energetic as her?"

p

Ng6h bin($wh) @uh Wuih gam Mmih a? I where have her so capable PRT T m nothing like zrs capable as ahe h"

a'

PRT

15.4 M&JH Mciirh is the negative counteq?arl of fid. meaning "there idtfihere aren'P (there irn combination *MI~ ~ 5 1int hHongkong Camom). It m a parallel Fashion t6 yviuh: those shuCtur~swhich occur will1 @uIr p-terally ako oocur with &, with a similar pattern of d v e or

flIStenrial usap: Pomssiw Ng6h m6uh saai chln la wo. I mt-have all morrey PRT PRT 'I'm out of money.' Erisrenrial

Nidouh mduh y€h dah. lrm mt-have rlrings buy "There'snothing to buy here.'

The meaning may k emphmeaning 'none at all':

in the expression Fr di.

. . dm dub

Existentials e n t e m 285

284 Ganfonese:a c o m p r s gammar ~ Ngolhgwok-#hn Toreignmle

hh in

nl

@n

this CL

y8t dl deihwaih wnw company one bit shtus

~~n dub pel do yhhn heui this-par not-have horv many pwple go N m many people are going abroad rhk year.'

&u m h h . also not-haw "FomgnersRave no stam at all in this cmpny." A s a d , &h can take the perfective-p; il then dendeadchange fmm Ravingwwneth~ngb nat having it:

TEllg g h g Wuihdeii ngssmng3rn m6oh-3 p hear say they just-just notRasePFV CL giingy&hn. k mdhm w6h. ma~d wry mot-manage PRT 6App-lly they've just Iwl nui, maid. and t h q mn't rope.' YhhgM mW-Jb n&h if not-Rave-PFV my

fahn @n@ng CL salary

jauh

K€uihdeii nmkh

h may take theverbal patidessQaia d &h

without EkiIm, the phnse rtsduhgdihllr w u l d follow tho vcrbwith o dight difference in meaning: Keuihdeih git-j&fin m6uh g& loih. manyPFV not-have how long h m T sari m a n i d

Idioms: &h

msii

Ng6hdeih mduh h15lhhng @m we not-have chance rhii W e can't w i b l y go on like this.'

jouh do

lohk-heui. wntinue

K h i h nduh Whyhuh rRh tEng ng6h d i h d . slhe no reasan not K i n my phone 'How~ome:Ws nor answwing my dls?' M h W h EihyAuh h i ng6hdeih sihk leih force w ream yw no inhale your & ylMu ym gel (film) CL second-had smoke PRT 'Tl~ere'sno need to force us to breathe y m r b h m d smoke.'

Ng6h pokddsk d 7 8 a u tn6nl1 nE&ys31 mbbn. I feel deal-flm cat-have any not-good don't really sae anything wmng with speculating cm Rars.'

+

rndrah is also wed m negative mmparisom (9.3.3,lO.Z):

nun mehng mouh le~h s a n g dak p h6u. CL fste not-have you born ADV so good 'My fate is not as pdas yours.' N&

I

t have much confidwrce in Westem docbr~.'

way

incomprehension or incredulity:

m&lh together with a pestion word qxesws a qualified "anf (14.22). Thus mduh rnayth or d u k mM means 'not much':

swnrrTuo ge. amfidence PUT

$ung

m&lh IPihyduh, I'neraUy 'no mwm', i s used to show the ~ k e r ' s

18nhwh m i really pith& 'She's lbst men thb chance, it's really a shama"

m6uh ma K6wi&ui yi ai towards Wedem $oQor nothave my

g *nochance' are

Ngirhrlerh m h h baahnfaat ni g i n sih. we not-have way explain this CL matter 'There's no way we can enplmn tha'

(113.3):

& anhuh di, a h nm-have V-PRT

she

b m h q f m 'no way' and h u h m

used aclverlnally

maih m6uh N mh! we then not-have 811 fm 'We'll lose faoe canplezely, that way!'

-

clihn @-jC-h. manyPFV

Note that the time p h w with &hi (see 10.4) must wme before the verb;

SO

'She M

ldh

rot-11% Row l o n ~ a p 'They got marnxl not long ago.'

they

GQrn ngohdeih

K h i h ilhn ni go @wuih she even this CL chance,

g6i

npihgwok abmad

then

lo. PRT Ed"E$nV hhave my salary, I'd be in trouble.'

cham

Similarly, h

Similarly, mi?% @ do i means 'not manymuch' and m6uk &i b i h (drlhn) 'not long ago':

286

Cmbwse: a canprehenslve grammar

ldiom: m h h (ngrshflf~l friA ~) 'Uyau have rm pan to play' (note the tone change: fahn 'part, portion' -a fln)n): %&hn

yauh dub @h f k la. (TV ad.) tonight apin rot-have nly part PRT 'There3 no place far me here agaln toni@r.'

(hbhngchihn y h h go M u daaih ge Grnlihm.. fmm-before have CL very big LP foren tllllt.. lllt-,~ Wd3 ~ lrum[. l ~ ..

.

a?

m

y PRT 'Doesher stepmother have a share m the family

mrub

Hh loih i h l h n . $uh

castle

Waih. mduh not-ham mind 7 Bon't mind whether we go to Arnmca or Britain.'

ear what

all

haih

nothaw mind

ge.

PUT

.

.'

ge

gangivd

LP pnncess

~110 1i.d

;,J

a

Ng6h em-yaht gin CEU tou Gam @- %g ge. I today see V-PRT CL clothes qurte nlce PRT "Isw a suit which was quite nice today.'

Ncde that thii t.cpe of sentence corresponds funchmally to a nowrestrictive

156 PRESENTATWE SENTENCES

relatave d a m In Engl~sh.

Because sub@rsM+cs are normally deRnlre (4.23. Indef[nlte noun phmust be introduced by WuI1 in mder ro appear as WMEUS: YBuh a yhhn h h stung j8u. have some people not want leave 'Some pwple clun't warn to leave.'

m

h mh @g dak ge. some thing not can say PItr 'Some things cannot be mentioned.'

hme

A locative p h n w (7.1) may precede ylrtIh: Wihmihn Jauh h6u dG yLhn ding@ inside have very many people wmt-I'kVb 'lns~dethere are a lot of pwple walling for yw.'

lmg

Other p x n t a t i v e sentenws resernble exiwential WntencR in shwdure and fumfion. but I&the distinnive exiwenrial verb ydrrhlm6rah. Insread. another verb is used fn i W u c e an indefinite noun phrase about which m is said in the following clause.

'He b n ' t mind what he eats.'

ysuh

hdu

jyuh h$i g6Mu douh . . live in castle there 'Long, long ogo. thcR w a a~ beautiful pi-

Heui M6ihgwok waahkp heui Yin.ggwok &u go Bnra~n all or ~o Arne&

fie

-

go

very l o n ~before have CL very prerty

'm don" rind' express indifference:

!JSW&JI

K h i h tihk m q e h c h miuh

uk m h h yhhn jyuh. h o w no person live "In H u n w g tlrme are p p l e wirtwur a h o w to live in, and hwith anyone llvlng in tliem.' This mrls?ructimi$natmlly vsed lo begin a stvry or faii-tale:

K h i h hauh-m6uh ybh-mhh Tin MI her mpmother have-not-have parl divide Sng3

HFungghg &i yAuh $hn jyuh. y6uh mduh Ok l a d have pmple no house live have

Hcngkong

16%. you

M i a l l o n and stlbwlimte dm1se928!4 G a u daaihhohk p ybhn Wg@i ysuh gaausyi teach univmity LB pople should h t h teach-lmok

16 COORDINATION AND SUBORDINATE CLAUSES

pd~ @+ye. arid writebook

.clniverslq~reachers h u k l born reach a d l l k . '

Cantonex uses a variety of devices for cooidination, mmrding to the i t e m to be cmjoined. l n many csm where English would md, ooordlnarlon is e q x e s e d by jumqxdtlon wilhwul any u m l w n j u w tim: I1Su &u flhn leih nidouh y8mdrah. silk-faaha. very many people m e here drink-rea eat-food 'Lots of people come here for dim sum and meak'

The serial wrb m m u d i o n (8.3) is a caw of juxtapmition without any oven indication of coordination or subordination. Where m r t j u d o n i s explicit, a variety of conredingwmds me u d aomding m the items m IK joined.

Ng6h fihng W h heui-jb Wohngkok hhahnmnp-.

both soft and havehunoe 'Your hair will be soft and hey.'

raun p m n g yauh lens (idiom) both cheap and nice vt's)cheap and cheerful.'

w, Mm8h yiu b.3 y m f 3 seui. levhtsi PRT a-leas need pay stamp dury lawyer

hi. g T n 6 )*ng fee agenl commRsion T o buy a house, you have to pay =amp duty, legal fees and mmmission. to start with.'

yfing ar*lyiu cornmidm all need

p"y FRT

walk-store

'YUI have to pay m m p duty, Lepl fees and mmmMion '

There is no M i o n on the order of the pnonal pronouns here: Rt'uih n l h g ngdA and n&/r hihw khik nre eq~~ally p i l e , Its difference involving which person the sentence is felt to be a b u t (the sentence topiE is placed first). yn~ilr . . . ynuh 'hoth .. . a d ix an emphatic mnjunctim used to coordinate adjectives and verbs:

CL hair

MSaih Ok lmy horse

Yanfa xui. leuhm hi. gin@ stamp duty lawygr fee agent

t3mg 'with' C used to d n a t e noun ph-:

Di thhfaat yauh y6hn yauh yAuh-daahnsing. (sh-

Lists rypicallydo mt q u i w a coordinating oonjunction, but lire e x m d A a seqvence of words or phrases =prated by a slight p a w :

The adverb &u 'all' (14.1.1) i s d to sum up a list of lwa or more tqsiallecd itcrns:

16.1.1 COORDINATW OF WORDS AND PHRASES

I with him p P F V Mongkok 'He s r d I wcnt shopping in Mongkok.'

Ng6h yauh oi k h i h yauh tmhn kBuiR. I h t l i love him and b t e him *Ilmtb love and hate him.'

ad.)

t&hng or n>hngm?a#a 'and a W may be d. like English and. to fin the last item to a list' N@h yiu m6aih d3uhfuh. choi thhngmiaih Ifiaih. I need buy mfu vegtable and milk 'Ineed to hy tofu vegetahl~mrl rn~lk.'

It a h allows an item to be added by way ofaMhought: Wdouh Bi vth there CL auff

.

kng d i . nice m e .

..

ti~hngmaih h w wliat's-more a n

yahm Wh gian gPiloih ge. upro you chocse how-long PRT They have nicer thing4, there . . . and you can c h w rn lung as you like.'

A sentemx paniclewch a or IIr7 may h11many item in a list. typicaIly to fill a p u x while theqmler m w up warh the next Item !see 18-2.1):

A: E h dim gSai gam mchng ga? ymu Row came so busy PRT 'How mme you're so my?'

B: Ng6h yiu @i &n Ian. sC seun 18. 1 neerl correct p a p PUT write letter PUT

(b) consequence: jnslh i n r d u n n g the -d of hw d a m indicates that the content of the m n d dauw fdlows fmm thar of the fimt: Ng6h jauh

kyutdihng

h h thhng k€uih hlipjok. him c u l l a ~

I therefore decide not with !'XI Idecided norm collaborate 4 t h hlnl.' L t i h wah dfm, jmh dim B. ~ W P sw haw then how PRT 'Whatewr you 9.'

(see 6.4.3)

juhng yiu jy&mfimh-faahn rlm. qill need conk-9ko-food too 'Well, Ihaw m grwe ppffs, w t e lerte~.,ana ewn ao the mKlng

(c) conditional, as in the consequent dause of m d i i o n a l senten-

as well.'

s6yifr also introducmconsequence dauxs, meamng 50'or 'therefom':

For oormecting whole p R m s or clauses. a number of adverbial9 or mjurctiuns are used:

or jukngvr~' a h ' adds an item which is felt to be important w to R a e k e n m W out:

juh*

A: Yiu ch%g Mu# 1H. f & h h 15. . need invite cwsin PRT fany PRT 'We should invite your k n , fatty . . .' B: JuhngyAuh Wuih Wuikp4hngy6uh wo. & l l - l ~ m his @-hcnd !JUT +Andhis girlfriend, too.'

Ng6h yiu jy6-faahn, juhngyiu di m h i h w6n. I rreed cook-food also-ikxd wash a h dish '1 have to do tlm rooking, and the washing-up too.' gfin#yulr 'rat' and yil~r~i~nlllr bftcrwa@ mrdinute s sqwnm of wen*: Ng6h&ih sin sihk-faahn. p j y h h w i ?6i hei. we first a t - f w d f o l h n g ~a see ftlm 'Well have dinnerkt, then go and rn the ftlm.' "then, therefore' i s a genera-plrpose mnjurdon which foilow me: sub&i 01 tht WWII~ d a m . I1 p r t h n s e variely *Iluntliuns:

j&

Ngdhdelh h h u j+hn slh huh heul dan. we take Rnsh exam then p play 'When we* hnishedexams we-re going to hme rnfun.'

(16.3).

Di chE Mi a k hhu hfno,i S @ I ~ yiu s-i di. CL car drive ADV very f~ t h e e m d careful bil 'The cars are p i n g vmy Fast. sa you need to be: mrdul.' A: Kfdhdeih lkuhng-giingp6 xhnhngyaht inh h8i they two-couple alway not a

likhtl grr. home PUT 'Those hvo (that couple) are never at home.' B: soyh

~ilou@i h u h

yhhn

ltih

lo.

CL children not-have person a r e PRT That'swhy no one cares lor tbrchildren.'

so

Mr i s a

h u x d as a double canjunction with yu?nworh -bemlse' (162.2).

claahnhaih and & r g w &rr,dtur

i d u c e but' c l a m . usually together with

'altl~uugl~' ( 16.2.4).

Ng6h mhaih m k n g w s h , Mtpvo. &u haih also i s not-be not-want helphand but I Ylh p u h jeui hh. you do mcst good 'It's not that I don't wont to help. but Ys rwlly & f o r y to do it.'

fImny1h 'houwer, on the other h a d a h conwp a wmrasr benveen two c l a m . but occurs, likepulr, in the seoond position of the second clause, followingthe sub-: soumuhk-jih deui gwiil& lhih to foreigner come

=@am

ni

thirteen

this I T number

@g say

gu

haih Mt &&uhng. Jilnggwok-yhhn ffinglh R not lucky Chinese-phwmr

ZBZ Caimese: a comprehensive grammar $ok& liaih hbu yiliuh. feel is gmcl luck "Thirteen is an unlucky number for roreignos. fo the Chi-. it's a lucky one.' (see 21.1.4)

C o o r d i and ~ subordinate clauses 293

16.2 SUBORDINATE CLAUSES however,

% a a l t ' or 'mit turned out' IS a conrrchve wed t o w n clauses:

hcui Yinggwok. grtgwb N@h Ininlbih Emjyuh I originally thinkK0NT go reult England

m6uh heui dou. not-& go mive -1w z plannlngto go m England. but as i t turned out IdidnY get there.'

16.1.4 DISJUNCTION: 'ETTHER' . . . 'OR' Ihslunction (coordination with or) is exprrssed by wmhkp or runkai11. which are repeated to express the meaning ' e m . . .or':

Subordinate clauses behave very differently in h h n w e hnm the way they do in European languaw. In general, the differences i m l v e the use of paratax6(jwtapmition of two daurxs) rather than hjptaxis or subordind~on. ha1 is. the two clauses are more qmrnetriC$I than main and s M i n a t e clauses in English. The following characrerish are notable:

(a) Many shrdinate dause d m & of two d a m each lxginnrng wrth a conjunctran. The followiw pairs or W l e ~ 0 n j - h ~ norrnally go together:

. .jauh 'as WII m . . . L l k r t ' (1G.Z.1) yanwaih . . W F i h "-use . . . Illerefore' (16.2.2) swiylhn . . . daahnhaih -although. . . neverthelas' (16.2.41 ykhhgwb. . . jaulr 'if . .tlwn' (163) yBl.

.

@)I Certain subordinate clauses haw a canjunction at both the beginning and the end of the dause:

N&hdeih waahkji yihmhhn waahkjt huh h86yu. we perhap emigmte perhaps stay here 'We may emtgrale w stay here.'

CYhthJ6 ni yeuhng

Ngbhdei ysfiaih ylhmhhn yahaih lhuh hsisyu. we either ernignte or stay here

W q ng6hdeih jouh

'We will ather emigrate or stay here.' The hw sentcwes differ in that w h k @ is less certain and eswfFmihmore decisive. Cmwquently. ~ W W Y I. . . y ~ c ? Z l ~ks arppropnazc in an ultimatum: U i h yHthaih jXh9rrk Ei jOu y3thaih biin jau. you eitlier at-once prr~. rent or move h v e "Either p y the rent right mw or move out.' Note that the words wuuFrk? and yorha!lr are mt used in alwrnmiue ('A or 87)questions. w h i i are e x p r d by drttng and y i k d t k (17.2). Toexp.essthediijunction'neither. . .noi.yauh. . .y i r h (Ih.1.l) may k u d will1 alrgaltzl w r l n ur ndjnliwa.

K h i h yauh rhh sAi tluh yauh h h changlhhng. S/k bat11 not wmh hair and n d shower 'He war't wash his hair or take a shower.'

Di sailouhjdi yauh h h duhk-syfi

yauh h h jouh-y+h CL children both no1 srudy-book and nor do-rhing Thm k~dsneither mdy nor work.'

ji-mgoi, juhngyhh m w h mahntah a? apan from this CL outside a b h m e wliat problem PRT 'Othcr than this, whst pcblems are fhere7'

while we

do

dihnd hohbfiang &lulsl. du-aih students that-time hand-carry phone

jung mih lhuhhhhng. sill not popllar ' W l e we were students, mobile p h e s were not popula~yet.

(c) SubMdimte chum. like sentence adverbs (10.3). yubjedlopic:

may follow the

ZRih Tiai yanwaih taai guih &yii mbuh Ihih. Lee Mrs kcause roo tired rn did-not come *MELee didn't mherausr she win too tired.' Subordinate clauses of prrpose, reand time all m m r before the main verb they modify. Tai (1%) has *rued that this ordei~ngof c l a m mnically reflectsme rempoml sequence of events and the loglcal sequence of c a m and effect. I n English, by comparison. this tendency n mvch weaker rrs the revorder ot d a m readily occurs. (d) Several of the conjunctions mn follow the claux as well as -in$ it. especially an 'aft~hought': ahk-taahn la. ~ m SAhgaaII h a. pnwaih. 1 nor m-fmd PRT m time PRT becauw 'I'm not eating. There's no time. thws why.' ~ g d hmh

Maimand W l n a t e da~sss295

294 Cantonese: a wrrprehershre gramnar Taw' gwai la. Hbu leng wo, daahnhaih. too dear PRT very nice FRT bwewr 'It's too expemive. Very nice, though.' Ng6h siung heui 1 want go

npihgwok duhk*. abwad study-

W h chin no money

,

bagw. PRT thw@ '1 want to go abmd to study. But T don't have any money.'

(e) I t is IK~p r ~ ~ ~ ito b fhaw e a fomrd-referring promun within sw31 a c l a w . Instead. the name or n w n p h m m e $ iim as the sentenrs topic:

Lhh T6ai yxmvaih h h dung tmai guih. &yii Lee Mrs bust mt want too tired m jet-j6u fan*. way-early s l q ~ P l T 'Becamshe didn't want to be too tired. Mrs Lee went to bed early.'

Ilbng 'untir may be used together with g 6 j ~ I 1 d oge r slRhauh. meaning'by the time': Ding K h &an

dou liih g6jnhnsl d i sung until you h c k V-PRT come that-lime: CL W

yl@ng dung smi la. already odd all PRT "RYthe time ~I-MI $er M the food will

an k odd:

ddng'when, while' is alm matchedby gc5fihsior ge sihhuh at the end of the clam: pong) ng6h duhk daaiR-hohk g6jahrrsi. juhng mdh while 1 study univemty tliaMime still rot-yet

ySuA dihnlduh

ge.

lirrve comp~er PRT 'When I w~ at uni-.

w didn't hare mmputefi.'

ge gehhauh. Wh mMu ( m g ) @hndeih king* you don't chit-chat LP ume while people tau-eng

1 6 Z 1 TIME CLAUSES Time dalses are subordinate d a m which specify the time IO which the f01b-w mairl dwse rpfmThe temwml wnjvnctipns gbfiht'when', Jlchihn 'befme' and j w h 'sfter' m e at Hie erld of the time dause: Ng6h jyuh Ggubhng g6juh'. Giulhhng Slhng Jaaih 1 live Kowlom that-time K o w h City village juhng meih chaak ge. mt-yet h d i PRT still -When1lived in Kowloon. Walled City hadn't yet been demolished.'

me

g6juhn or & j h (with change of tone) is a short form of &QIIwI:

d h Mu Ng6h rthng ldih jetchiih g6jahn. I with you together that-time also very M S m ge. (him) happy PRT 'I was happy while Iwas with you.'

An altwnative is ge s ? M . b a d on tRe Mandarin wnwmtion de smu:

Ng6h mi go ge sihhauh. &hngyaht g h @ung wian ge. I little: U tlial rime always ths v q play PRT 'When Iwlls a little @ II used , to play like this.'

wo. s t e a l - l m PRT 'While people are chatting don't e m d m p . ' dong is opljonal here, k n g wwd largely in writing and formal speech. fldrthhn 'beforemand 1ih~uJc'after' mme at the end of the subordinate clause:

he* Lejh $ei-jyuh you member go

I6 Mkihgwok [ a n j i u America before m x d take

dihng &mjing. ready visa 'Remember m get a nsi in advme before going to America.' H i a n JWjauh tii bouji. @-up afler then read n y p p e r 'He reads the newspapr a h w i n g up

Emh fie

W h ~ ~ i i 'before'. hn the negative 4 may be wed explehdy in the subordinate dause: heui Mtihgwok jichlhn juhng Ng6h meih Am&m b e f m *ill I not-yet go

Bmjyuh intend

jouh ji-ng ge. work doaor PRT "BI w e n t 20 Amenca I wrs intendingto be a doctor.'

296 Ganwnese: a rompmhensivegrammar The p

h y&hn

(j6)JM' a i t m r d s '

Ngahaelh n5-g jdhu yinghg 1w listen fin~sh talk 'After k talk we'll go and eat '

Cmrrfiatiw and wbmhate dauees 297

sew= as an adverbial pRrase:

go

after

eat-food

gam loilt %nlong' is da a conjunct~onindicariq a len* wresponding w sinc~:

gam Ng6h @a11-j6 I teackPFV so

of t h e .

di311 meih qin-gwo loih sfl. long book all1 nor-yet wEXP

gam

lanhn ge holikaang. ZU lwy LP sl&mrt 'I've nwer wen such a Imy student since rve k e n teaching.' Nme that gnm doih dnot refer to a prticularty long pmid of time as the g k 'so long' implies. For example. afrer a few w e k s in Hongkong a m arrival might l x asked:

M h IM-j6

HEungg6ng gam loih. g w a a n - m a n you come-PIT Hongkong ro long wed-not-used douhdouh dGu gam dG jihn a? toplacpplxe all so many people PRT 'Have you used to so many m e evoylvhm since you came to Hongkong?' ~ m h n g ' s t n o e .i s a tormal mjunmon, matchedby pat& at the end ot the clavse: Jihchbhng n@h biiwjh

I

since

lsh

n i c h h jihauh,

mmwPFV come here

after

dak. able

rr (1 1.3.2) i s often used in prefmSimilarly. the verbal panicle ~ G i ~'finish' ence m the conjunnionj r k d r 'aher': rbhngsni

gaau-ybhn-sy0

jauh

heul @m@h drink-tliinp

s'or

Ng6h yBt yAuh si&k jauh tiln@ 1Cih. I once have news then h f a m you .As soon as 1 have any news, I'llinform you.'

m h W m jauh mh thchevtkg. once unhappy then not outvoice

K b i h y2t

slhe

'Whenever she" unhappy. she W n X speak.'

K h i h fit

flm-jh jauh &hng faai mihn hhng pad. once drmk-me then whole LL face red all 'Whenever he drinks, hk whole f a pe red.' 51he

The mmbinarion n*h. - @ih, literally 'this end. j u x t a p m two near-simuft~news events:

. . that W, alw

K€uih nithuh wah jiu gigit-fsn @huh yauh wah dne nwe say want many Inme agan say

-

yiu Eih-fin. want d i m

'No has h e said that she wants to get manid than he sap she wants a divorce.'

h hah gotauh yauh yiu there again need open next

Ngoh nnauh bo-phnlsai,

1

here

open-finishmeet

C L meeting 'No sooner have 1 finished n d n g than Ineed to

by before and @r in English are often e+ bysenal verbmmtrucrions (8.3). wthout any wbordinating conjunchon. I n such serial oomtrvchom. the sequence of events may be made expl~citby an adverb such as s r i G)'firsr' (103.3):

CL colleague teach-finish-hwk then go 'My colleague go for a drink after teaching.'

means %as soon

p fii.

Now: the time relationships

M

. . . then'

not-yet

heui

Np5h yiu jouh m&ih di y& sin j4u 1 need do V-PRT CL w r k First lea'I need to do m work beFore 1can leave.'

. . ':

meih

gnuh iik. return J3XP go oM home " E wsince Imoved hem, l+wnever been back to my old home.' Qan-gwo

The mbination p%. . . jauh 'once 'whenever.

j h n h h w ~ahk-faahn.

to mother

meding.'

fl Iouh . . . ycit h

h or ytH hihn

.

..

bihn mallis two sirnultanew

activirk YSuh di film yiit h u h jli& yHt louh g6ng d i i n d . Rave CL p @ e onetime drione time talk phone 'Sampeople drive while talking m the phm.'

Fbte that neither clause is subordinate ?o the dm,unlike the English. where w h L begins a subordinate d m : the parallelism of the d a m

matches the simullanews actions. 1W.2 R F A m O AI ISFS In sentences expremmg rereason, the 'kcause' clause normalb oomes first, followed by the main clause containingfuuh or s6ya 'so'.

flnwaih 'because' is matched by S ~ J @ I'so,therefwe' in the following dsuse: g6n *an, rush time

=mih kauw

sans

sbyrh ng6h wG'h jeuhn fagi will most fast so I

ybhn.

spmk finish Sinm rime is short, Ill finish w k i n g m soon as e b l e . '

More rumly, the 'bccaus' c h u w may follow the main c l a m , especially with an emphatic Imih linking the twu ciauw: N@ gam faai g h g ybhn halh g m i h g6n dhgaw. I so fast speak Finish is because rush rime 'I hishcd speaking w quickly bccmw time is short.' Note thatyrSRwih is often wed togztiwr with a noun denotimg reason Bvch as yirhfln: Ng6h kyutdihng $hmS.hn ge y a h m haih decide emigrate LF r e m is because I

jS~l€ui duhk-sylS duhk $Hk Ms8m di. wish n d a u g h t e r ~ t ~ d ~ b o gudy o k ADV hw tit The remm I decided to emigrate is that I writ my children to be happier at school.' &ng

di

-

H y l I ~ n'$ince' is a formal canjunction:

smoe

Whdeih @fig kyutdiingj6, ng6h m4uRwaih you-PL already decide-PFV 1 n e n t

-re say Sim you've already d e d e d . there3 rn point in my srrying mwe-' jauk may be clsed in a c l a w -ng a wrrsequence or m t , whether or nof the W clause is explicitly causal. It comessecond in the consequent clauw:

Gu @uh t&hhng, ng6h jauh yiu tomorrow morning have dass I thus need

Xng

heih-fo.

prepam-

'1 haw. R d m tmmmnming, EU X have t~

B: Ggm ICih maih h a m I61 ao )ou then happy mT 'WelI. gmd for jw!maih has a speFial aI3nity will1 the prr& Id (18.3.3), as in the above example. 1 6 2 3 PURPOGE CLAUSES

AJIPk Yiuh have h%ng

to intmduce a purpose ciause:

yAhn

wmhp

pwple i n a d e r

jsshn chln

dm

earn

all

mR+h money what

puh.

willing do 'Some people will do anything to earn money.

Note h t the purpose daw comes between the st@xt and the verb, rather than after the main verb as in English. This is cmsistent with the general pttem of cause before effect, the Chinex order r M n g this k r ~ ~mlatinnxhip r~l As with ymwirrlr (lh 2 2). the d e r may be reversed w ~ t hhnih linking the two dauses:

b5 lCih hsR waihjd jyuh Kguih ga she marry to you u mwder live syafuhk

dwk ADV

Bi.

wrnfvi-tabk a 4 t 'She married you in order to live more oomfortably.' &+ iI s used as the m p l e r n e n t to an object, rypdeally f o l k n g the verb yuhng in a seriat construction (3.3): M h yuhng M leih di ge ~G!J blh chit you sharp a-bit CP knife wme cut daahn* 1% egg-cake PRT 'Use a draper k n P Lw cut the a k e . ' yiu I6ih M b e s the plrpoge of something:

mm.'

maih is an umtrmd partide (often reduced to function meaning 'as a result' or 'then':

torn,

A: N@h hah p p h t jauh fang* la. 1 next C L month then take-leave PRT '171 be on l a v e next month.'

d l )

NT with a ~lmilar

di hsih ,in lanh .&It this CL i s warn m e do 'Whar are these for7'

.,A p? what PRT

and te

d a m 301

-

16Ld CONCESSlWE CLAUSES 'ALTHOUGH

Concessive clalmes are subordinate clauses wth a meaning of 'although . . .' where the first dame admi& w concedes a fact which t k f d h n g m i n clause cainteractsor oomradcts. I n CHntcms?,the subsequent main d a m musr.mneln a hlanci~ig ~xFTT~JJ~CIII III~II~ Vill' II~ UI ' ~ ~ t v e i l b t M . Thm &Yih 'althoufl in the subordinare dause is matched in the main clawse by ci ther dnnhnhaih 'wr-ertheless-or d.9~'still':

Ng6h m m l Ihh thhngyi Wuih g h g ge @h. I although mt agree dhe sp~ak LP things ~~L~IIo ju1111~ ~ U I I& mnjllllng ktuih. howerrr still much wspea hm -Althou@ 1 disagree with what h e m , Istill re-

him.

16h & rhh mhaih h&i daaih gihn sih. I CL mner you st111 m althnigh mt-be very bif

Wlylhn

y i n e mthwjyih Whshould hi&CONT me 'Allhcqh it's mly a small matter, you still oupht mt to mnceal it from

me.' clause. &hIrrrhn. . . '(no matter) whether. . .' forms a d v e mlence t o g e k r wlth a qtlestim shucnve,which m y he an A m - A queshon (17.12). an alternat~vequestion (17.21 or a whuestim (17.3):

Nofe that M~iylhn,like yan~wih,may come after the subpa of

Mbuhleuhn am dhng puh ge. ng&&ih old PRT we no-matter new or

mawh what

sam &u yiu. clcdhing all want 'We m m a l l kinds dclnthes. (whether) new or old.' Mhuhleuhn brngo & lYh, ng6h c h i mh teng. wmarter who call onme I still not liSten 'No matter who calls. 1 w m r amwer.'

~ n aovertr e doer is a m required re march mLwhIeuhn. h h IPih 'm matter' is an ae tlrnavite

to mdul!kdrn.

~h H h 18h jllng-hkjilngyi. &%I $11 @au wi. not care p u like-not-l~ke still need pay Fax 'Whcther you like i t or mot. you dll have to pay tax.' I n addhlm. a whquediu~iwud Irt illt:h a ( d n w W 1 4 by Jdu in the second pmduoes a concessive sew.T k t 'wbater.ermmnstndom can be Tormed will1 any question d(17.3) and the quantifier ddu:

K h i h @ng rnh i mginyiu ge. h e say what all n o t - i m m m PRT 'Whatever he says it ddoesn't matter.'

(film)

Mi d f m w n g jouh & &k. Ybll W-) do a h OK 'Howewer pido it is OK.' Idioms: an implicitly mw&ve m 9 t m d i m i s gmtr [adjective] d m [verb]: Cram gwal h h NIU m&ih w dear pi still buy

ith?

FRT

'You're still buying it m that price?' (men though it's so e x p s i v e )

Rihngjiis a concessive phrase implying that someone who o q h t to know benw nevathelem persists in an ill-advised aaivity. This persistence may be emphasized byjiu in the, mnin rlal~w,: K b i h mihng ii m6uh yuhng &ti jiu phg. she dear h o w no me still carry-on speak Wr:gwa on Inlking tvm thmgh he knows it'3 no use.'

I 3 $hn

C L

mihnf ji yhh people clear know have

juhng hark

stiU

go ennim

dlam kui $uh*i. dare go swimming

People still dare go swimming when thcy kmnv t h e are sharks.'

Like many mnerm types,conditional mtementsmay be expmsed either q l i i t l y (rning a w n j d o n such as Nhgwd 'if: 16.3.1) or implidtly, by juxtqtwiticm of d a t e (163.2): Y h h N y h h sihgan jauh h6yh h w i Egi-Mh. ii have time than mi looli-UEL 'If there's time we can go a d take a look.

Wn@g y6uh d i n rnaty€h dm mhih &hi. Hongkong h a w money whst all buy V-PRT 'In Honpkonf you can buy anyfhmg if you have money.' It has a&n bcen W t h Clil-, ~ Ia~himn~ Jislirdiula uI imw. makes no formal distimion berween ml. hypmhetical and ~ n t - 1 mdirionak. H m m w . roo much has been made d the alleged pucity of

Cwdlnation and s m n a t e ciauses 303 Chinese in this re@rd.' Much as Chinesecompensates for the I& of t e r n wth aqxpea and adberbs (10.3.3. 11.1). rhve are ways of eqmekng all k i d s of wnditimnls.

This phrase may he compared to English .wy . . meaning h p p e alrhovgh gh rhee x p r e s h is m m formal. The topic pa(18.2.1) may follow the 'if-dause: Y h h p 6 Yih &mg tsuhji ge v.4 E. if p u wish I r n LP say VKl

Like the wnjunctiors dimssed in d o n 16.2, yrlhgwd 'if is generally mched by a seoond mnjuncrion, in this case @MI! 'then'. in the m w quent clause: YiIhgwb ltih i h k b h n , n w e i h [latih)

;I

youfie

we

yeuk m h i h togcthcr

(1hen)fnr

jeui

h&i

jauh

haih mdaih Ibah&uh @. is buy Mw-chip stock 'Ifyou want to invest. the k a way is to buy M u d i p stocks:

&t>h hqqx@e. . f o m l speech:

'

is an q l i a t l y hypothetid @ d o n

used in

Ggybh hi haih n@. ~rpposp you we m

YiIhgwh ltih y h h hingcheui. ngdh huh Wr@ Kih Hdi~p!. if you hnw interest 1 then help w u npply 'I'llapply for you ~fyou're interested.'

flhaak G w h y$uh @m p hchlhngylhng. Kih yiu you need at-once suppose nave s l ~ h LP =Nation

(a) The if-clatse mmes fim. the reverse order beinga wmmon alternatirre in hglish but not usual in Cantonese, unless the $
YhItgw6 H h flub loihsing ge d.jauh hQih if )mu h v e ptknce LP say then can dhng lohk-hew. wait cvntinue 'If you have the patiem. you can go on waiting.'

Ybh& if

n@h tih nm-y=t I

iidou ge w i . jauh mh g6m know LF say then nor dare

daaih&g &g 1s. big-voice say PRT 'If Ihadn't known. Im l d n ' t hsw said it so loud.'

C

m a pd then

d6-bi~ 8. hir-ball PRT -If y o u k free we can m n g a game (of tennis. etc.).'

Note:

. . .'

L5h wiih dlm puha? you would hf do PRT ' S u m you were in my position, whar m i l d you do?'

~ h p yiytnenter k q i t d 'If such a sitmtion h i k l a*.

you shwld go into h1 -

at once.'

.

jauhsylur 'ewn i f . .' is a s h o n p r mnjunction. forming d i t i o m l s with sense. Like otherconcessiw xntmwes (16.2.41, il is f v l l d a CGHHESIV~ in the wmequent clause by ddu before the verb:

Jmhsyunltih hfi h6u da chin, khih d& slill even you give very much money lie mh wfih jouh. not will do 'Even if you pay him a bt of mmey he still won't do it.' Jauhsyun lCih snrnsahp mi mcih you thiny years m-yet even ms$i png. no-need f a r 'Even i f you're nm married at thirty.

git-fin. d h marry

still

yuu don't b v e to wcmy.

Aspect in-

III llrc: xwrl (wwquenr) dame, rhe m c d v e aspectp may be & to i n d i i a hypothetical resultant state, corresponding m woirId k m in an E n g l i i mndilioml:

Cwrdlnatlon and m b o r d l m c l a w 305 h6u YChgvrb mhuh ng6h. Eih yihping Gi-jb if not-lmve me you drew die-PFv w v lcih la1 (film) long PRT 'If it wasn't for me. ~ r m would have heen dead long ago!' Yhh& if

liih. ngSh jauh sahp llhn sik then eady len yenrs k m w you 1

j&i

ysr j6u

chi-jm. l o n ~ - a w craty-PFV "If I'd k n m you ten years earlier. Iaould hare gone rrmd long ugo.' -

Idioms: yirhgn*l Mi n@ [verb] is a phrase dto introduce h Y p therical conditionals. meaning'if Iwere youhim', ek:

dl111 npdh udlh &a11 n@h @an, would f h e late choose I gave me

uuhgwd Hi if

sahp Mhn chtrnqi. ten pars be-born ' G i the choice. T'd definitely choose to be born ten years later.' Yhhgw6 Mi rrg6h jouh if gir'e me do

&g

lhhkian. saht

boss

rM wfnh

sure not will

kguih.

invite him 'If 1 were t k boss, Im a i n l y wouldn"r giw him a@b.'

Nore also y > h W hih grkrr 'if that's the way i t is': YChhgw6 bfh @m. n@hdeii jauh yat di kntohrtp if Is so w then u n e : W t h o p e dm

m6uh

la.

also mt-haw PRT 'ifthat's way it is, we don't have any chance at all.'

M h y h h Iiu, mwj @h. (film) y n ~have mterial inform me 'Let me know i f pihare any informalion.'

Jnk dfu &u Ihh Mi chin laak. carch V-PRT also m pay money PRT PRT

(cmv.)

'Even if I'm m@t Iwon't pay.'

Such irnplidt mndiomls are mdily farmed w h m the h t dallse % negme:

Ng& I

fnh h h tEi fei heui, n@h go gom my CL lieart not not Ry owr go

m b h k ge.

(film)

ntknse PRT 'IfIdon't fly mrr there. Iwon"tfeel at ease.' U i h fib d u n g h h doti yiu hi you not want come also must m e 'You have to m e even if p u don't want to.'

ge

1%

((oonv.)

PRT PKT

An irapliil umd;tiaeal m y be d any kind: r a l . l ~ y p t l ~ e t i ar m lm i n a r fachial. In implicit cmmtedachid mnditimalb, the past time reference may be established by adverb such m blisrl6ik "vr~@nally' tqether wth a madal verb (12.11:

%trill bSlnlZm jouh p%nf ge. @he originally can work doctor FRT 'He could have k e n a dmtor.'

ji'ir Ihad'-k (literally 'early kmw'l b a case of an implicit conditional with munterfacnial mearnnf: Idram: jdu

eady know take a h f

go

PRT

'If I'd known I'd hwe taken you along.'

peiyfih Tor example' may a h introduce a hy~othericalsituation: Peiflh. Wh m6uh saai chin wGih dim 1 8 example )mi rot-have V-PRT morey would how PRT "Imagine. what would do if you ran out of money?+ clat= ruay Ix illtlI n impiirhly mdMonal mmm. t w o j u x h ~ d pretd as a cnndit~mal-fence. witllout any wert indicahon of the cmection:

m. a j i or ji'mly* (see aka 10.3.3) are used in the m n q r w n t c l a m of an implicit m n d i i m l to give the @tic meaning 'only if':

m a t h ard subwcsnate c l a m 397

Ngfh je

d6o Fmn' sinji h6yih mbih 1Bu. I borrow V-PRT money only can hy flat 'I can only buy a Rat if I din bonvwing monqv.'

Mi daai n&h y m tnkc mc

heui jeui lmg g6 @an go m m h t ~ f u lthat CL

The c o n d i m 1 m n i n g here must be inferred from the amtact. since clames w~th,ximlMnpfji may a b h v e a twnpnral. m i ~ nolr mher meaning (103.3): lhih

n@h sl@i t b h g k h i h @kg

x t u m wmc I

slhc

only wilh

him

W h haih pnwaii mM@$ gnji W h la. she is because e m b m d only not-hsve m e 'He h m ' t m e just becat= he's embarrassed.' 1833 NEGATIVE CONDTTIONALS:I F NM'. 'UULE5S'

mhnih 'if not, o t h w k ' i s tised to elabomte on a previous

statement: M h yiu fmidi, f l h g d if you wed fa*-* daap f6chE. catch train 'YWI slluuld Ilu~ryup, ullmr w

mhaih, g6n inh c h not h~rrry not V-PRT

k ,

y u WUIIY~ILII ~ 1Im lasill.'

I n the &clause of a mrence, rnlaaih aFone is &cient:

LRih fnni dl yfh, mhaih jarih cMh dou jsp y m f a n a M pack thlngs if-not then late arrive p

la.

PKI

I'RI

matchad by plh@

&h

in the fdlowing

Chhihfei y h h mahnthih, yZlhp6 m h a i jatih unk have pmMem il not-be t h csn

jBu go

la.

PRT PRT 'Unless there's a p H e m . ue can go.'

16.4 CLEFT SENTENCES AND EMPHASIS The copula h i h (8.1.1)is used to ernphwre the fullowmg word, much hke the English cleft consnuctiun with Ws . . . rhnr . . . :

N@

lalk

'I won't talk to him untfl he m e s back.'

Mpd

LUnlms' is @pially

dause:

gir

ng6h ji thhng l€ii h i ! I mty with y4u go '1'11 d y go with you if p take me to the: nicest [restaurant].'

K h i h faan

c&&@

'Hurry up and pck, or you71 l late.' Gn ge I6uib$hgyhh G f i n w h s(k+

8.

of-oourse how-PFV new LP g i r l k i d

PRT iCmt

mbih

dim w i t h gam haisam a? how would so h r r ~ yPRT 'He%obviously found a new girlfriend, otherwise why would he be so happy?'

ha81 duhk Yingman g ~ . 1 am study English PRT Tt's English I study.'

Eih ge. you PRT ' m a r e m h r s I b o l i g h t f m yuu.'

lm-It . . . & . . . ge furthcr crnphmizu tho word by following i t with the adverb s?n 'unly': wlih Ibm d6u ge j€k! only would think up PRT PRT 'Onlyyou wwld thiik ofthat!'

Haih

ki thn

is

p

i

The c l d l mndmction is commonly I& for m t m W

Aaib Yih Y m chht I l h ga, mhalh ngdh. be yoa think out PRT not-be me 'It was p i that thought of h, not me.' A formal equivalent of this m d r w t i o n is sih . . . &,with the Mandarin

wnrQssik f o r m a n d d * f o r g : Guhaak wihngythn sih deui dik. nmmmer fwever is right FRT 'The &mcr is alwsyr righr.'

165 INDIRECT SPEECH The synm of i n d i c t speech is relatively srraightbwrd, as k that of idired qt~stiofls117.4) and indird urmmands (195). T h e is no

1 wnjunction m p d m g to English fid. and a senrenee af re* wech s i m w follm rhe q m t i n g wrb: Siu Yluh wah lfih g u n g lhih w6h. l~rtle Ti any not warn m e FRT 'YIUmys she: h ' t want to m e . '

A-Lihng g6ng W llg6h t m ~j a u h l ~ h git-fin. Ah Ling say to me hear soon marry 'Ah Ling told me s k he getting mamed m.'

@m so

way

Ngdh wah ji k&l~ E, fnh gwLn ng6h sih. I say know him PRT not relate me mmer 'lh not taking any notice of him, it's nothing t o do wth me.' & Ilh, MI1 dSrr~ l&m know yw how thmk also good

Ngsh wah Jl

ng6h e d i h n f yiu ylhniihn. (film) I Cgtainly mud emigrate 'I rmldn't care less what you think, I wll M a i n l y emigmte.' Note that the third penom pronoun MU% m this expression cm be plmnastic, 1.e. not referrinf to any particularperson or thing ( s e 5.1 t h o t k r us= of deonastif pronouns). This phrase should be dist i n g u M from d (I@ihl#~dh)fl meaninf 'tell'.

. Y W I ~b l k . . . airy' b n x ~ i n lv = x b second verb wah appears redundant:

u u l d t d u ~ r;II

joi ddlg w6h. wah m d i say wneed again wit PRT 5he wid it -'t n e m a r y t o wait any l o n p r .

I I

Ydtih yahn

m h n r@deih yiu-hh-yu

l ~ n v e ytuple

ask

us

walltllul-wnrul

maaih ga cht w6h. d l CL WF PRT

See 17.4 for further featuws of indirect questions, and 19.5 for i n d i i

commands.

$ung

slmply meam 'couldn't care less':

gdw

Khih

slhe

Someone's asking ifwe want m sell rhe car.'

Idlmr ttwh ji [pronoun] mans to ignore Somebbdy o r Hmrtthmg or

say

I

1,

p u h ldlk-heui. work mntinue '1 mld him I didn't wrmr m gn m w k i n g like this.'

I

K h i h tbhng n* w6h. @ng ~ a hh6u dnfG dhe wiih me talk say wry d i f h i h PRT 'He told me he was having a hard time.'

The senterm particle wdh /18.3A) may be used i n indirect wrements and quesrlom ss an oven Indlcamr of repaned speech:

Note that a &j&p m u n need nor be used in the rqxWed c h , as the aubjca of tk main verbcan f u d m as its9ubjeCt. To inrrodtice reported speech, serial werb mnsltuctions {%3)are w i d e used. Typical h u l a e are uwh/&ng Mi . . . [mag or ~wh. . .IS*ten':

Ng6h wah khih ji ihh &ng say him know not wish I

I

CMrdlnaUon and subordinale dams 309

wllkh tll*

Question~311

17 QUESTIONS

/

wit Wh h h ji ge mmC? what you n a know PRT PUT T o u mean you don't know')'

I

M h jouh-ffwo gam d6

1

)mr

I

I(

Q r d m are i d inot by changes in word order as in En@&. but by a number of intermgative mstrwt~omand by sentence-final panicles (we ch. 18). AS will be seen from the examples in the following sechm.a pmicle (typimlly a) is often used meprher p r h an intemxative wmtruchon. A disti& f e r n of Cantis the me of rhetorical questions m imply neg3tion. as in English Who knows whm will knpppn? and Who care$? 111 Cantmese, rhetorhl quesiwns m especially m m m m with w k q t ~ l i o r (17.3 s and i l l exclamatory questions (17.6).

I

I

I

'TRere a r t m r a l distinct forms of W r m qomrion, whlch d i in their range d micatanon and their function. Syntactically. certain mmhuctims call for parlrmlar ferns of qufftwm, such as h u h h ~ i h(17.1.3) with quantified sentem. Funcfionally, rhe warioue qlffhnn fnrm rhffer in their premppd'iorts: rvhether they eKpect a +ti%= or w g a k answer. or are neutral with r ~ p ctot the amrwr.

I

I

~

ddu tih

sik

ge

m ~ ?

ILio ~m

m-and dh are also c c x n m l y used in metorical queslims: Juhng di l e h g6rrg d? still need you say PRT 'As if I need you m tell me.' di &ih f f i i ng6h Bh? need slhe care me: PRT 'As if I needed him to tare a b m l me.'

N@ 1

17.1.2 -4

17.1 YESINO QUESTIONS

chi

dill a d kliuw PRT PRT 'Yml sbl dm? know a h doing it so many times?' h

CII IFSTh-WS

The masl nmm1 fwm of yw/no question k known a3 the A-&-A questim. This form of p s i m is like asking Is A the mse or m?The consmudon involves repeating (rednpBEating) the verb or a d w l r e , wth the negative marker mh hetwm: Leih 1k-M.s1k

qiwu

fin?

)mi

n&h km--know my 'Do you k m my bmther?'

bmther

PRT

GihnsHam hg4lMPng a? CL drew pretty-not-pq PRT -s t k d m lmkgoodl' lhe simplesr form d qutaliu~~ b Termed by simply d i n g o particle to s k l a r a t i v e sentence. Can-, hmvwer. has no peral-plrpose qwstion part~clecmmterparr ro Mandarin m.mo is used in the greeting Liih h6rr mrr? 'How are m?' h t is ~ b r i w l yformal in Csntunese. The quation partide dh i n d i n g surprix or dsappml(18.3.1) may furm a questum:

go 18ihhd fong-ga Ah? CL week take-leave PRT 'You're going nn leave nmt week?'

Mi hah

you next

a positive a m r . being tmed to check the valid~tyof an amimpnm. w is exclusively an lntermgative panicle, d e m h g aurprix ?:adu d Pe check the truth of an orexpeaed state of afFairs:

Ths form oFqudion tends to

1n t k case d VRbs of more than one syllable, only the first syllable: is

m:

L b i m b J i n g y i jyuh h8i HEungghq a? you like-nol-like live at Hongkong PRT 'Do yvu like l i v i ~ ~ingHongkmg?'

go ykhn meat- gas this CL person famousrrot-famws PRT 'IS this person ~n h m ~ n ? Wi

Tke answer to an A-not-A q u h i s the verb alone, or with the negative rbh for a negative answw:

JihgygyiEihIi jnngyi (a). likelnot like (PRn 'Yrno.'

312 Cantonose: a comptehekve grammar -

Idiom: an A - m - A q d o n followed by 1 a ' bit' is an ironif or mrrastic form of qtlestion: Ch'lh-hh-zhih di a7 l e d - l a t e m e PRT .Don't you rhink it5. a bit lare?'

I

hih-mhofi typically m a r s bemeen subject and verb. as in the cxsmpk. but may slsomupy alternative p i t i e n s : (a\ at the beginninf of

Tst bgak mnn gwai-thh-gwai di a? me htindred dollar ear-not-r some PRT 'Isn't a llundrd dollars a bit much?'

sentem:

IIaiiihmhaih Itill taairdai tbhng 1611 yZ1dlirill Eletli bpnot-be p u r wfe with yoti together go 'I suppose Jmlr wfe is going with you1'

I

ubwe

This form of question is used a e

a?

PRT

k confirmation.

(b) as a rpfftron tqg (SH 17.1.6):

U i h yiigtng jidou. hsihme? you already know is that riel 'You knew already, didp't NUT

Daaih-hh-dmih s L i bi a? big-not-big wage a-bit PRT

"Whata waste!'

This usage dearly m e y s the exp&ationof a p i r i v e a m .

.-

17.13 COPULAR QUESTION8 M/#-M (AN 1

Any A d - A q m t w n may be e x p r e d more expliritly by !sing me w l a r verb haih +be' in A-not-A form. 1.e. hoih-mhaih. +ing the maln wrb: Ktuih h i m h a i h & m g ch6h jihk- tan^& a? Arc: k-na-tt wish ride thmu~htrain FRT 'Does he want to take the through train?' This form of question i s mum1with r e s v m the e-d answer; it may be compared to 1s if ~ M llrar P .. ? o x French &-c@ qrie . . . ? I t is also required in questiom with s quantified phme (see ch. 14) +inf the verb. hnih-mhoih then m e rmmediately before the qmmified phmse:

Haih-mhah yihn-y$hn &m be-not-be everyone a h so 'Dos cvcrJrme think that way?'

Ism

gir?

think

PRT

Jek-jek &I dm j0nfi you b e d & CL-CL dog all like 'Doy o n like all the dogSI'

U i h haih-mhaih

ga" PRT

Haih-mhaih douh-dmh di31 yiitih Jilnggwoh choi sihk a? be-not& everywhere also haw Chinese fmd eat PUT 'bthere Chinese fond to eat everywhere?+

Note that a simple A-not-A question. as illustrated in 17.1.2. would not be pos~lMeIn thew cases (e-f one cannor.ask * D o r A d w ~ hd& yduh-rr&h Jriagpwk c h i srhk a9 meaninf "Is there Chime food In a t everywhere?').

. Idiom: haih-mhaih a? i s a sceptical reqvwe to a mtement:

A: Kfuih sik

k

dhe

'He k-

E:

s + a h p jdng yjhylhn ga m m e t e n C L language FRT b r n of langua~s.'

Haih-mhsih a?

PRT

--be

'Are you m?'

The particle u may be drawn out m emphasize

m k e r ' s disklief.

hou-mhbw, the A-not-& tam at mu ' g o M is used to ask if a m u w of action i s k i r a l 3 e or nol (compare the ux of m k h 'don't' in negative imp?rativu: 19.4).

Ng6h ha-mhhi I @-110t@

tbhng keuih heui with him p 'Shilrl I gn wth him?'

LRih wah W m h 6 u

wo

my

IA go

E? (talking tu o n a l f ) PRT

j8i

good-rot-good let CL srm

kui

p

Meihgwok duhk-syb a? America study-hk PRT 'k you think w should ld OUT son go to m d y in AmerimY I f hdrrmhdtr is used with a quantihed phrase as the subjm. Mu-mh6u mtst precede the subj& (asfor hwrh-mhorh abovel:

G w d m s 315

314 Cantonese: a oaprehenshre gramrnar

WBahng dsk nwih a? walk can not-yet PRT 'Are we ready m go?'

H6u-mhhi @hn-@n dim heui a? gmd-not-$ood p = m m all go PRT 'Would i t be u good idea for everyvne to go?' H&-mh&i @not&

'How

h

Sihk dsk meih 97 ear csn n o r m YRT 'Is dinner rmdy yet?' L4ih go jBi sik hhahng meih PW CL know ~ l k m - ~ t PKT 'Can your son walk p'?' U i h hw3wyii mcilr a? yoti begin i-ewwbook nor% PRT 'Have you smrted mislng yet?'

gw go dm m n dl411 chin a? CZCL. all donate linle-little money PRT t everybody donating a little cushy

Mu-mRdu is also wxl as a tag attached to q u ~ orssuggestions(17.1.6). 17.1A M I H WESTKINS

The negative word meih 'not yA' (U.3) added m a M a r u t b e sentence forms s question asking whether spmHKng has o c a m d . In the: most M c s r lcase. the verb has the perfective asped marker j6 or the experiential pvo: Mi sihk-jkfaah

m i you eat-PN-fod not-

sRih dhk-gwo g8i-jUk me& you eat-EXP &&en-conp not+ 'Ha* yw evcr C Q ~ di&n C ~ cangee?'

20.4)

B: Jh-@

a? PRT

M h types translate wth the present perfed in English; the dstmctim k m n them involves whetherthe quMion mncems the present sitriation Ij6) or past experiem (pm; sse 11.2.5). Note that m i h tmndates as 'yet' in the case: of a perfective and 'ever" in an eRperientia1 quesrim: these adverb bring oul the distinction in English. Similar questions m y be formed mih a verbal partide id in^ m p l e t l o n or accomplisnmenl (11.3) in phce of j d ~ .

~ cook

h6a faahn ma1 a? V-PRT W mt-yel PRT 'Have y.m finished cooking?'

jai

G6

that

Mn syii

n

H'h

tfd

LRih

u:%r

Jahn

meih

a?

book you read finish nm-yer PRT

'Ham you finished that h

k ywl'

4 y€h m a 3 a? all work not-)vl d u a all ymn w

meih? boss leave-PFV not-yet 'Has the boss left yet?'

A: G u h M n jlu-jh

a?

PRT 'Have ymi eaten yet?' (mmmonly used as a @ng:

W h

Jhe p i t to questions of this fype is to r e p t the p d i m t e . often with an firmmve sentence parricle such as In added:

I

la.

leave-PFV PRT 'Yes, s1x.s left.' A: MI1 jouh smi @gfo meih? yoti du all homework not-yn 'fiw you finisheQyolrr h m m w k ? ' B: ~ w hsgai p la. do all PRT PRT 'Yes. I h m . ' For a negative answer. the reply i s to repeat m B , which may be ammp anied by an adverb or rpntence prtide: A: U i h ~ 5 - j d seun meih? ~ w u wriR-PFV letter n 0 t - e 'HAWyou written the letter?'

B: (Juhne) meih (still)

wor w:

a. not-yet PRT

d (yd)?'

meik questions may also be formed with dnk (12.3.1) to enwire whether mhjing~ ; m be done, and with d a l wrbs. ~ 3 b to~thehpresmt: ~

yriuh-mdulr is basidly the A-not-A form oT the existential word ~ ( I M I I (15.11, asking whether me thin^ exists or not:

316 Carrtoneser a camprehen~hgarwnar YAulwm6uh

Note that the p e r f 6 a q w d marker$ dws d ormr in thk wrrstructinn as it is ~nmmptiillewith the nwtive word mduh (see Il.rA, 13.9. The experiential guw, hmwver, may o c m r with it:

mahnaih a?

h s m - h n v e problem

PRT

'Are there any proMems?

Ltih go

wih

yhkm6uh

a?

sih

pm

U stomach have-not-have pmHem PRT 'Isanything w m g with yuur 5Wmachl'

Note that when wrbvbjecf mmpwnds are quewioned in this sense. tbe order of verb and object 1s reversed: Lkih juhng fih-rn6uh 1% jmh 1 I r a v e d - h w c thing do you haw any more d to do?.

a? @uh-$h 'work')

PRT

Y6tlh-mhh h h n sihk ga? (silk-faahn 'eat') have-not-have f d eal PRT -1s there anything to eat? n n irnportsnl llse of juirrfi~nh~h i s f n qnrdim Wtpfhpr m e t h i h ~s happened or not. as an alternahw m the meih ?vpe of qtmtion (17.1 .a):

Yhhrnhih @a" WrtgFo a? h-t-have hand homework PKII' 'Have you h a ~ W in F i r homework?

Yuuh-mhh @w tho? k a rreq m m m m expression of outrage w ridicule. Although literally "Is there m e rmstake?'. ir has bemme gmtdized rlrwgh m: Idiopn:

(Mhih) y6uhrnhih gAau chu a? (you) have-not-hare make wrong PRT 'Are my?'

It isoften us& i m p m a f l y . with t h e m omitted: A: N#dh I

ni deui hhmi mhih-jb b t this pir shws buy-PFV eipht

man. hundred dollar 'Ibought tbis pair of s l w s for KKl dollars.' B: Gam gwsi. $uh-m6uh @at1 drol so expenstve haw-not-have make mistake 'So expen*ve, are you mt of v u r mind?'

book

B's reply rmkl imply mthw t M A rs crazy to rpend so much morrey, or h t the price itself i s wtragHW6.

Lkih yhhm6ah dnbk-gtw mahtlhihohk a? y Ilnrur~ul-have dudy-EXP @ y s l u FRT 'Have yw (ever) studied +?'

Muh-mdulr dirk [verb], the question form of ylkrh ask if wmething is p&ble:

d& (1232) is o

d to

N@ yuht

em-mbuh dik waahtsyut a? fm month havenot-hme cun d i - m o w PRT 'Is i t ~ i b l toe p skiing m May?'

L&%

@

you

g

3

Ihh?

khihdeih yhh-mbuh dSk &h jihk-tUng-ch€ have-not-have can ride through-train

m they

PRT PRT 'Do p think they'll be able to take the through min?'

17-1.6 TAG QUESnONS

Tag questions are t d , as in Englii, to turn mtemm into qwstiorrs. The usual tag is lmih-mhoih:

M% jouh Wing ge, haih-mhmi a? you d damr PRT ri@t PRT 'You're a dmm. aren't ynuu?' Naturally. & &ons tend to p r c m p a p i t i r e eanswer- Note tha the G n t m e x tag inrwiant in form. translatinf aren'ryora?, isn't .dw?, don't rky?, erc. k&t-mhh (the A-nd-A form of Mu 'gwd') in attached as a tag to quests or suggestions, mmninp 'okay?':

NgWh

j6ud7

w

adyisb

jhi, hh-mh6u a? leave okay PRT?

'Lets leave early, shall w?+

lcm of the second h mind: haih-mhaih 4h a i h - m m i a i h d i 'isnT h t so?' M ~ m h f i-~,iM r ~ m f n'okay?' l

Note also

optmal tone:change in the q6on

tag: mhmh + mrfi.

318 C a d o m a comprehenshgrammar A: Ng6h tiihng W&h+ I with Wah

ddk-mdrsk (12.3.1) is used as a tag to elicit m n t or a-1:

Ng6h tingyaht d n Wh king-hdh. dak-md3k I ~ m o n o w seek y m dtstalutrile okay-na&y 411 m e and talk m you tomormw. okay?'

a?

Tin Sing Mghtsuh

dang H h . Star Ferry wait you 'Wah amd 111k waitiarghryau a1 II* 91ru k u y l ~ h r u w r r l v r ~ ~ i ~ ~ g a t nine.'

PRT

B: LAh ~ h n gHtga &ng ng6h wA? mi h d o u h dang d? you dQ who wit me say at where wait say 'You'll k waiting with who? W h e did you say?'

17.1.7 IWNATH)N AND ECHO QUESTIONS As in hglish and many languages, a quesrion m y be indited by rising intonatimr alone. Allhwgh the Cantonese tones leave w l A r d y little mwn Cur iarlmnalinn (1.4.3), t k end of thc sentencemoy be @ e n a ch-tk rising pamm i n d i t i n f a question:

17.1.8

a? ?not+ ferrypier PRT Ale ydti goingto the few per?'

A: Ng6h mgiwjjb

titih &3h lose-PFV CL key Tve Iwt the key: I

A.

a. PRT

E:

s 6 s l 6

B: MFlt$l~ d? M h m@n-j6 tiuh what rvords y m b P W CL key 'Wl~at?You've I& the hey?'

A:

heuigwo GBnihdaaih.

geEXP Canada

'fiejlst k e n to Camda.'

B:

Giinfthdad?

you go-Rm Canada 'You've been t o CANADA?'

A semnd t y p of echo question. where the questioner wishes a palicular word OF phrase to be repeared. ends with the part*

chE p n k Mi h n d m h ivi? yotrr CL car park at where PRT 'Where d ~ d yuu say ywr car was prked?'

w6 (18.3.1):

h hcui la. PRTI n d go PRT ?mo., Y h h h h d-dn a? have-nothave wmh dish PRT 'Have you washed the dish=?' Y6uh a l Mhh a. h a w FWTl not-have PRT 'YesI Nn.' L6ih ~ i m p m ktuih meih a? you maet-EXF her rot-yet PRT 'Haw ym~ma her?' Ginla 1 Meih a. meet-EXP PRT nor+ PRT TYes 1 No.'

B Hwi a 1

rising or rnmgea tom.' This fype i s t w d especiaRy for echo qt~stions,where the questioner is repeating a st-t out of surprise o r incredulity:

Lkih ga

WESTW3NS

A: Herii-rfiMi mfithuh

This i m a n o n pttem primarib Mfem r k hst mml d llur 3tllwncc. md?.ing or exaggerating i h bas'i tone; in the case of a mid level tone as in Imsi. Ihe rise IS more pronounced and ends higher than a typiml high

R- 7 k i i heui-jh

RESWNSES TO -0

The m a l reply to a yesfno question is to repemthe w b ofthe question, p e c d d in a e i v e a n s w r by the appmpriate negative markw (see ch. 13):

Leih janhaih m i really p ='re really going?'

A: Ng6h ngSam-nghm 1 jusl-lusr

Hng 1% & dim hdi h o r n morning nim o'dodc at

/

N m (ht a m g a n reply is often m o m p a by a m r e m panicle: a ho' a m without a particle to modmate it is likely to be pmxived as a h p t or t w d%. A positive: answer may alm be d i f d with an adverb andlor a sentence psnicie:

A:

tll~Ul Ihfkrhhchfl~lCluh&uh CC baby Eke-not-like father

'Does the M y Iwk like his father?'

a7

PRT

320 Cantonese: a m m ~ h grammar e ~

.-

A: Sgi-mdi

ng&deih neehot-need w "Dowe have to sip?'

B: Ggnghaih chih k! ofcoume like FWT 'Ofmurx he $oes!' I n the case of qularqufftiom (17.1.3). the ~ u l alone a is an a respnse:

w t e

A: G h haih-mhaih M6lhgwok-yihn a? WI a-nH-are Amrican PRT 'Are you American?

B: Haih a / PRTI

Mhaih a. no PRT

m~ed

aI

PRT /

Id~ornadram~*rrs:d u b c h is an gmpving response to a query, %carny one- expecting a positive answer. I t is a douMe negtiw In erred means 'righr':

(13.5) in whi* 'no-g'

A: G h hih-mhih M i h SimSang a? you bPnoc-be Ma MF PRT "Ym're M r Ma, aren'l you'?'

may be contracted to haahk;

B: M h h

A: Lhh guih Bh?

sign-name PRT

r d i la. I ~ J r ~ ~ ePRT d 'Yes.we do INo, we dont.'

B: Yiu

?do:

Imik (ak) as a

chim-dng a?

m

ynll firwl PRT 'Tired, are yon?'

cho.

np5h jaih

wmnr I

haih.

then am

Tight, that's me!' dOri m h i h is a qtialified negatiw alswer, similar in meaning to hot

B: Haahk.

really': A: Wih nparrmgthm Ihih h i W u n m n g haibmhaih

Yes

'Yes.' Mote that huih doss not anrespond s t r a i m r d l y m ypr h n w w r . I t 1s

yai jt~st-jua

ndused in a n m to an A-no#-Aq w t l o n without the coplla. Instead, the verb r q e i i t d in the questnon IS the answer:

h6u mgwmn a? very mt-llsed PRT 'Domifeel srrans, hmjng jtrw arrived in Hongkmg7'

A: Heui-rhh-heuih6kdi

a?

pnot-p holdmeefing PRT 'Are you p n g to the meeting?'

B:

all

d verb is used in the queshon it alone forms the a m r :

A: Ldh d l h - r R ~ v d I h h g kPufh a? yai wuldllat-wo(1M help her PRT 'Would you help her?'

B: W6ih. wuld

17.1.8

REPLIES TO NEGnnVE W-NS

If the question is m negatiw form, containing Ihh, mdulr or meih, the appropriate respome d ~ f f e n sigdcanlly from the Ekglish. To confirm the negative of the question, there are two hnds of posslMe re*: (a) repeat the negated verb:

I w1kl.'

(12.1-3):

PRT

'Not really, yw soon get used to it.'

'Ye.(I am).'

Note that the

Dfiu mhaih ak. h h faai jaahp-gwaan aim ¬ PRT very fast gt-used

saai la. (TV interview)

B: Heui a. (not *haih) go !=RT Simildy. if a d

come arrive H o n g h g be-not-be

dfnmatitive

reply to sfi-msdi is in: positwe counterpart. flu

A: Lelh rRh d11g Ihh? you not wail PRT 'Aren't you going to wait any m?'

322 ~ ~ ~ s i u e g a r r m a r

I

Cllest'rn 3P

by omjoining two phrases with the conjunction dillnghaih,often r e d u d tn dihng:

B: 64h ding la. not w i l PRT 'No, I'm nd.'

fib yiti

(h) confim the negative statement with bit? or h d k (17.1.8'): A:L&h&ih daai chin ih? yoti not-have hring money PRT 'Didn't yell bring any money?' B: Haih a. y s PRT 'No. I didn't.'

pk

dihng(haih) faahn a? riw. PRT

you wnl congee ore) 'Would you like cmgee o~ rice?'

Ngdhdeih heui mbih +h dihg k n iikM a? we go buy things or return home PRT 'Shall we p shopping or go home?' An alternative wnjpnctivn ip v

A G h hih-mhaih meih heui-gwo O u ~ l u a? you he-nor-be m-yet p E X P Australia PRT 'You haven't h e n to Aumalia yet. right?' &: Haahk. )C=

'No. Ihaven't.'

Note that h@i& tmes ne here. To darify. born strategies may be used -her, haih as an affirmative answer and the negated verb or adjective for oonfmration:

m I r :

Khihdeih they

yihmshn ylhaahk Nub h k j m emigrate w stay here 'Are they emigratingor staying h e ~ T

a?

F'RT

The reply to such questions is to repe;a the m a t e phrase, with or without tha remainder of the senknee., e.g. JziL 'Cmfp0,' E u jzik 'Wmi mngee' or Ng6h ylu jrik 'I want -gee'; &h htiisyu 'Stay' or Khihdeih Iduh hriisyu They stay'. NOK the uwds muahkpd@fhd,which can also merm W, are not usad in alternative questions, but in disjunctive 'either . . . or' statements (16.1.4).

A. M l h

QrnI Ah7 not-have news PRT 'There's no news?'

tr: Haih a,

mbuh.

PRT

hausnH 'No, there isn't.'

)es

verb of the q u d h i s repeared in To cmtradict a n w t i v e question, psitive fom. Note that i f mhaik is b f m is to mnrradid the negrive. rather than to confirm it as in English:

&.

A. M h Ihh d5ng bh? you not wait PRT +Arm" yn!waiting?

B. D5ngMaih ak, ng6h wiih dhng lohk-heui ge. wait l n d - k PRT I w l l wait continue PRT 'Yes, 1 am./Yes, I'll csrry an waiting'

17.2 ALTERNATIVE W E S T n w B?' which &r a choice ktween tuo alternatives me known as alternative or disjunct& questions. They are

Qeshons of the form 'A or

W h w r d s do not c m at the bqinning ul t11c k n l ~ l mas h Fmg1i$h, tinless thq. belong there BS astence &jcm% A question with the subjed as the wh-word t h resembles an En#& question in word order; a -rd ~ r c s c n t i n gan okjw, h m t , w r s aftcr the w b like any d i m 3 djsct: hbjv

Vbmg u d ~ n

Bingo d n np$h a? who seek me PRT

L6h w h mgo a? pi seek who PRT 'Who a m you looking forT

'Who i~lookingfor me?'

The main qu& words !are bed on the words Wn 'which', mt?r 'what', a m 'how" and $Pi 'how rmich bingo "who' (17.3.1) h1n [CL] khvhich' U7.3.3) bTr~duuh.Wrrsyu 'where' (17.3.4) dcm @ai +why' (17.3.6~ dim @ung 'how' (17.3.7)

rrat(#h) %laq (173.2) @kih When' (17.3.5) gdldh %ow h g ' (17.3.5) &i[add W (17.3.7) #idG 'how manylmuch' (17.3.8)

These a u h words h v e a number of i mrr-t a n t uses mher than in qua*, In free &ti= clat~m(h.4.3) and cnn& SenbmICS (tbu) they hamthe indefirnlemanir#$Whoever. ruhatever',etc. 'Ihey may have the &wing 'my(-).. 'anything: ~LZ. in negative mntexts (13.4), in A m - A q u e s t h and mdhml sentences. and ns g ~ m h k m with cWrr (14.151fl. Like other toms of qlrestion. wh-questions lypically hme a quimtion p r t i f l e s ~ ma ~ h ornPIlC~18.3.1) The adverbgarlging'really. exactly'may W to emplraslze such a queshm: G i h gauging &ng gdng rnHty€h a? ~u actnally want say what PRT 'Wl1.1 4" FU d d l l y ~ & ~ brsay?' t

Bingo dMihnwS lhih a? rn PRT who *hone 'who w s c It that c9MT

ray^..

Ih;word mfph is h a d fmm mm 'wlwi? mul yha ' 'thing': Kknh @ng-j6 mtyel g i i dou ltih gam she y P F V what annoy till you 50 ' f i t did he say $0make you so angry?'

lsu a? mgry PRT

Gimkluh & hohksaang yhih m a w h garn dahkbiht a? Cambridge POSS students have what so special PRT 'What's so special aboln Csmhrld@audents?' ma) a h b used rfin noun. likc English what

Y6m c W a? (asked by waiter) $rink what tea PRT 'What kind of tea will you have'!' Wuihckih @ng-g6n nEdyd~H"B a? they bpeak-PRDG w h r language PRT 'What language are theyspeaking?'

N w MIWTI wd also m a n s '1 hep, your par$onv (20 1.3 3

LRih &ng m'F? y?u wrnt what 'What are you waiting fm?'

Sihk m'yE a? eat what PRT ' W n t shall we at?'

. .7:

that thc high tmw of mat tran5fr-fi tu tlk vu-1 conhdm.

N&

Bsnp wah ng6h @h&ut a? who say I marrymt+ut PRT -Who m y s l m ' t get marrid p.e. ndmdy wanrs me]?' a p l i t e altemtive ro b i n p , often trsed an the

tekphone: a?

mstyeh M u

eat CL what gmd 'Whdshall we ear?'

refen to

A - h g o w h ylu cheng ngshddh sRrk ma;lhnfmhn wsh. a-who say want invite us eat evening-meal PRT 'What'shs-name says he wants to i m t e u u to dinner.'

[c]m i n tlmc

cfFrndWhb a mkquial m b i m t i o n typimlly used where the item k i n g queslimsd b MI uncolintable m d i r y or plural (see di: 6.2.2): Sihk di

PRT

d i n p 'what's-his-name', with the personal p f i x a- (2.1.1.20.2) someone whose name escapes the speaker:

1

17.32 W A T QUESTIONS

Pmuraciahm nm:mmyBh is often r e d u d to one sytlahls. being m'w. espeaally in set eexpressiom'

E i h g4m bingo p u h HEunWng dug a? you pkk who do Hmpkmg M k PRT 'Who are pichoosingfor Miss Hongkong?'

C M g mahn win Mn wii request ask seek w h i h p e m 'May 1 ask who yml're mlling for?'

!/

I

The usual wonl fur 'who?' i s bingo, fomwd hnm hn 'whi'whichT with the c l a d e r .p

Mn udi 'whkh person"

(

I

LCih puiglng dim Em ga? Yon1 actually hOW think PRT 'Whd do JW really think?'

b R r p iF n n ~ m used ikmically. as in who

i

Ckastimls 325

-

a?

PRT

Y h h di d w h h m i ga? have CL what mn talk PRT -Whmi s rhere we can mlk about?,

3% Cantmese: a comprehensivegrammar

Idiom: rn-

tdioPn: &gwbi

m y be inserted into a bisyllabic verb or W b ] e a combination. The effect of this is to ridmle or pky down a suggestion:

Wh)is an expleriup:qn'mion

K h i h ga~iging m g g A n di rn8t / really ray-PROG CL what 'What on earth i s he on abut?

A: NgSh dung s€ brin sy€I a. I want writ*: CL book PRT T d like tn write a h k . '

B: % m 8 v h syil a? write what book PRT

mao

ma

do

whm

for W:

gwsi ***

$h? miff

I€&? PRT yw

gwii a,

***

'Whaton m h are; you up to?+

'WhL? Wmirt b h k ? '

A: E%tyth

n&hh$eih heui tai hei 8. (see 19.2) whynot we watch film PRT 'Let3 p and E a film.' a, n@h$ei gam film PRT we 'cn

k T i h see

y6.h

lei

what

In ' w h i i questions, bin n'which" is followed by the classiher and

-"Y

jouh!

Gam

jjdng f# Yib jeui jungyi tiim j h g a? many CL tlower you most l i k which CL PRT Which of t b flowers C you I D like best?'

fh~ngs do 'What do you mean. see a film? We ha= m much work to do''

so

n~sy@kmay follow a monosyllabic word with similar effect

A: Yiu hlahnE M u flhn need walk very far 'It's a Img way to walk.'

noun:

L&hpkdSk Mn @I jeui leng a? F r l fwl i u h i i rl. dng mwl nirp PRT 'Which dop, do yni think i s the nice&

r k

Rim n;lm gn yhhn hun n? which three CL pm3m p PRT 'Which three are going?'

w.

PRT

N M that ~ bm [clamiiier] &u m

B: Yfihn rri5wh jek? far whar PRT

s 'any' (13.4, 14.15).

'What do you man, a longway?' mrir can dso be ured alone in informal speffh (this occurs especially in indirext qu&ons; rn 17.4):

Eihdeih Midouh jouh

mat a? what PRT

you-PL k r e do 'what rn yuu (guys) up tu?

nm k also used in exclamatory Mi: W t Eih m6rlh chin mi? w h d p u not-have money PRT PRT Wlmt? You mean you h w n ' t gc4 any money?' Mat

16h

W

Iaihj6

what you alm m e - P F V M a t , you here too?'

Bh?

PRT

1

i

I

bindouh is w d for %iwte to'questions:

r

Nghhdeii heui hndouh yhmch&h a? go where drink-tea FRT 'Whm shall we p for dim sum?' 'where' qmm c*lcerning locsnon require h r

6-h,

l i l l y 'at

.brr.:

L6ih hhsi bindouh &lhng tahng

A?

where mend das 'Where is your d a &

FWT

j w at

bmsy~# is a more m a 1 a l t e r n h . A s rnrsry& is seduced to M , M o u h may be reduced to bm in cobquiz11specch:

M h gsnjyuh heui bin p u mxl go where 'Where are yai gmng next?'

gIloih 'how long' f o k the verh like an adverbial object (8.25):

a?

PRT

Lkih h 8 Heungghg jyuh-jd g&Mi a? you in Hongkong I ' i e P F V how-long PRT 'How longhave you l i din Hongkong?'

Idiom: rheton'ml hdouh: bindouh is USAi d i h l l y to form rhetorical questions. Kith a meaning similar to siltre

I t is used with md~ghto mean W n w long.

. . 7 in

V V ~ I I

English: M h plhn@h h d w h yiuh i h k gam you normally where have eat so

& much

Tcpther with y7t rhi 'owe', @ik mean$'how often':

tlhmbsn a?

K&~ihdeih g6ildh hni pi chi hri a? =hey how-long hold one time meeting PRT 'How often do lhey meet?'

PRT ' S i m when h m yoli enten so much ~FXIT? &ssmt

A: U i h p j& Mu Rk wo. you CL son ADJ clever PRT -your son is really ckver.

B: Kmdwh where.

G6 d6 go jungthuh yiu sihk chl yeuk a? how mnny CL hour r#xl sM oms time d i n e PRT 'How often do you have to take the med~nne?'

haih Ie? 6 PRT

173.6

'Ihardly think so!'

The

A: Wt@h k h jihH ghn 8. rather yai self chome PRT 'Why don't you choose )ourselP'

E: Ngdh hSn I

sik

for 'why? is dlm @-,while prrh mi@ spnifiully 'fur what purpubt-?'

verb:

h ! '

Dfm @i hi

@m gf7 Coonv.) how m e would thus PRT 'Why i s i t like this?'

1 7 8 5 WHEN AND TIME QUESTIONS

I d h dfm @RE

" you

between the subject and verb, like a

u l n p m man Ian a? you when return come FRT 'When will you he back?' The adverb S n %st' may be added i n When"!-om. impaticwe: m n gelan s~n p yai when fiRt know 'When will you km?'

J ~ I I J IU IC I

dlm ghi 'how come?' is used for @om of muse or p . I t may c m d t h a t the beginningd t h e sentence or bebeen the mbjectand the

where know PRT

The word disih orgM'when?'com time adverb:

WHY W E S m S : REASON AND PURPOSE

most general

l e l d a lu I

jFk?

'Bd Idon't know how to c

. . aim':

U i h $ml& m4d fkm Ytngpok a? you tmw-long have-noi return England PRT ' H w long has i t k n since yw went b c k to England?'

a'r (te1.1 PRT

inh chtur+mg

e not &-voice don't y w s;ly something?' how m

a'!

PRT

@I lhmny means %ow m explain?' and i s also !ised metdinguistimlly ta ask wh# a word or p h m means: ~

Ng6h h h mihng n i gv iih dfrn g h i . J not understand thii CL word how explain '1 don't undersland what thrs word meam.'

d e n indbting

r w i w h ) , lilwdny '&Jw~wL?'. is u d udlq~linuy rur "why' q ~ d i o m . It k used s@iispedficany for q b o m of purpose, very m!lEh like Endish what - . for?. It may occur, like dim @, berween subject and verb:

&U!I

330 Cantonese:a mqdtershre gramar

NT

p j ib dim yhng l u n y i i k a? this CL word how way hnslate PRT

Lkih p u h m+% p m & + U n g a? p u do what so neruous PRT What are you so nervous

'Howcanwerra~daefe~

A l t d v e l y it may mme a t the end of the sentem: M h gam :% a

$iAh alone is dm cnmmonly w

As these ermrnples suggest. jouh mrib.9h i s & r i d to d q u i a l register; in more formal contexts dtR @i i s p r e f e d for questions of purpwe. can a h mean what%lk r ~ ~ i ~ l l e na h? 'it,: NOW: id~omahcaliy,]mh

p t Ink j ~ i hl l h w h a. PRT one piypv brother do what Mi &he

muhk ~m

wood so

stand here 'What's thc mottsr with your brother. standing rhrre like a ~Whnnrd?'

tdiom: niiM f is A ~dlRqUia1 f m of 'why) q w i v n me~ning Mat's the use?' or 'what's the poi@ di Mt is essentially a rhetorbl qtistion. wing the p t i v e form of the nadd verb msrir 'no need' (12.1 3): S4i

mahn Eoih jek? need what ask him PRT what*^ tlw p i n t of asking hm?'

ma

mHt

hhn a? cmnplicated PRT 'Why make t h n p w cornplicatflr Sgi

d what

prn

Mi dim w6n &%I N hhn giinp you how find V-PRT this CL pb 'HOW

ga? PRT

ma p u nm tmpb'r

Rhetorical 'how' questims, in prticular, typically urn &Ialone: N@h dlm gw8 jT

jEk7

I

how den1 know PRT 'How on mrth should I know?' Gam dtlh dlm g h dSk chit a? m late how rush can on-time PRT W m can M be on time when it's SQ he?'

Jdhw 1 m t%ng 'hm e ? ' m a rheh-kal idiom, implying thm there is no mmpiwn to be mnde: d h ~ h n pa? how same PRT 'Of mum it's different this tnne.' G m chi this

f7Vd.l

50

This is lypicafly an impersonal mnsrrudion. although a slibjen may

hR ~pecified: mst gam g n g a? need whal so fear PRT 'What arc ~u su afraid of?'

L h &i

d for manner questions:

dngisng Huh rri3yA1 a? fnlstrawd do what PRT you so fmstmted for?'

di

JWU

time

wr

ni go llhndoi dlm thhnp: jfk? (film) this CL qymeratim how s a m PRT

'Of

i t was different for our generation.'

N-h

Lilie: many Cantonese rhetorical questions. thii idiom cannot mdily be bandatad with a question in English.

dfm m y be u d with& a main verb, meaning 'how is . . . ?' or "what

m...?': 1737 ' H 3 W WESKWS: MANNERAND D m E E

The tlslial word for 'haK?' is dim ytung. in which )*uag means m n n e f : Leih dIm flung p g huh pi a"? you t n w way steam CL fish PRT

'How me pisteaming the kh?'

M h @h@ dfm a? your bmlher how PRT 'How's ywr hmther?' A similar funnion fdbwinp m &limy gdm. (10.1.2):

Ei a m

dim a?

CL cloths how FRT 'What about Wme dc4hes?'

is the intnrogstive counterpart of

332 Camrrese: a mpehsnsive grarrmar &

U i h gauging *ng dim jek? (film) you -ally wnm hou PRT 'What exactly do you want to do?' giuchst h u h gz HEungg6ng Yhhn-@hn d ~ ua n g ji after LP Hongtong person-pemn all nish know 97

haih d h ge. will

I&

PRT

'Everyone is wondering what pH-1987 Honghmg will be like.'

Olleslimd &p meninx , 'how [adpctivelr me qmssed by @: Yingg6i &i ckuhng ga? should how long PRT 'How long& m W Ir be?'

Juhng $uh

mill

'Hw

@I

h v e how

yirhn a? fm PRT

mudl runl~eri s ~ t ? '

Idom: [vdadjecrlve] - slhng- dfrrr? (also prur~uualcxd a2hms Jirrc) i s an idiomatic form of 'how' question. The word s i h q as a verb mans 'awwnpldr'. as In sihng-flng 'slmed'. A5 a ~ e h oomplement d it makes a 'how'question, focusing on how well or huw su~cc&~lllyan adion i s x c c m p l i i :

a?

Uih gti d6 x u i a? you how many year PRT 'How d d mt you?' (med by a waiter w h m a party

how many pcbplc PRT 'How many are ywT

talk18 a m h ~ m n l )

With cmrnMle nouns, Hi (do) is followed by the appropriate dassiikr (6.2): ihkk6i y5uh gG d6 (go) @hn a? yw home h e how numy (U) pmple PRT 'How many are there in your family?'

hL € i

yuhng @di G $ a? need how mnny CL paper PRT 'How m r r y sheds of paper do p neerl?'

Yiu

With uincnintabk (rnasr) n o w , no cluesifier k r e q u i d :

l?W tOng yuhng g€l 1 dui a? boll m i p urn how muEh Hgter PRT 'How much water cb you use to make the v?' Juhng y5uh

g€l diS hnw mnrh timp 'How much time do we have left?'

$till

9 4hne rlim a? [cnnv.) write m tw PRT

chh

h w mwh money PRT 'How mtwb rs it?' G€i do i a?

hsve

jihng a? wmdn PRT

'How's the h n g @ngT

17.4

It is especially common in indirect qwshm:

k h i h rheung %he nng "Int's e e how she n n ~ . ' Tfi-lr5h

--Dm

sihng dim. ~conv.) how

N@

dung t4i-h8h Ir6uih leng sihngdim. want see-DEL slhe pretty how 'I want to x e how pretty she 6.'

(mm)

that thc wnatructicm opplmr. equally to verb (ChP11ng) a d adjectiues (Icng). The idiom [verb] sthng also occurs in declarative form with gdm (1U.1.2) in p k ofdlm.

N&

1736 HCsYV M A N Y M W MI K;H'

gti d5 means 'how many?' or 'how mtlch?' I t is rrged, for example. to ask the pnce of an item or to ask a person3 age:

I N D I R W QUESTIONS

Becam questionsarefonned rvithout inversion as in Ehgtish, there k l i i l e difference betaecn a d i m question and an i n d i h {mnhertl~rl)q~wim A-nd-A, me& existential and whqudwns may all k ueed to report q h c m in i n d i a speech:

(a) D i r p n q w k m M h whg-mh-shngt6i 0k a? yw -&-warn look hwse PRT Th you want ro see the house?'

(b) Indim3 qu&m

Wrih mahn I@M h m g - h M n g tAi iik. slhe ask me want-nm=wnm Imk house 'She asl:od me if I wanred to see the house.' (a) Uilt JAUITII~SUII ISIII-rn 81 you have-notthave think-= PRT 'Have )W ever thought about it?'

(b) N g 3 dung jidmt Eih +uh-m6uh 16mgwo. 1 wnl know yo11 have-not-have think EX' '1 wonder i f p l ' v e ever thought a h t it.'

No@ that kiause dim means %MV'. Glm gbna 'why+ annot be reduced tn this w y . An i n d i a quesrion can serve as the subjeci of a sentence:

I h mabh-mm

mg& dOo rhh g6nyiu. p! ttl;t*fiul-klitlierz I I I ~ alsv I W ~ im-l 'Whether y m believe me or not doesn't matter.'

(a) G h jyuh h6i binrhih a? you lrve at where PRT 'Wheredo you live?

Blnga n@am dm dm rih m a n ng6h pih. who righl who wi-ong alm not invohe me thing 'Who's right md who's m r t g has nothing to do with me.'

@) Yahndeih mahn nghh p h hhsi blndwh. ~ o p l e ask me liw 'People ask me where Ilive.'

at

where

Note, howcyer, rnat tne question p n t k , Bany. may beornltd irorr~Illc indirect version. A particle often u .in indirect qwsrions is wdh. m used in -4 gpeah (16.5. 18.3.4): A-Utuhng mahn ng6hdeih *uh-mbuh jitrntihk w6h. Ah Keung ask us lmve-not-have plan PRT 'Ah KPII~Ek afikimgif we have any plan6.'

Thp indirocr q u c a t h may a l m be ~ + c a l i d im m Mvrt th.: wh. Gauglng m h haih dhn, h i h yhlm ji m t l y future is how no one know m a t the future will be like. no one knows.'

jyun jm~h Mi @m. switch do US dohr 4 don"tlinow whether to put that money into U S doh='

~ e i hheui b n b h a? you go where FRT 'Where m y a i ping? Ubuih dim pung Ism y6h ga? slhe how manner think thlng PRT 'FIOlK does his mind m k ? '

Indlrn ~ G s I i o I l Ngsh mjl k b i h p u h mt Ju up to.'

haih-mkuih in an indirect q t d m . hy mtrast. means 'whether' in &ng whether something RI the c a e nr nnt: Ng6h mji khiih haih-mhaii &g4u pp. I not-know dhe M o t - b e talk-jdce PRT 'Idon't know whether he's joking or not.'

bo.

wluat PRT Q

d

s may contain two or more q w s l h uwds at a;

I

Ifih k u i a. not-know you go where PRT '1 don't know where you're ping.'

Ng6hdmih @ a h h8i h-douh gin-mihn a? we when i d where where= FWT 'Mere m d when are we to meetl'

N&h fl keuih 61111 l&111 y€ll p. I nor-know slhe how think thing PRT 'Idonr know how his mind works.'

mu

N@I

((radio int.l

PRT

Keuih yiiging Urn-j6 hCRl lolh b h m h h rbib-jlk+ dhe already think-PFV very long gd-not-good resign 'He's been wondering whether to resign for w.'

D i m qatstion KPliih jnl~hmiwl a? dhe Bo what 'What is he up toT

nor-know v'he 9 don1 k w wt~srhe's

&.

Mum& (17.1.3, 17.1.6) is used in i n d i c t questions with the meaning 'whether to':

Amrher feature d i n d i m qtestiom is the frequent reductan of billabic questlon words: In i r r f m a l speech espsc~ally,m71y& tends to be r e d u d to miit. b d 0 1 1 hm bin and dim @trig to d h :

I

(film)

mji

liihmaht M wee? pv=sem to who "Whatpresents are you giving w whom?'

Uih mng rnstyCh send whal

M ~ l t i p questions k are prticuhdy c m o n m i d iqumions:

U i h gei-mgejd~ik Mi bindouh m8aihj6 mfitydh a? you semen~berw-not al where buy-PFV what PRT 'Do pim b e r where y a i hwght wt~at?'

17.6

EXCLAMATORY QUESTIONS

A s in English, several f m of question are w e d as exclamations. These memble rhetorical quesrions in that they $o not expect an answer. nn e x p ~ &corresponding ~ ~ to 'how [ndjmthe1!'.

rrrji@is

literany r don't

know how': Nehdeih a m flung haan nmji @ chin. we this way save nct-know how much money 'We save an enormous amount of money this m y . ' mji fl b i ? . hear V-PRT not-know how happy *She was so happy when h e heard about it.'

KEui

tEng 66u

she:

Glmji is m exclamatition of surprise, similsr to What d'ym knour: mrn chi mbh mahnthih, dim ji Seuhngchi & tima nothave p h l ~ m hnw know this time

md3k ge. would not-okay PRT There w s no problem last m e . and what &you know, it's n d wrking again.' M h

dlm s p r r 'what n d is s m i r i n f~i r m d rhmical quesrion. oftm aocompaniod by the exclamatinn diyn! (18.4.2):

Dim syun a? 'Whd can we do?' Aiysl Ng6h mji dim syun lo! 'I don't know whst to do!' mb%g

a h introduces metorical questiuns, of two dintiw kinds

(a) expres4ngsepmml or Rarcasm.

II b ryplally u s 4 wit11UK q d m

particles ufffk and m?

1hi hh? Mflng n@h wGih wain d d belie^ you PRT =if I 'ASif I'd h d i yw!' Mmng Kih W n g sei me? a d yo11 want dR PRT

'Are yw mq?'

1 /

Ckations 337 The nearest translation is pmbbty m i f . question cnnstmctum in Endish.

..

. althotrgh this is not a

(b) to speculate an pxsible muses. meanlng 'I wonder i f . Dim ghi j u l n l how come still

. . ?'as in:

mh gin thh #? Mtm nor see her PRT rrs-rf

Wuih behng-j6? d k ill-PFV 'Why h ~ ' she t shown up yzt? I wonder if she's fallen i117' K G h ni $aih she these days

&hngyaht k k i i u , mtong always throw-up as-if

ktuih @~h-j6? (%o 15.1)

she

have-PFV

I

The prticles do not c o r r e s p ~ l dstraightformlrdly t o those in Mandarin. dthough their fumtions are M y similar. M m m w r , cnmbinations of two &more panicks oocur -dl& i n Cantonese (18.2.3). whereas i n Mandarin anly Ie combines with other p m i c b .

18 SENTENCE PARTICLES AND INTERJECTIONS

18.3.1

18.1

ROLE OF THE SENTENCE PARTICLE

T h e sentence-hal prtkks are an important f e a m of Centserving vamus oomrmlmcative (pragmatk) fundiom such as:

speech.

such a5 qu&im (18.3.1). asserhoms (a) i n h a t i n g speefh-m~ (18.3.2) and m e (18.3.3): (ti)d v l r ~ e n t i d i(ir;dimting t~ the wume vf knwledp.lB-7-41; (c) affdwe and emotional colouring (18.3.5).

In casual c o n v m h n . many sentence seem i n m e t e without one or more final prticles; i n b m r k a S ~ n g .by contrast. they are reduced to a minimum. whether to m e time or to preserve a higher d e p of formality.

t h m are r e l a r d p a r k l a with the same carsonants and w w e l s but diffeerent tone patterns. Table 18.1 shows the w i n vmiants. which are liable to be oonf& (prtkles with a mcsd form slwh a s p . hd, etc. are: omiltd). Thew rela?sd forms involve the following km:

where many oi tbar fum tions are often oonveyed by intonation patterns. While they sometimm m p o n d functionally toEngliish question 'tag,'. they differ i n that there is no pause between the main sentence and the pamcle. h e y are particularly diffrmlt for the f o r e i p learner to e i$iomatidy, and their use also varies considerably betmeen individuals. between the sexff and age

They me not easily mnslated into En$&.

(a) oontrxtion o f ah& particle with aldGh. ak a d m u (see 18.2.3); (b) tonal variants: t h e e forms differ spwrna?ually i n fmhm. Typically, the high-tone variants are: more tentative. the low-tone and the mid-tone o n e n e ~ t r a l . ~ ones a& (c) clogure with [ k]: the forms ah. I&, In& ond lok arc rclutcd to a, jc, lo and I#!&, ending with an unrekassd [-k] (often h e a d simply ar a glottal ST).

PUPS.

The term bteram parlW b preferred by some a u h (Yau 1965; G ~ b b a r s1980. Luke I W ) , who distinpish k t w e e n a w r ! m c as an absh-act ent~tya m an ufl~mncp as an Inbtanm d use o f xnrence In a particular context. Given that i t is diffrmlt or even impossible to define the f u n a i m o f particleswithout reference to the speech context. it b awlably more accurate to treat them as aswciatsd wirh individual utteranoff rather than s e n t e m . Moreover> panicles may be used with phand fmp ments which & not f m c m o l e l e senten-. Cani s especially rlch In p t i d n , h n v i r ~ w~r ~ l r llrirty : Lmsir. rvir~rs c o m p a d to seven i n Mandarin,' and they are one of the few m a s of Cantonese grammar to have been extensivelysWdisd. The fumtionsof the particles -n elusive, however, and rathw dilCcrenl WIIL~I~~~OIIS are drawn according to whether the approach taken focuses on semantics (Kwok 1584). pragmand spsech acts ( F i b s 1W) o r comersllkiunnl arualysla ( h l c 19W). W l l k flit f u ~ t kofl a parlick may bc dcw in individual utleranm. il is extremely d r f l h l t to identify a m m m &nominator.

PRONUNCLATION: TONE AND INTONATlON

Pilrtkla wry in their pnunFiwirm, incliidtng vowel quality. dnmtim and intonation, to a g r e a t w m e n t than other Caiitanese 4. For example. the p a d i c l e g i s conventionally ul-itten with a high rising tone. but the rise of tone is typiFah m m prvnounced thm tt~stin an ordinary wmd wirh this tone such as 'the yerb d 'write'. Moreover. some particles such as 3 h and rlm ormr with a high falling tnne w h ~ c hdoes not occur r e p l a d y with mher words (see 1.4). The vowel of a sentence partide may be p m u d short or prdonged for up to a second or so. This typical drawing our of the particles 1s a chamctenstic of Cantonwhich d i i n p i s l r e s it f p m other Chin= dialects. notably Mandarin. It a h a l l m nuanof i n t o n a h to he superimposed, thereby oolouring he tone of the sentence. I n several we

1

182 SYNTAX OF PARTICLES r a r t L k n\uh~~&lly w r i l l Ilk ~ ~ i l t l l ~ ~ -pfi il i~uinn, l 115 in m d o l the examples given i n senion 18.3. However, they may a h omrr &er the s e n t e m topic and at Other naturnl breaks in the sentence. T h i s w i b i l i t y is, in fW. one ~ A e f t ; d uf d~t:d i v i i u n ur lht: Chinese sentence into topic and comment (4.2).

Cwtdm sentence partick, notably atdh and m7IE, may mayr after the m e m u topic, The aopk and p t i c l e are typically followed by a sli@ pause (intonation break):

Ia, m h h @hn dhk N di y+!t ga. Eqland PRT no m e eats this CL th~ng PRT 'In England, no one e m this k i d ofthiq.'

A~ T in

Ni

b

p.

*P & Wl

plqingdorm efact-al' 'iust.

m

w.UB + a) Us + 4) i j ?+ ah)

joi go np. h i yuhng tak. hay* this CL PRT no-need again use PRT can W Pdan heul. rake badc go 'This we don't need any more, we can take back.' Juhn&uh w, bi &jyuh dmi s6dh a %ill-have PRT you remember-CIDNT bring key PRT 'And a h , rememberto bring Ihe keys.' dh and n#E xrve here to draw mention to the dopic which they follm, w h ~ bnw i s used m draw attention to the follow@ mw.a!&hand I8 &en funaim purely to fill a ywluse, for example in lia: Wnggivd; a, dwh4mh FBatpwdc a. England F'RT France PRT thae-there afl

@uh have

w w.

nice scenery Li ID ICh

loli

seekia5THwmt. SettwmL stc mphasiringcurrent slbdcn, sesldmg s v w h y . etc m w m : b1curs# dehriliue:Thai's ltw way IIis'

'England, France. there's rdce scenery euerpkm.' yiu jmh di mHty61 ga? publ'iorelatiws need do CL what PRT 'What d m pumc relatim imrilwv B: M6uh msl dahkbiht ge, K p g @hn d8-hQhjiufi EL, notspecla1 PRT w ~ t h people greer-DEL PRT A: Giing-grrFHan

k7ng-hla, sihk-MR-Fh b. (&) chat-DEL PRT eat-DEGstuff PRT %thing special,just m t i n g people, chatting ro them, eating.' Note a h that such a topic parfide d#s nd prevent a d i m prtide from m a i n g m the s e n ~ f m a position: l Leih MI, mh6u jci dsng la! Muih ihh wbih mm you PRT don't again wait PRT dhe n d mll lmk I&h ge la. mme PRT FRT You know, you really shouldn't wrdt m y longer. He's nW cominp back.'

1,

1832 CLAUSE-FINALPARTKLES

Tabk 182 P

a

w

n

A particle can also w a r at other natural breaks i n a sentenoe. notablyat rtP end of a clause: I R h pyi-jy~h you remember

yshn

.rjhn sli mhZvl w h Mi w, n i PRT this CL matter don't 5ay to

kn8.

p e w hear 'Now rrmember, don't tell anyone about this.'

mporld-speech particle lu6h (18.3.4) may be used after a Similarly. w b of reporting. before the c l a m reporting the statement (see i n d i d speech: 16.5):

m h Wdh, garn chi

h i &K

say

dk

mdh 9hn jung PRT this time not-harr person w n

sk lek

ge

tbuh #ung.

lakilaak lo. b i bk.

prize

mt

' Y w know u%dshe said? Nobody won the first p h ? this time.'

&h

Many ofthe particles ixm ocarr together at the end of a sentence. leading m s o m e e x ~ w m b i r ~ l i u n AlllsrugI:ll s. a V C I J I a n F manlkrdp~mw fations are l o g d v poasibleJ the combinations actually found and the r n b of partldes are relatively rejtrbAed. The d w n m i n Table 18.2 indicate t kpossible choices of two I0 Tout particles. The partidts lint, sin, ge m d IMgu rmM come fira in a ownbinatinion, w ~ t rrm h alternative orders: sinlrim gdleshgu. or ge - rim. F W n g t h e , one or two particles may wrirr. uk- ~ I V .~I0~1 ~ 1 1 1 1 13 alld OCIC from Cdumn 4. As nn nltmndvc to particles fmm mlumns 3 and 4. one of thme In the row below d u m m 3 and 4 may w r . Note that the question and exclamation particles i n uolutr~n4 and the pavticlcs ending with -k may only c m c ha a II series. Combinations are a h 11miited by (a) pronouncability and (b) semantic cnherenoe o f the oomtinatim. For example. b IF is avoided due to the
Ncde thal thpl mid tnnn nf FP ~ n rjef mmhirres h t iw the high tone of 6 to produce a high rsng tone in gd d jd. The function of these -f is a combination of those of the two parkies. a adds its f u n a h of questioning cr rndlifying a statement to t t funrtion ~ of the first particle. Thus, the w i v e partidegcmmbned rvirh s hasthe died ofseekingmnfimation o f a statement:

-

fCrtnK4

ge+e-g& ge + a 4 P ge + a h - + @ h ge + ak t gaklgaak ge Xma + @ma

+

F+a-j5 j e + a - + ja ]e+ah-+jBh jE

+ Bma

-

jma

m h - m h i h Jan ga? knd-is true PRT

'Ts that me?' Similarly, guk (also grsak) is f m e d from gp and ak:

I I

Juhng @uh gak. still I A V ~ PRT 'There are some more.' (Why didn't you bring them an?) ,qe here marks m -on. wit11 ak implying reprpwch. Idh m b i m b indicating current relevance with ~?hi r d i c a t i n ~surprk

or diippmual: m+ah-lhh

Lkih p m faai dmK s Z i h @ ~ ~ ~ 1$11?

la + Bma -t I l m a

z u

!%I

f W want to finish wmk

PRT dn you?

finish-work

so -.

Sentem Partkk and iffsriedians 945 The f m of the mbinations is a function of that d each of the two particles rs used in isolation. T h e folknring are m e typical examples d

gc here 1s aszrhve, In marks current relewance a n d m sxks mnfirrnAm (Iu and hna c o n m bLim:compare the statempnt hJ~dI1 sik I ~ e ubi '1 ~

comlnnations. by no means exhauslive; note that the mder of the parhcles follmvs Table 18.2.

know the my').

g~ IU (assertion + relevance) 3ihk &k ge la. eat mn PRT PRT

ge je bo! d i t t e r c ~ PRT PRT PRT 'Boys play football a d girls play footbll - what's the chfferenoe?' n*

Vincent deui ng6h M u jauh d%k good Ihen ukny me want Vlncenr to

N@h yiu

b. (fiW PRT PRT 'All I mnt i s for Vincent to be gmd tn me.'

F

ge wo (assertion

+ mkwmrthinets)

heui dong on, h6u dung ge w! you bt-month go east mast very cold PRT PRT *ITyw're ping to the East Cmst in January. it's going to be veq d d ! '

LRih 5%-yuht

g ?nu(playingd

m

+ *ofcourse')

Lbuhpbh: N@h t5ihsh jE ma. (w~fe) I lmk-DEL PRT PRT 'I'm just going to M e a look.'

la nur (current relevance + notovorthined iikkti b m. YIP Mks return-PFV home PRT PRT .MIS$ Ymp has jlst gone home!'

m the fact.je

plays it d m as snmethimg ~ ~ n r m r k a Mand e,

F w r cnnsecutive particles wcur In the following example: Uuih bj6

daih

yat

mlhng tim ge

In

wo.

take-PFV number R-R plxe too PRT PRT PRT 'And she got f i ~ place 4 trio, you know.'

dk

Here ??mis eduativz. ge mszmve. la adds currency and wn newworthm. NOR thm the order and selection of partides fdlorrs that b n in T a l k 18.2. More than four parncler are mre, r h d l not i-i (Leung Chung-Sum reports the murrence of mseven parhcles as an

18.3

F U W j O N S OF THE PARTICLES

The prticlff may wfully be divided awarding to their fumiom in terms of speech acts such as que*ons and assertions. H m r . th~sd~slficnnon is mt exclus~ve:f a example, s is by nn means restricted m q b o m . Within earh wnim prt* are l k e d alphabetically for ease of reference.

fsan-j6

Ieihgr w (orplanah + d i w e r y l Mha~h p m l g muhk, hail hirhngmuhk h i m. not--be ordinary wood he red-& PRT PRT 'Oh, I see it's mt ordinary wood but d .' Combinahom of three c o n ~prticles t ~ are mmmm. for example: LRlh fi

Herp gr m

ho inv~resnpeement.

exkme case).

Ihh@np: Lhh m h h ja maah y& la. (husband) yrm don't again b u y t h i q PRT -Don't you go buying more duff.'

Yihp Siu*

tek+fi m6uh kdcaall not-have

m% %bib

' D i n e s redy.' I

LAahmEgi tek-W tiihnpnlaih & la ji l kick-ball and bqy 1

ikheul ge

1'Brnn?

(splker~by p=rug~n ill mm)

ynu know go PRT FRT PRT 'Yw do know the way, don't you?'

1 E L l QUESTION PARTICLES Thew particles are typicall) orexcluauely used in qufftims. Of thls group. Pornr (e-g o) may k added to all typm af quections. while uthcrs such cm ah and nlr only occur in yes-no questions. their addition turning a state menr inro a qrresrion. u is one of the m t h q m n t parhcles, appearingespecially m r n r m f y in q u e s l h . a is not sufficient to mark a question by ihelf, but a m p k interrogahvem n h s t l o r s such a9 A-not-A and copular questiom:

LRih jiing-ihh-jisngyi HEunw6ng a? ~ v u 11ke-nott-llke Hongbong PRT 'Do you like Hongkong?'

M C a h m : a canp&$iW

F%nMm paand-~ntqecWwts 347 . --- .

gt'€unW~r

Wuih haih-mhaih teui-j&ySu brnt-bt: rclir+PN -Has he retirew

U i h wah dung sihk Chiuhjsu dmi $h? Mbuh mahntiih. p u say w&h eat F h i ~ ~ h o w food PRT no pmbIem 'Yw said yw wanted to eat Chiuchow food, right?No pPnblem.'

a?

PRT

SRR

lab and M invite and e x w mnmmation of a statement or supstion. Likc qwnorl t a p (17 1.6). thesc pmldeu may be sepmed from d-e sentence by a slight pause. Like tag questinns in English, they serve to indicate the presuppositions behind a statement. hi ppresu~posesthe addressee's apreemenr, expecting compliance:

a is a & In mmt tyw$of questkm if there is no nther queSion w i d e present. as seen in the examples of A-nd-A (17.1.2), a l t e r n h (17.2) and whquestinm (17.3). a Is also me$ to soften the fmce OF statements m

confmnatiom: A. Mat

yiu E i chln ghh? Ivhaa need pay money PRT Wou mean you 11aw4 p y T

B. Hail a.

M h gwai nngh jauh g6ng g6-JAi M hi Cng then tell s t o q for you listen you behave I

P T m U'IUahaid wj.'

hB? (to children)

6msyserve asa moretentahve form ofa. l)@cally used inqu-md

PRT 'If you'rc g m d , I'Il tell you a s t w y . d s y ?

requesn Go-go

d m wah md8kMahn g5m wr say not free

CLCL all

YBtyU

haih g8m wah I5 h5? definitely is so say PRT PRT 'Let's do as we agreed. okay?

Eih bCmg-hh-bl)ng you helpnothelp

ng6h 8'! me PRT

kd ewpwts the ddrersee's cwlfirmat~on:

' E w q k d y says they Are busy. m will you help me?'

A: G5i leng 4 hb? quite nice PRT F'RT ' h t t y nice, huh"'

a is also used to i m t e attention and amuse inter&:

N811 g&g g" ki~ndlaht Mi 1C;h Eng a . . . I tell CL mxt fop. p u listen PRT . .' 'Let me tell you a

Jouh y'isEng dm g& mbhng ge h6? be dodor also quite busy PRT PRT 'Iguess it mwt be quite a bwy life as a d w r ? '

ah has a stmnger force than a, and i s sufficientto turn a staternem into a question (17.1.1). I t may suggest surpnx, &pticlsm or S i ~ a l :

Lein junng geiflak

ngdh you Hill remember me 'You still remember me?' hi€ L

gi3

You think-

pin flhngyih

easy

it's

Ilft i s used m invite agreement m appreciation:

H6u 6hk Eh! (TV d.) good eat PRT 'Tasty. huh?

ah? FWT

Hbu dakyi lCh! very cute PRT 'Ycu see horr cute it is?'

y5h sihk Eh! Wad:mnthwto d~ildreachingfor a mkie) thing eat PRT 'Pinching things to eat. are you?+

ih? PRT

sted

that my. dn p 1 1 y

Ng6h cheung &k h*u ah leh? IfiIm) 1 sing ADV mty nice PRT 'WnY 1 sing well?'

L 8 h 16m-jyuh mdi jmh y5h ah? you tliinLCONT *need do thing PRT 4 wppe you're thinking you don't need to do any work'?'

m-marks questinns with negative presupposlfinns. 1.e. expressing s4HpI-k:

dh is lsed to check the addressee's meaning or intention:

L i h jtlngyi nl jek g$u dir di ah? ycu like this CL dog more bit PRT 'Yw l ~ k e this d q more. i s it?'

B: Haih a. is PRT 'Yes. i t b.'

I

Slnsaang wan mh dak ge me? teaelier say not okay PRT PRT 'What. did the teadm say i t wasn't okay?'

,j w

aw

Ldd

w!l 73

iSm

96 qng

m p~lutlmmK h

w

JsuuwJ Bunyf

5

nod prp AOH, w nod

May

w hw w

riyqB u ! m =am noK Am n d p p uaqM. l - ~ datum u m l a l tiaqm nod iBm q!81 usF1 TWJ Wp?

.inod JnoqvmoH -m6mau sqd qn!ms o~4u!& m.1, lad n d qol S m q j ~uem d - ~ x a u I ip 3Una unA[ n!A uwqaq WN

.-I*

J.W 'W

.~mer~omol auru le rub q,

'(890.

4

~d

:a

aas y v , o

-om ur;l

up

awr m o m nr;8 l q d X u ~:V

:masq Jalm ayl nqI q J q t d y w q1* Lm!mszraE Id-

ol (q)

%msnce panides and Interjm3bns 351

950 Cammew:a c o m p - e k n gramnar ~

'I

dlk g6, b m mh6u taai okay PRT but donZ tw

M h tluh kfu y-i your CL idea ought

am-gap wo.

1

yuy

PRT Your idea should be okay, but &mY be too hasty.'

lak or f d has a similar fmce tn the 'currenl r e h o e ' -ing a greater sense of fmalii:

of la, with

SBnffi-$

gam loih, fin@ s4 flhn W n M. dihimlt-PW so long finally wnte fmih CL book PRT 'After so much etmR,l've lmally fmfshed the Dook.' A: Ng6h yiu

T

I)AAd

khhnlihk di

dilipni

*bit

duhk*. studyhmrk

9 need to study harder.'

yClr!

B&i I&II

wsu

g o d stuff by me find 'Great! I've found yw!'

Gaai l a . ( u d by tour guide) Sma PRT Kill I&. V-PRT p u FTT J5u

Ib71gamarks an explanarinn, like t k English tags you see or p

El

PRT

fii M do rfi sihgaan you give more some time 'Give me a bit longer, m ' t you?'

ng6h W! me. PRT

Leih m M j d % keuihg6ng kt, dSru p u don't again 1'im him speak PRT all m6uh yuhng g€. H - h m u ~ e PRT 'Don't take m y more natice ofhim. it's no use anpay.' @) to emphasize a point d current relevance: Taai & $ n ~ hla.

d

Rnow:

NI

go ng6h tbhngslh R h g a this CL my cdkaguc TRT 'This is my aollmpe, y w know.' S W i p i s also med in qwstiom, typically to q u e s t an explrmatjon:

m u b - n gt5 go y3hn haih blngo Hhga? jm-now that CL perwm is who PRT 'Who ww thal p m o n j d n d Although m m conumly used in the form IPikgo, fM may alsu combine with other particla, such asjE

Ng6Rdeii @tong

(hpuihbln &dh as-you-please sit 'Please take a seat."

(a) in m n g advice, like la abme:

T h i s is Chinatown.'

H6u

including rmt only straightforwardcommands, but alsu sugplicas, requests and ad+. The examples of i m p a t i v e sentencesin chapter 19 contam further illustrations of these p W . I i often a m p i s an invitatirm or polite request:

la, with a mid level tone, has two rather different funcrims:

B: Gam jauh ngaam lak. xr men rlgh PRT 'That's right, p u do.'

Nidouh jmh Raih T&-@m here then is Chinese

18.33 IWERATIVE AND PERSUASIM PARTICLES

Thex!panicles arc typhny used in giving dm&s,

pbhngy&uh W!h l 8. (film) PRT PRT

we ordinary friends 'We're just o r d i m friends.'

In this context IM smws tn explain the situation a d jF p l w down the fact, deny in^ a romantic attrrchment.

ng6h fan &h PRT I sleep not 'I can't sleep, it's too noisy.'

mo nnisy

a

Md

d4u. V-PRT

Fu-p

b w. b v e - P n " PRT PRT 'The bus has kft, yw know.'

CL l w

la invim agreement. c o o p e r a h ca symptky. Luke (1990) shmus hmr this aarlicle semes to negotiate endin- to m v e n a t i o m and dixusions. It m m jauh dak 10. so then okay PRT That1 be all right won? it?'

Ng6h p k d s k Kuih mngsam W. T

fwI

d k

nnt-rieht PRT

'X h l he's being u v b l e . ' Idiomatically, h combines with maih ' t W (16.22):

Ssntence partdes md iriterjediom 363 Exploiting the suggestim of obviwsness, nmdh is often used m make an excur

GAm l&h mah Taahtdd b! so you then make-money PRT That way you'll he rich!'

lo, like h,refers to a current situation. It may express resignationor a plea for ~ ~ m p a h y : Ng6h mji dim syun to! I not-know how set PRT 'T itally don't kmw rvhat to do.'

bk 6. related to lo as hk is to la, being more defmitive. It s i m b i l i t y of a ituation (Kwoli 1W):

u

e the

Uih &I kyutdihnpk lok, juhng mahn ng6h j w h m W yw alsa M e - P F V PRT sTill ask me wl~sr %r 'You've d m a d e : your deeisim. why ask my opinion?' UiR yihgTng sihk-$-faah lok, juhnp, $uh y a atready eat-PN-€cd PRT still have

B: Yiu

jouh

need do

'I have m

y€h Gn ZimAh. CL things fim PUT do my own work first, don't I? saai d i

all

I n questiorrs. i t i s used to check an mm-. speaker regards as obvious: LRih s i

yuhng dihnlhh

you know we

mmputer

BmBh?

PRT

' Y w know how m u x t k computer.

Ceih mhatt am&

m@h

gau

I

enwgh

haih I&. am PRT

'Do you W i n k you're the only one w t d s busy? I am tm.' 1854 EPISTEMIC PARTICLES Epistemic indicate the wrce and nature of hcRvledge e x p s d in the sentence. Sucl~ particle$are comrncm in Southeast Asian l m g u a p , though n d found in Mandarin, with the W ~ o ofnh i n i t s 'q-wolatlve' semz which saembk that of Cantonese gnw. #na or mu#^ provides an expianawn that the speaker shmm alknow, or readily undershd

Binm Ikihga? who PRT 'Whn's that?'

B: Ng6hdeih sin

16uhbSan m a .

new b PRT 'Our new boss, o f c o ~ r r x . ' our

don? youT

nhn

k h i h haih brngo dOu mh j? also m know

ynu nn-be PRT even d k is who 'How c w l d yaw @blr not k m wlio a k IS?'

gww indicates speaker's uncenainty about the i n f o d o n in ttre sentence. lik 'I s u p p z ' in Bntish or 1guess' in Ameriin Englivh. gw(l rmembksll~e%pxulahve'meaningof Im in Mmdarin I t is mt typicany wed in reply tn a qufftion or prqmhon:

A: Lfih ghjEung $h? you nerwous PRT

B:

'Are you nervous?'

n:

typically one w l i i h the

u d k may have a slight &m,qatoq connotation. as m n in some phr-:

Ivaih-h5u mhk-@h Ah? sppctik e a t - l l ~ i ~ sPRT 'You've already eaten. and you still want to eat more?' sRih @ jihnghaih Eih mbhng Bh. F'RT you guess only yw busy

A: Dim g5ai gam h l h &? how cmne sn late PRT Wow crime you're so I*?'

Haih p a .

Yes 'I suppwe so.'

A: D i k s i yauh g5 ga la. taxi again raise pme PRT

T a x i f m are going up win.' B: MhaiR gwa! M6uh IGhyAuh p! no PRT m-llaw reawn PRT IThey're m, are rhey? w wrves to e m p b a k a ndewmhy or 'nerrsworthy' piece of informatim.h It hm a number of discourse functions retahnp to this notion. Fnr example. it may indiate a surprising piece of news or drwery: M&i-@m sinf-@ m! Ub dollar nse-WV PKI' 'Lmk, the US dottar has gone up!'

354 Camonem:a comprehsnW grammar wo is also used in reminders, note that it may appear either after the reportingverb or at the end of the senterm:

you careful d h 'Drive mrefunyv Chhihbtn avyw-plcm

wo.

r PRT

tai wo! (used by by assistan@ I w b PRT

thhnghohk lei@ wi%. Yhhnlbih E u i h haih ng6b ylhchlhn ge after411 d k is my before: W S S ~ m l r n a t e P R T PRT 41 turned out dm urns my formcr dmmatc.'

Note the combination dwo with fdlimgintonation to indicatethe utlmpr ted, as in the case ofirh (18.3.1). wbli i s used to indicate reported information, as in q m t e d gpeech (16.5) and indirect questions (17.4): Tmgmlhn-wwh l P i h Y.lhhdian yi~x rtilhjik d h heyorrr bee want saign PRT '1 hear your h s is gomg to reign.' bugou wah gimyaht d i h lohk-yfih A h . weather repnrt say today will fall-rain PRT 'hxwdiq to the weather reporr, it's going to rail1 tday.'

Tmhei

EXCLAMATORY AND AFRGnVE PARTICLE$

Them particles add emotional or a f l e a i colouring to a statement or exdamatirm. bo e ~ p r e s s ~ sappreciation. s m in excbmations,of approval: yal

bo!

Mdpn

bo!

@ stuff PRT 'Well dme!'

not-kid PRT 'Nd bad!'

Jeng $h bo! great stuff PRT 'Great aft!'

Haih bo!

P gems to play d 'only' nr 'jllst':

many PRT

R: YI, gam l e n g f i

wdh, a variant of nur, specificallyindicmem discomy:

Ha

fi.

p m do

H h pPhng $! Waih b& ngdh Is. very cheap PRT buy hr me YRT 'It's a bapain! Why don't you buy it €orme?'

'Pleax take a W.'

18.3,5

chi

one time so

only

'It's only just this -'

M h geijyuh m, mh6u chlh dm. you remember PRT don't late anive 'Remember, don't be late, okw!'

Leih dwsSm j%chi?

Jihngl~aih yyt

P

PRT,

'Yes, that s right!'

m an idea, typically a quantity or amount, meaning

@, H h h i h - N h n m u h I h l ~ h ? Hey so good-looking PRT ynur g i r l - f r i d PRT 'Hey, is that $sod-lwkiig girl y w r girl-fknd?'

B: Mhaih ak, v n g phhnhngyauh je. not-be PRT d l n a r y friend PRT PRT 'No, jud a friend.'

j& has a highly affeaire vslue. and is chm&ri& ofchildren's and y o u n w e r l ' s speech;i t suggests a degree ofmtimaq, and is only used b n x c c n &m acquainmnmx

man

#h

mB$h

dh

jek7

(rh-1)

concwn yam what matter PRT 'It's none of ynur bushiness.' N@b @myaht len~rhh-leng gk? (wife to hrrsband) I Iday p r t t IWT ~ ~ 'Do p th~nkZ l w k good todaV

U i h @uhHn heui h n E jW yam jmt-now go where PRT '$O w h m did you go jua now?' S h 'Fml' (103.3). sln Is rehred to the it hasa high faUiw tone:

W l r t . ~u~ d al n n##ldIct

pa*.

dn. I@ yiu heui 9 8 i u - g Z w . moment PRT I need go wrrsh-hand'Hang on a mmnenl. I nsed to go to the washroom.' D;ing (yst) jahn

wait

(a)

It 1s a h used ~diomariwllywith

a s w marker M k (11.26) as in

hdk Ws m': D3ng n@h t M h

dn. let me look-DEL PRT 'La me took for a moment.'

wh jj+i mk mmhllu nhk sln. see-DEL you cook ADV g n o d - n o t m eat PRT 'Let's see: how gnod your cmking is!' mhsh

ull

In quest~om,it may e x p m reservations about a posw'ble course of action:

I

LAh s7k-thh-sik j m h An? you knowno~-lolow do PRT 'Do you know how to, though?'

Ng6h yiuh m w h I have what What's in it for me7'

jeuhksou In"? advantage PRT

( ~ n d i n to ga m m o n )

rhn i s an emphahc particle meaning 'too' or 'even'. h often accompanies the rertml panicle ~ m l t ( 1 1 . 3 . 3 andtor ) the adverbluhng 'still': ~ e u houcmn ~ t ~ mi Jng611, JIIIY~ m g msllih slhe seem much like me also send PRT

fa

fim,

h w r ton 'He seems to like me, he m sent flowers.' (radio ad.) swim too 'And ycu m go wimmin& tw.' J u l h ~h6yih yhuMui fhn.

lill

can

It Is also used ironimlly on discovering that one hm k n mistaken, with the Yerb flHrdih denoting erroneous W i E Hmh m 8 ' Nflh f i d i h haih lhi sung ge fiml is PRT 1 think is you give that too 'RealIy? And I thought it was p u that gave it to me!'

Nmc EM has a d e a r h i falling tone, like dn u d zs a particle.

Imwjcctions rppimlly occur w i n g a mtence or clause. Lake the sentemfinal particles, thme may be pronounced with the vowel short or prdonpl, and with -rated intonahon patterns. 18.4.1

PLACE-RLERS

The adwbial gdm (10.12) may serve m fill a pause or transition, t o g h e r with a partide (18.2.1): Ggm hh . . . d8ng r$6h lhmlrsh sln. So PRT kt m think-DEL fmt 'Well. . . kt me thinkabut it' ~ u h k yl~-Jd, @m k, jaun ndu-sin~ a. CL mat marinatePFV so PRT then g d e t a-bil 'If )ou marinate the m,you see, i t tasks better.'

I

~ntEnce p a w s and intErjedims 357

The interjection ~ h t ~serves 1 1 to seek t h e a d b e ' s attention: Nhh, nglhdcih STTI heui rnsaih sung, pnjyuh Ean ukkh. PRT we k t go buy food ~ ~ e w t return home 'Right. first we go and buy m e fwd, then we ~otmm.' U h , Eih t&i-Mh! PRT you s e e D E L 'Ywsee, just lwliat that!' IEh w h , liirally "you say', is usedlike 'you see?' to make a point. Jt takes an i n d i c t questwn: LBih w h haih rnhaih h6u fOngbihn a? yam say is-notis very convenient PRT 'You sez how convenient i t is?' E i h wah k&uih haih-mhaih jeunbouh-ja le? you say slhe k n o t i s imprcwe-PW PRT 'Dnn't ynu think she's improved?' JBkuii i h f u n d i o r t s ag a commmkhal placsfller like m . . . ,m . . .,etc. It literally mans Thai is, . ..'or 'I mean, . . .'

NgSh Itim . . .

jikhaii . . . ng6h p yisihaih . . I think. . . that is. . . my LP meaningis. . . 9 think . . .er . . . what I mean is. . .' I;Kl~;lri. ~ d k l~i 1 C i a d h ~d ,7&.

i s a negatively charged exdamation. e m n g shock m d i i p p m l . Like several sentence partids, it has various sketnative forms such as Byu. diy6h tlnd @mt7 &ya! Yauh mgeidak daai &lh la1 oh agsm forget bring key PRT "Oh no, I've brptten my k q agam!' ~ W h , inh dihm la! (despaihg) oh not Dkay PRT -On no, I can't aeal w t n rhisl'

@w!

& i k mng di np6h la! ouch hurt die me 'Ouch, that m l l y hurts.' st?

(widen pain)

PRI

la (also Boil! la) expreses panic or despair in an emergency: ! 2 E la, gam hl sahr cMh dw. die PRT this time sure late arrive 'Oh no, w're bound to be late thls time.'

358 Cantonese: a owrpwhensivegamar Baih la. m6uh saai ysu. uh-oh PRT Whave all p 'Cmoh, we're out d gas!' wa expresgff

surprise or m d e r , often together with the adverb gmn W:

1

Wa? M h gmyahl gam k g @! wow you today iy kautiful PRT Wow, you bdi great M a y ! '

WaI

Glm-mhhn gam h k

sung

Impemhe s e n t e m me used to give cornman& and direaions. I n Cantonese. rhey me dm much used to make requests. in a manner which may mdiia to a Western ear. For example, where English would llse a medal verb as in 'Woirlrlprr 7'an imp?mtive wnlenre may hp r d in

&l

tonight sn @ fod PRT Wow! Sum pdfocd wmighrl'

wow

Canton-:

yP is an exclamation of surprise. Yl?

Ma&

Khp?

PRT 'Hey, what's tliis?' huh what

Yi? I.&%

&I

LPih 16 fahn bcuji Ihih B. yw bring CL newspaper come PRT 'Bring the paper mer. will yw?'

hhidnuh sh?

huh you ako here PRT 'Hey, whd are y m doing here?'

hi chhh M np$h pour cup tea for me

Jlm

C W I is a drsparaging particle of onmatopwlk origin, like fwt-tut in

t&ih g h g j&kl PRT &Huh!You don't have to tell me!' miii

Chi?! Gam sfu ddn gf! little money PRT 'Huh! Is thal all (the money)?'

and requests. T k panide Id s a h charac~erstically used rn requews and instructions. and hence appears in many of the following examples:

PRT so

B.

H h

good stun

H€i+%n 8! rise-body PRT

r-rreat!'

' C i upl'

It is a h wed imnblly: $h! GGBm chi jwh dong M h @hng E. good stuff this time then Cwm ynu win PRT Good for ywl Let's clay you've m this time . .' (implying 'watch

LGi h&

yw

L4ih mh6u teng k&uih ging la! you dodt listen him talk PRT 'Don't take any mice of him. okay?'

is an exclamation of appmval:

A: GHm-msahn ng6h &€q silk-faah. might I invite e a t - € 4 T m treating you to dinner ontight.'

PRT

with a similar effen to rl~eEnglish tag. As \nth questions, impemrives without a prtide tend to be abrupt and may be perceived a? impolite: the mntcncc prtklcs tlius play an imponrml mle in mnderaring commands

PRT need whar ym say

hdu y&!

8.

' h r me a alp d tea, will you? r7 (1R3.1) softens the force of thc requcst. N e , hawwer. that the

English:

a!%i

19 IMPERATIVE SENTENCES: COMMANDS AND REQUESTS

.

I

19.1

SECOND PERSON IMPERATIVES

h an imperative mntence, the subject p-n I& 'you' may be praent w left understd, unlike in English where it is n m U y dropped:

out*)

(W%) faai di jSp

1 jsu! fast-ish @ thngs l e m 'Hurry up md ga ready to leave.'

m) \

I

(Eih) d3kMahn M dihnw3 ng6h (yw) at-leisure: give telephone me 'Give me a call when yw have time.'

8. PRT

26U Cantom: a wmprshenaiw g m m a r T o turn these mmmands into more polite r e q m . m e

'please'may be

added (20.1.1).

(Ef. 9.3):

Idioms: SIR lp7 rink after an imperative serves to reinforce the "'==we: Mi dBng mhaih ng6h S m d5k gA! ynu wait V-PRT me only okay PRT 'You'd k l t e r wait for me, ycm know!'

hi+ L

mh6u gam you do work don'r so 'Don1d en h w l y . okay? jouh

y-Sh

M h fmai di ~ h you f d s h for 1 1 1 a ~

maahn dow

dSk

only

@!

ol;q PRT

is alsp wQtv mmfvm impemtrves;

m e W r h g (&)

'Du

Note that the meaning &&here is not explicitly comprarive. By conhad. [adjective] di after the drSk consrrucrion (30.1.1) h a m p r a t i v e meaning

cht! lemve Tawurn a m J g c L uul ul l ~ e r r ! '

g

me

Tn impmtims. the reduplicated adjective (see 10.1.3) m e s m an adverb i n p r e f e r e m to the adverbial w n M i r m rvith Ilok (see 10. I.1):

I-@+M n g a say

hhr (mm)

PRT PRT

Another &em o o m h c t i o n wed i n i m p m t i v e sentences is [sdjdlve] & M o r e the verb: L&h you

h h l f i u k a h t di better h o r n a-bil 'Yodd k t t e r tell me h-ly.'

L i i h fssi di 1Aih Is? you fastish come PRT 'Huny up and m e . ' J c u d ~ fan w w o l early-ish sleep PRT 'Go to bed early, won't

mu?'

I92 FIRST PERSON IMPERATIVES 'We' imperarives (as in English by W s . .)may w i n or omit the s u m pronoun n@lideih: Ng6hdeih

heui

we

go

@hn t8i-h8h 8. that-side lwk-DEL PRT 'Let's go and take a lwk over there.' h e d m8aih =,Sam In go buy clothesPRT -Let's go and shop for some clothes.'

m means pdite.

me

PRT

we

niImg ng& h e dws not mean 'with me', but 'for me' or "on my o*'. Lilv the ironic use of Do me afarwur m English. i t i by

you h o ~ - h o r e s t with T e l l me honestly. will yw?'

!a!

Nadeih

M h thhng @& tEng-jyuh! yw with me 1 i s t e K O N T 'Listen to me, will yw?'

l A h Wmih-Kn~h-eshr-whr mhnp

M p i 16h jsp &k jeng di plem yw d r e s ADV mart IIL*~~: 'Couldn't you dress a bit smarter?'

thhng n@ wtth me

pkg la say

PRT

wo.

PRT

Note that a s e n t e m prtrhcle such as a. B o r lo, seeking moperation or m p l i a m . often a m p a n i s such an imperative. The d w r b bdeilh 'rather' is used i n a fim or second person impwive to make a *stion. As an adverb. i t may m e betrwen sub@ and verb o x before the subject: B I i y i j h ng&dcih hcrn mahn yahn lo. rather \ve go wk p e 0 e PRT 'Why don't we go and ask someone?' I A h bB@h chtrh h s i d w h sln. rather sit here PRT don't you sit here for s moment?'

GY

First person angular imperatives are formed with &ng 4et':

DBng n&h let me

hmp Fih help you

a

(nfkringtn h

~ l with p a 184)

PRT

'Let me help yw.'

D 8 r g I-@ Eng la. (deringtoanswer phone) let me listen PRT 'Let me ansver the phorr.' H&: let' in the sense of allowing something to happen is expressed by Mi. w h l k dfing e ~ p ~ s s easproposal.

362 eantonem a wrrprehensivegrammar

19.3 THIRD PERSON IMPERATIVES ImpeFmivc scntcnocs in the third pmm may be eqmsstd by d h g 'lcr':

YAu d8k khihdeih siu ll! k vkay them laugh PRT 'Let them laugh A they like.'

Dang Wuih jib* kytdihng l l ? 1 him self decide PRT 'h him think for himselir Dfingp HhW jih#i &g, mh6u d k d ~dng kl C L baby d f wake dm't disturb -kt 'Let the baby wake up himelf, h ' t wake him.'

YAu d ~ k k h i h h e d b i d o u h let okay him go whm 'He can go anywhere he likes.' W h a.

him

113

kCuih fan IR! sleep PRT

mn him

'Whim fdiapn:yifu duk kPuiI?may also m a n 'ki it be' or 'dun'tuwty':

A:

Mi m i h j m h m w a? y w r brother do *t m 'What's the matter with y m r brother?'

B: Y&u dHk k h i h la! let okay him PRT "DonY worry about him!' Nolethstk~!r*,here asin manyidim,mayrrfertothinpg=well as to people (5.1):

A: G3slh s 6 i 4 n a? w k n wsbdish PRT 'When shall me dD the d i n g u p ? ' B: Yiu d5k k h i h sin. lct dray il first 'Leave it fm the moment.' A relatedidian isyduh . ..yduh, w d to c o n m a pronouns with the implicalmn 'em3 to his own': L&h @uh Eih heungg6. np6h Huh n&h d u h k q i . W 1Bf FU Eing+ml&! I let me ctudylmolr 'You keep on singing, and 1 1 keep on studying.'

nlw

IS.

4 FRT

k6uih dim 1Bm dou mbuh mahnaih. let okay him how think also no problem 'He can think what he likes, it doesn't manw.'

Yh d L

F'RT

Note that d b n as ~ a main verb mcam h i t ' . and th&m n i n ~is: retained to m e extent in the imperative: usage. yt&Iyduh dak (pmnoun) is am alternafive and the high rising tone form y6u is often med for emphasis: YgU dak

dCu h6u

19.4 NEGATIVE IMPERATIVES The words m l h and rndik serve to intmduoe negative mmM:rnl~&tis I

the usual ~ w r d while , &iIl is relahvely d i and more likely to be tsed among dme friends or pzn.With mhdu, the sub)& pronoun is oprional ns for pmitive imperatives ( U i h ) m h h wah M yahn Eng ng5h Nub-@ (you) don't say to m e hear I preenant-PFV 'Don't tell anyone I'm prrpant, okay?

IW!

PRT

W i h m j i I ~ the . pronoun is typlrally omitted: MAih @in g6ng y.6h IS! don't so talk thing PRT 'Don't talk like that.' To m a k

ar e q w more polite,

mm 'pleasehmsy preoede mlndu:

M e

liih mh& cMh dou wo. p l m you don't late arrive FRT 'Please don't be late.'

fl\

lEih &I& mhdu p w ~dsaih please y w say tliinp don't so big 'Please don't talk so loud.'

M$i

@ng yolfe

m f i u is a l a used in fid person plural impmrives (192):

Ng6hdeih mh6u b!9 Euii leihyuhng al we Ids-not by him exploil PRT 'Let's not allow wmlelves to be exploited by him!'

18. PRT

384 Cantonese: a -ensive

I

grammar

Pmrrurscimron now: mhdu may be mnrracted in rapid v single syllable m6uk

hm a

Idioms: mhdu viu, literally 'don't want it', i s an inshuction to re@l or dispose of something:

di pakyeh sung la1 don? want U leftover food FWT M h h yiu

M6uh c h M a! h ' t

noisy lTZT

'Get rid of thar leftover food.'

'Be quiet.'

Mhiu yiti k e h la! (mte the idiomatic use of kfuih: 5.1) don't warn it PRT 'Get rid OFit!'

This contmcbon is liable to be ccmfused with the d e n t i a l &h (15.4). mdih i g an nlternnrivt 20 mMu, w d for *art and d i m w m r n a d s , and wially without the subject Ieih: beatpa la! @py PRT 'Don't talk so much gmsip, okay?' Mgih gam don't SO

I

F k ~ k t i hmkdri i s a m n g m fvm of pdmhihm. similar in f v m m Wlmrmwyov do, don't . . . :

Chinkkih m h h cho gwo ni po e w u i h l (radlo ad.) by-all-means dodl mks this CL q p r t n n i t y 'Make sure yw dont m w this opportunity!' L i i h dink&h m h h phng g6 di wiipu pe biii. you hy-allmeans don3 use those CL dirty LP plrtsses 'Don't rse those dirty g l a w , whatever you dol'

MSih yiik al don't move PRT 'Don't move!'

Maih fiwh! don't yet 'Hang on a moment!'

193 INDIRECX COMMANDS

(Nok the use of the psrtide jyuh (11.2.3) m Lieu of a verb.) d i I is ~ lcss pdite and more abrupt than mkdu, as seen in the cnnrrast:

M l h dbk le,

&n't

eat

gam

PRT so

ihhdhk. bad-eat

i . ' 'Don't eat it, i t tastes so h Mmi s i l k b! don? ear PRT 'Don't eat (ItvM

yw not tv.)

Nme that both mhdU and m(rrh can be used in indked commands, especially after me ~ e r b gzu "tell, i m m ' (19.5):

Ngd~ giu l t i h mhdu chlh dou ge. I tell you don't late arrive PRT 'l told y a not ~ to be late.'

f i i giu k h i h m6ih M u jyuh. y m tell him don7 leave fl 'Tcll brn n a p to lcwc yet.' a v Y m tuld IGIII J ~ U L IV ltp~ F~.l

1

Inhrect or reportedcommands work like indim3 q m x h in generaf (lh.5). Verbs of commandingwch as giu "tell' are folkowed s h i g h t f m r d l y by a dmw. containing the reported command k h i h sBam dimjiinp haidwh be-here lell-PFV him three o'clod;

Ng6h gu-j6

I

dang nehdelh. wait us -Itold him to b e waiting for

IE

at three o'cloch.'

I n rrponinp negwive commands. mW.u or ~

I i s rIe r a i d :

Ngdh @ujd Rih mhju p m gsp pe Is. 1 kll-PFV yuu JUII'I w I l d y PRT PRT 4 told yw not to be in such a hurry.' lCihdeih d i h chbuh ge la. I tell-PFV you-PL don't noisy PRT PRT 'Itold yw not to make a noise.'

Ng6h giu+

The serial wb cmstruaion rmh (bifi [ p ~ n w n rmglp ] 'tell (to) him l i i e d k m ' used to introduce indired ?peed (16.5) may also intduce indirect commands:

20 CANTONESE SPEECH CONVENTIONS: POLITENESS AND TERMS OF ADDRESS

Mh wah krti k h i tsnp mhdu joi dadihmrd 18ih. yw y to him l i e n don't again call-phone came 'Tell him not call amin. okay?' Wah ng6h ji L5ih jilngyi tcll IAC know yw likc Tell me who yw like.'

bingo. who

The mnvemions, governing rhe use d q w x h i n c o n m vary subsramially axow c u l m and languages. These differenm are lmpnrtant i n that they may lead one culture to find mother impolite. whereas In realiry each h m its own form of politeness. Several such differenm exist between English and C a n t o m . A n important Itgrect of Chinese politeness is the roncept of* (rniJin-ji or d n w t h mange of tom). frm wliidl we &rive e x p t ~ s i o m such as lo IowlGCp and jm-mving. The Cantonese e q m s k n s are:

Nc& that if Mi is kfi out, only a p m m n a n m r between waln Say-and Ynglji qistenntnow'. +I@) 110u nwh ir used to remind someone of a mmmand, & e n imnically. A: A - H a n g p u h Midouh d b u h wo. A-Hung again be-here noisy PRT 'Ah Hung is makinp tmuhle again.'

B: Ng6h dGu waM-j6) m h tEng k6uih @ng I also my (-PFV) don't l i i him talk -1roM yw not to lake any n m c e oi him.'

ge

IS.

Mi min. l u n g m h -give f d m d h (=ail min 'Iw[all me's) f a d lohk En*) mln 'make (me) lose face' d i u (ng6h) gL 'make (me) lose face'

PRT P R T

Face is irnilnt tu thc W d t m L V I I ~uf (w1F)fltesm. but its M a 1 significanm b pzater. especially for t h m in higher M a l +tions. Politma i n speech involves concern for one's orm face on the one hand, and far that af the adm the &e~. Rckrcrrec. ta CIUC is film m d r i n various polite formulae: m h d u n g min. thank-you give face Thank you for mminp.'

I

hmkkai 'be polite' k fmmd in a nrmher of formolw.

haakhei polite 'make ~ m e l atf home'

msai

m b haakhei

d-IHA

don't

M h taai haakhei la! you too pollre PRT 'you're too kind' I

( m e d at formal dinrms etc.)

polite

'don'tbe p l i t e , you're welwme'

mt gam haakhei a? need what so M i t e PRT 'Why w plite!'

35

&iihmwrrhrefers to polite behawour; f i u h Idihclauh is to be polite, mduh L4ri1muhto be impdite.

I

20.1 POLITENESS C O N V E N T W The En@& speaker used m a srraiphtfonvard please' and 'thank you'

frtoes

distinction between diffmlty w t h the wrrespondinp Cantome

eqmssions. The ubiquitm m@ is used to mean hath 'please' m d "thank yw' (20.1.1). while Thank you' is expressed sometimes by m$Pi and sometimes by ddjdi (20.1.2).

m 1 . 1 REOUESTS m$PI or mgPi k i h g e m '

M n g yahp Eih

is used before or afrer a quesr:

lelh bong @h

lo

Note the use of the sentence panicle k (18.3.3) i n invitations.

po

grp

2LkIS THANKS

a.

pkm you help me carry CL case PRT -Wwld y m help me carry the suitcase. please?'

I

N m yiu

hi gaE. n@. I want cup coffee pk;tse 'A cwp of coffee, please.'

I

Is.

IPih. hnish PRT p l m you 'Hurry up and finmh, will you?' Uih faai di puh yw fan rather do

@n

I

m m g o d PRT thank 'Yes. please.'

1

m

I

stiIl want-m-want tca ' W w M yw like more tea?'

la,

D

PRT

m@i.

wam PRT thanks 'No t h a n k "

A: SAi-rnsai

ng6h lxmgalu

ndnot-need I helphand 'Do yw meed me to help?'

Wh.

Is,

B: Msdi

you

meed ?To,

Nate that if speaker A is going ro pay for the beer. d6jrlr -thank yw' (see below) h called for: otherwise mgdi is approprime. fnr example Men a waiter asks w h e w p y w n t a her. lr6u M m !ddi is a stronger fom o f request followed by a critiral

ldalln I.! l a y PRT

H6u ssm Mh, @am-h*h-Rih gmA heart you lose-DEGweipht ' L m some ~wipht,pkase!'

la! PRT

Requesh which are invifations may be preceded by c I h g , which aq 8 wrb means 'invite', o r .clrhrihbh 'aq you like':

a?

PRT

m e saai.

FRT thank-you

thrmk ~

u . '

dojeh is used to thank people for g*ts and major m i c a :

8u-on:

11611 ern Mil,. m h h gam good heart you don't so 'Don't be so lazy. please!'

A:

mot

A: YSm-mh-yim E j 4 u n7 drink-not-drink beer PRT ' W w M you like some beer?'

a,

*

mp-i is wed for smaU Eawurs, such as serving drinks w dishes. A polite hsuimble tor more extensive services is mai, Yhank you ~ e r y much' (adding the quantifying p r t i d e mai 'all': see 11.3.3). mgOi(so&) is also used i n saying 'no thank you':

B: &fh yiu

mgOi is a h usad to ;Pcrrpt to an &er:

B:H&

yp.

t6i m, mlaih pingh6h Is. k d PRT a w h ~ l l r r m rly-DLL PRT 'You're wekonx to look and try i t on at the mirror.' (used by saleqmwns) Wuihbfn sqw-plcaw

MgiS G hiii d u i np5h. please plve cup water me 'May I h a w a glas of water. pleav?

Mgol

Chhihbtn cMh wo. w - y ~ l i k e d~ PRT ' P k w take a xat.'

$.

i n i t e enter m e PRT 'Come in. p b s e . '

1

A: K jek Mu mng bti Ihi p?. this n watch send giw you PRT This watch is (a gift) foryou.' B: Wa! Hbu leng a. Vojeh mi. Wow so pretty PRT thank-yew 'Wmv, it's so pretty. Thank yw very muh.' This indudes metaphorid gifts w h as compliments (althwgh these are m k l l y played d m . see 20.1.4): A: Lcih amyaht YOU today

h6u

kng WrY Pre* 'You're looking great d a y ! '

war

PRT

D. DiSjth! rhank-you Wh. thanks.'

IA@

Simildy. a meal pmvided or paid for hy a host is regarded ;ts a pft rather than a M m , and calk for dt5jch. When buying gods, the huyer uws on receiving the gods. while the seller replies with d0fi on &uing payment. ddipri s& mans manks for everything' or s e m ~tsa reinforced thanh-yw. To reply m an expremon of thanks. mm5r (&]ckf m e ) h o need (for thanks)' or msdi Ranklrei 'no dto be se pdite' may be used: A: E j e h E h chsan fmhn wo. thank y w CL rice PRT 'Thank you for treating m to ttns meal.'

&: M d i d+h. wneed thanks 'It's a pleasum.'

A W e h 1dh h@u. rhank yw help-out 'Thank you for your help.

B: kMi

I

1

haakhci.

M-1, &I\ @. not-hwe matter PRT 'It's alright. '

(

&wW-mjyuhis also wed to ;tpologizefor an inmsion. for exmmple in asking direchons:

ire,'wvuld p u let me ppt? used when makinp one'sway t h m h acrowd.

bTndouh a?

B: Taai gwojeung la! tm merdompliment PRT 'You're too kind!'

PRT tell me where the Hyatt Hotel is?'

often reducedto mF in caslial s p h ) 'What's that?'. 'What did you s;dy?' or m m politely by the phrase: M w i w h ) joi p6ng y5t chi. please (you) again my one time

'Ihep Ypur prtrdmr'

Y

One may also thank a speaker lor a oompliment lwith ddjrh) before playin! it dmm. For example. when invited to dinner it is customary ro compl~ment the host lmshly: HFunggbng gitm loih c h A LPih Wai. ngdl lhih-jb Lee Mrs I m e - P F V Wongkong so long st111

siik-gwo gdm h h nhk ge sung! M ++& tar LP fed 'Mrs Lee. rue never e m n such good f d since I've been in Hongkongl' meih

, ~ u l - ~ ..I-U[P .~

l'irally meaning'Tm embarrassed' but

le? PRT

A: ZRih ~ ~ n g - p6ng ~ v d5k A Mu-hfm wo! 91C a n r m e ~pl. AClV pocrl-gnrrl PRT 'You speak very @ Canmnm.'

M i i - m j y ~ ~ hF . hh~ m f i n Hhiyuht JAi~dim h6i request s k Hy;ttr Hotel at

dcui-m~yuI~ is not used like English.sorry?to e l i r a repetition. 'Ibzg your prdon'? sexpressed colbquially by Ha? M4syeI~d?(note that mdry!h 1s

B: Bindwh halh where is 'Idon1 think so!'

Alternahvely. one can treat the compliment as an exaggeration:

S O T

mkdu~isiis an dternatiw -logy. widely w d m admh fault:

'Sorry, our tables w e all full.' The phrase rnirhfhh H h "hnuMe you' i s a polite expression used to tpo1ogiz.c m advanoc for nn inrrusion or disturbonce MhhTgahn Eih b%g ng6h w h M n syti. tmuble you help me find CL buok 'Euwe me. could yw hnd a book for me?' m@jc pvo or m @ j q c (literally'borrow ~3 m a n s 'excuse me'

A: M h jsnhaih yiuh tmchinh g lrnl yw really haw talent PRT PRT 'You're really talented!'

To reply to an W g y , the following formulae are wed:

'Excuse me. could

(used inrestaumntr)

PRT

Compliments are often made, as m other langurtges, for the sake of politeness. Tradiional Chinese modesty demands that such mmplimenls be rebuffedor playd h. There &re varmus s t r a t e g fm ~ playing down mpliments. One is to deny the cmnplimenr. for example with a rhetorical qwslion:

mhaih y6uh a m ge. mt-be have heart PRT ' I h sorry. 1 didnY mean it.' (do i t on purpose)

dm

ssai Is.

polite 'Yrw're welme.'

I

Mdi~yiu.

ngadeih baau

-need

Deui-mjyuh. n@

unimpwbmt. *lever mind'

MI&+.

e x p l d e all

20.13 APOLOGIES

Swry

speech CmweWiE 371

2U.2 TERMS OF ADDRESS

B: D8jeh. lCih taai haakhei la! thank-you you aK, p l i t e PRT Thank you, but you're too kind.'

I

TRe phraoe: (I81h) laar haokltei or gwm Raakhei 'so pdite' i s a h lsed cm ~ t v c i v i r ~Glls. g

N.lS INIRODLWIONS A n introducrion typically takes the followingforns: @h ISh p a i h h . (see 19.3 for ddmg'lerl let me w m e introduce 'May 1intrculuce you?'

Dhg

let

+vAf

this person

W h FOgelh techdogy is

lmrrepistered m m and u n d q o the fone change. Even English n a m undergo the same proms.:

Damhhohk urnversily PO%

n A h n xaaausauh. n a n pmfssor "Thisis Professor Ckm f m m the University o f Science and Technology.' NOIS that t hfiliation th0 name. with the tit10 last. The p n k greet each other with M Iidul 'How do p u do?' M more formally, Hahrrg wuih 'Pleased to meet you'. pisiulh may also w a r in a serial wmkrwfion with sik 'know':

k b i h Mi l i i h sib* 1 introduce him m you know -1'11 i d u c e him to you.'

The formula gmri sing is used to a& a am'ssurname: gwsi sing a? request mk your honourable name PRT 'May 1 ask what y r name is?

lCih

B: Np6h sing Yihp ge. 1 s u m m e Y i p PRT 'My surname ie Yip:

Lkih -+ a - U i j 8 i (Lee-hoy) Sihn + a Sin Ronnie

-

Ronnie

The tone c h a n ~ also occurs w ~ t the h epithet 16uI1- o l d Yihp

-

16uh-Yfp 'old Mr Yip'

Note that the ward 16uh 'dd'in these and Mher terns o f addresr i s not

ThhMan. lhh-i %ass' (mldbe male or female) 16uhManlEuhng 'wife of boss‘ For people whme ninclude:

are nor known. common fwms

of address

Snsbng 'sir* (also a-fPuh, from 3rd Note that a-shrh ~ s m m m o n l yw e d for a d d r s i n p male teamem (especially those m primary and mvddary ~ h m l s a) d a l w pli-n.

A person may be a d d m by his or her m e : Yihp G a n g p u h h hbhng a? Yip Mr du w l d ~p u f m i u r ~ PRT 'What do you dn ftx a l ~ i n g Mr , YnpT

W a n & + a-W6ng Chahn 4a - C h h Winnie + a-Winnie

offensive, but expresses familiarity and senionry. I t is generally used between l o n r t i m e frknds. It aka appears m several terms rsed to address rupxiors:

Ng6h paisluh

R: Chsng mshn

Jeh Euilrsih 'MTse' Chhhn 58ang 'Mr Chan' Wohng l& 'Mrs i Won6 n a h m yismg 'Dr Tam (physician)' Lbuh ~iujt! 'Mk Lau' U h m boksbh 'Dr Lsm (PhD)' MBh p i k u h n g 'Madm Ma' (nurse)

Where fiM names are 14. they me typhlly p r e M with o-: a-Wih, oMilurg. This also apphes to English names: o-Roben. a-Qdy. etc. Surnames may also be prrfrxed with a-: most Crtntonese summes have the

ng6h laih mhng d i h d e i h gaaisiuh. I come for you introduce 'Let me introduce you to each other.' @$ng)

NI

Terms of address are particularly important i n view of their use as *elings. For example, Ehildren are taupht to address (giu)relatives and family Fiends appmpriately. Family members me typically dressed +wth the appmpnate krmhip term. d t e n preceded by the p r e h a- (W1). F o r more formal q m i n t a n c e s where the surname i s used. appropriate -f of address are:

( m a formally: juul~a i l ~ r ~ g l u W ~ r ~ ? I

siuje 'miss' ( a h mrrslk. from Miw) $if0CI('~ascr-,4 fvrmftmen XKII as denraton.pam tuners. e k . , 3%well

a+ martial-arts tmcllers]

Cenain kinship W r m s are dso used generically as terms o f addrew

m e s e speech cpnventians 375 a d m 'unde's wife' (wed for older women doing odd jobs such as janitm, hawken) a - p -aunlie4(wed for women such B a a n d ' s mother ar one's pmrentT friends; b a a k d u h is more formal) a b a l r 'unclc' (uscd for d d c r men) a-siik -unde' ( w d for rniddle-mpedmen) a-@np -grandfather- (wed for elderly men) s-pbh 'grandmother' ( m d for elderly m e n ) Alternatively: (Wuh) pdh-@ -(dd) elderly women' which s h w M n d be confused with Iddr-pldi 'wifem. hh-gii-+h b l d maid' b a i h @jt 'big sister' (i-e. a big shot, leadmg entertainer. e k ) d a a h - h b g brclher' (i-e. b. ringleader. etc.) I n Hongkong. mainland Chiare mlloquially referred to as 'cousins', e.p. birr-mCi for young Chinese girls rvho oflen appear i n h u t y p w a m (birr-Ffor older ones), b f m or bCuank for mainland m.The g e m c name A-Chnan referring to m a i n l a d men h m also become popular. 1n return. m a i n h n d m c d l Honpkonpem G&g-Chmn l l i e kferenhal d m f i e r wdi (6.2.4) is used with 3 quantifier o r numeid a6 a polite form o f address. For example, when addressing a fwmal gathering, gok wdi orgarn do wbi is w e d to denote 'ewryone':

Gnk wfiii.

finyihng Whdeih. ea& person welcome yw 'Ladies and gentlemen. w e l m . '

Gdc lvai Gnsaanp.

pok w6i l d i b h each CL gentleman each C L madam 'Cientlemen and ladies (Chinese style)' i , yiy hiii! many wp e l dnnk g l a ~ ' H w e a drink. e%eryow!' Gm

d0

so

Chkng mahn Ituhng 1v6i yfim m s w h chhh a? i m t e ask hvo person dnnk what tea PRT 'What lea would frhe nuo you like to drink. please? (used by waiters)

I

I

to relatives (ddgmtiks) mnd t h m USA to addrese, them {vocat'm). although m many cases the terms are the sgme o r are interchangeable. w i i m i a l change and the p d u a l demise OFlarpe emended families, this system tends t o bemme simplified in H o n a o n g Csnmnese. wilh many speakers making b r r than the full mnpe o f d i m t i o m . Pan (1933) d i m s the simplification of kinship terms arrently happening i n China. TIE a p p l i e to H o n g h g . where most families norv have only m e to t w o children. There is no wed f o r terms addressing one's aunts or urrcks kt alone msim if o m family has only one child. The pnwiples of the simplification pmoess are characterized by the retennon of p t e r n a l terms and the m d u a l dmpping out of t e m s for distant relatives. Some terms s l ~ as h a-sdm 'uncle's d e eda-yT'mc4her.s sister' have a q u ~ r e generic d reference (see3 2 ) ;8s a rewlt of the semantic ememion, terms are used more frequently. On the other hand. mme terms referring t o very d i i a n t relatives w h i i are noc w e d at dl m predicted t o drop out of rhe symxn eventually. M o m . in modern families. in-laws. f o r example. may be a d d m and referred m by name rather than by the numerous klnship rerms.

clt~iw%rk is a g e n m l t Ng6Meih

hi1

we

at

m for rehtrves':

W m W h p6douh y5uh h6u d o Vancouver there have very many

chsnchik ge. relatives PRT 'We h w a l o t o f relatives in V a m w e r . '

20.3.1

FARENlS AND GRANDPARENl3

Like other t e r n o f address. kimhip t e r n are m m m n l y prefixed with a-, specially those Tor elder relatives: a-mg " m d h e f (aka d r n a d , mdmlh: c d q u i a l l y I&hmdu %Mum") a-hAh Tather' (also bifiW,dFdIr: d k q u i a l l y Iddmdauh ' D a f ) f i h r l r r h fin dlPrtivPly tn 'pmnhm m d mhrrli nrc: f n r m ~rrprrmfm l 'Fmther' and 'morher'. used i n compound m i o m such as Mdrth-ciidn-lit 'Motheis Day' and F u k h n - j i r 'Fatheis Day'). gr7ip'ung i s the formal rerm wed in sct~mlsettings to refer to studenli prena or guwdiam. Step-prenrs are given the p h x pi-(formal) or huh- {reurral) 'step':

211.3 KINSHIP TERMS Chinese hadihcmally has a very w m p l e r system of kimhip terms, d i ~ tinguishinp firely bemeen elder and y m g e r , pmtemal and maternal relatives. A further distinction is m d e behveen terms whi* are t e d to refer

But there a m n o special t e r n equivalent to the English stepson, aepdaugkwr. ek.

376 Cantonese:a w

m

w grammar

-speech

Table 20.1 Terms fa cider rslalivss

M h y b h @i do

(go)

hingdaih jirnuih a?

you h m t how m a w (CL) h t h c r I& 'How many hmlhers and sisten do yo11have?'

7%-

m

s are also used m p h o r i c a l l y ro denote close friedship,

;ts

in

the fdlowinp: N ~ h k i hfir

aunt: dd

mi

$hn

one life people

we

aunt's W a n d aunt: yamg aumb hreband

1P11hng bnflmh. tw@ brother

"We are just like brothers.' ge. ge haih J w h jimdi jeui enyiu be sisters PRT m o n important LP is

Hunorary parents (similar to G o d p n t s . & & l i e d by a formal ceremony called sprrIm8-kpr)are known by me prefix karc: kai-$h Godfather' &-Hi "Gdson' kai-m8 Yjodmothei hi-&'Goddaughter' diy&Iduhdauh and mmya-z-mtirefer to those who treat one like one's own parents hut without any forrml ceremony. T c m s fur older relf her, dktinykh M w n pmtmrnal m d maternal l i n m (we Table 20.1).

2052 BROTHERS. S l S l E R S AND COUSINS Cantonese diFtinguishes hetween elder and younger siblings and cousins (ST Table XI 2) There i s n o way m refer to s hmth~rnr si*r wilhrnd making this distinction. although the words IrTndark 'bmthers' and j M u l murh %ten' are used c o l l m ~ v e l yto include both elder and younger siblinps:

each other.' The words for musins are based an the terms for 'bmrher' and 'sister' ~ i r h the @x &ng- for patemal uncles'children and biu- For maternal m u i n s and also paternal aunts' c h i t d m I x e Table 20.2). Note the manged t o m : rnuif~l-muib+ miiihmdi, blu mrLih bivmlii. e t c I n large farmlies, the bmthers and sisters may k numbered. or dishnguished b y the epithets dmih big'and .~ 'mll':

+

h)lm&i

(dl.]

-

y h @ 'second brother". 1.e. the m m n d eldest of me's elder brothers; &am mu%'third shr', i.c. thc t h i d d& d m c ' s yMmgcr sistcrs. daaih go 'big elder brother'. i.e. the eldeg of onel elder brdhers: daaih @jjE *'bigelder sister7. i.e. the eld& o f one's elder &en; mi khjE 'littlc rim'. i.c. thc youngcr of onc's cldm sislcrs.

R E L A M S BY MARRIAGE

There are m

113*nrlbi. ~ ~ l n r l ; )

lPih =ng you help

@- ng& Mng I&h. me I help l help you T o be & e r s [i.e. d m friends], the most importrtnt thing 1s to help

20.3.3

zw-b!~

PRT

N m d e i h Eikkei lihn r @ d ~M u h d a m iimluh. we home include me have t h m sister "There are three sisters i n our family.'

uncle: old uncle's wile uncle: yolng uncle's wifs

yww

G O W W ~ 377 ~ S

l terms for spouses. belonging to different regders:

Wl [M) b h i (I.)

Traditionally, louh-gzing and Muh-p81 were used only beween mu*. but these terms are now also used rxrlloquirtlly to refer to &hers' s p o m .

3% Cantonsse: a wrrprehensive warmu Two different verbs of marrias ga and & h i are wed. depending on whether h e objed of the verb b a (plent;al) lrusbadd or wife:

Lkih faai di c l h i Wan go Iduh-pbh 1% yoti quick bit marry Y-PRT CL wife PRT 'Get yourself a wife quidtly.' A-Ying gajb go yAuh-chin hh-giarg. Ah-Ylng m a r r y - P N CL have-money hushand Wng has married a rich husband.' A - I j h n ~ mh hang ga Ah-Ling not rillinp marry (to) 'Linp is not willing to marry me.'

nm. me

While p and .clihr share certain propedes. for example hmh e n take the partick d6u as in p cMcl go Mu I6ukNng "manage to marry a g o d hdsband' and diA.i d6u go hhu I6uI~pbh-manage to marry a g c d m i w e ' . rhq each have speclal #es which art: ucw s h a d wilh e m l ~ulltm, e.g. while dihican sku be used with the objects(7rrp6ulr*daughter-in-law'. gn canm be used in thu way wth Iiuikm 'son-irhaw': Wbhng T$ai Rngyrtht cMui sSn@hk?lm@h. Wong ME rornormw q u i r e daughter-in-law 'Mm Wnm is geniwg a daughkr-in-18w tpm-.'

However, ga can take the obpa Wud 'iaughtef with the subject beinp the parent(s) of Em while EMU! cannot be used in this way tskang an objmMi 'son': M h Seang hah go p h t ga hi. Ma Mr nrm Cl mnnrh marry daughter 'Mr Ma is pomp to marry off his daughter next m d . '

gn but not dihie n take directionalparticles s l d as yukp 'Info' and CMUI 'out': K h i h h h ji gi liahn gn yahp hbuh rni*ln. she not k m m how desire marry inW rih fmrnlly 'She mntsvery mu& to marry inm a rich famly.' daaih lCui jin&yil p dak CL e l d d daughter finally many ah!e

Np6h go

My

cham out

heui la.

60 n7-r 'My eldest daughter finally pot rnwried off.' The rerms for 'bmther-in-law' and Lister-in-law' rake account of the

distihomr between elder and ywnger siblings. ~ corresponding to the two in Englisl~:

n a numb g of terms

elder sister's husband: j~ elder bmther's wife: a+& younprr $iW.s husband: rnuihfii younger brother% wife: daihfijh

A fu*

wt of tmm referrs to a sprse's siblings:

a a husband's older brother: daaih b wife's dder bmtherr daaih khuh hushnd's ywnger brc4her: siik j A i wife's younper brother: k&uhj$i hu*anrl's n l k eridm: gi ISai w~fe'solder sister: daaih-yih husband's younger sister:gii wife's ypunger eristcr; fiBi T e r n for prents-in-law reflect the traditimal praaice of the wife living with the husband's fsmiiy. Hence, the terms wim which a woman refers to l n t ~pan=nnt~-i+I~h n ~ tld t p ~ k "h-nt', wllilc. Ill- usal by U x hu?band have the prefix n p h t or n m :

Pornat husbnd's farher husbalxl's mother wife'$ fa(her wife's mother

hk~4Id k5uh-yeh

ISfi-Eai

fiwhPhkf0

@h-fli

ngohk-m6u

@-

While the formal t e r n are nor used for direa ad& but for wfemnp, to the idviduals (i.e. dcsignahves: stc 20.31, the natral h sanwm bothpurposes (designatives and vocatiws). A common practice in modem fami!ii is to we the same addregs terms as one's gpouse dws, simply Wfnflhfor aifr's m o t h w husband's m o t h . Ex-spousesare denoted by the: pitfix chum (ywh): chihn-yahmjeuhngfli. chlhn-fi 'ex-hmband' chihnyrthm-taakia~, c h l h h S i 'm-nife' Similady: cMhn douh E h h m y d u h l l ~ h 'm-boyhiendlflend'. ~

203-4 CHllDREN AND GRANDCHILOREN

DneB diildren arc knmvn mllatively ns jtfaui (hilau@ter9, F'Idm and younger m and daughters may be diiinpllished by daailt 'big' and d 'man': @

my

h i l t

CL big

'my elder son'

jdi son

i

her

l u

i

Kui

CL small daughter

'her younger daughter'

W Cantonese: a mmrehensiue gammar The youn@ child is known wllcqdally as hi-jrii(lit. 'W son') 'youngest son' or lhi-Ihi (ht. 'last d~lghtpr')p o u n e daughter'. Fdlowing the patrilinear system. grawkhlldren are treated differently momding to whether they are one's son's or one's hughter's chikkn- Tlie v f i x n p h ' w i d e ' indicates that a daugh~r'sclilldren do npt belpng to me's o w family. as in the t e r m used for one's wiWs parem:

~'ld="' graddaughter

Son's child

OnrrghrerS child

syiin syiinMui

ngcil+s@n npoih-swnlhi

A pimilar distinction i s made in the cafe of rephpwr awl n i w w nephew niece

Bmlwrb child j4t or jaht-j&i jaht-leui

Sirtpri child yihsang(-jii) yih-e8ng!&ui

Many wnvemionsl greeting seem uninfomaiive and puzzlingly redundant to the English spmkm. A wen-km p l e is the peting: 3iik-@

faahn

meih

a?

e a - P I T tice nor-yet PRT 'Huw are ywl' (lit. 'HW y w mten yrt?') T k appmpriate answer is Sikk-fd In. e'Yes, thank yw'. This greeting is thus m p a m b l e to the Brllig F n p M Lwdy day, isn'f a?. with eahng replacing the British -Ion

with weather as the 'dummy' topic of

mnvemtion. The verb for sending rewrds is mrrhrr-kuuh; to wnvey regan% via an intermediary the following can be w e d Lkih geijyuh bnrg ng6h mahn-hauh Yih g6h@ wo. yuu mmhx help mc e+k-gr#t your brother PRT 'Remember to give my regar& to your [el$er]brother.'

Hh &

yhhn mahn-hauh leih wo. people ask-greet you PRT 'A lot d people sent their regads to you.' "ry many

T k n a d i o m l @ng lkih h6u Imal-P 'How are you?' (mrresponding to Madarm ni hrTo ( m ) )is rnrelatively formal, used belwem Wngers. for example, at the fim enmunter and q u a i n t a m rather than friends w family. Clrser acquaintance?are greeted hy the fdbwing jguigthn dim s? recently how PRT 'How'ue you k e n ?

M3ty6h whhngCng a? (slangy) what cbmmstamres PRT 'Whar7sup?'

A q u a i m a m may also be greetedby tkir name alme, oflen precededby A. e.g. A-l.V6ng! Similarly. family memkrs are greeted with their kimhip term: A-&!I, A-hfl, em. Greeting$appropriate fw specilic mtaaorrs and t l m s W m y irrclude:

~tin&Fi w gacnghii I& (-rlGh) 'wnpluldiuns' 15 suitiibk for ocwsionb such as weddmg, biihs. pmmonm and gaduaticm. Cbeetiq fw special occmons ~ndwk:

Birthday: Sanuaht faailohk! happntu 'Happy Bkthhy!'

hrt& JOk

l i i h nhn-Tihn

bless yw year-@m

y h h ~Smyaht seui+eui y5uh age-age have have tdq

jiu!

Ihn morning 'Many h q p y returns'' (fnmral) jot @n (formal: many speakers 115e ~ i k h ? o i ) a p i n we 'i?dbye' wuih (until next time; lBed in broadcasting) again meet

jni

Warldiri~: Sgn i% faailohkl newly-wed happi'Fun@tulntiu&!'

JZik

-@ye'

111ira11r1 ~ I {Furrrlal) I evening peace ' g w d night'

ldihdeih baahk tsuh dou l h h ! bless yowF'L whrte hair till old 'May you always be happy "gether.'

This should be replied to with d6jeh Thank you*.

mahn L h h W n g h5i-hh-hiidouha? la1 rlocmr here-nor-here PRT 'k Lk Lau there. please?'

m n g

r~q~m mk l

mahn Wnga w& keuih a? ask wl~u call 11c1 FXT 'May I ask who's mllingT Wng

l a ( d

Replies and e

m include:

Ktuih hhahng f i - j 6 we. dhe walk a w ; l y P W PRT 'He just stepped aut.' Keuih h t i - & ~ d dhe hold-PROE&ng 'she-s in a meeting.'

WO-

PRT

K h i h @ng-&n d h d dhe talk-PROG tekphpne 'He's on the phone.'

W+

PRT

M h e r common replies incluck: H&hh-h@ 18uhdSi d i h d a? mn-not-can leave telephone fRT 'Could yw leave your number?' N@h jyun-t8uh Wk Ban 16h 8. I turnhead reply back you PRT '111 call yw b c k in a moment ' sib KCuih rhh hiidouh wo. Yduhm6uh @nyiu PRT h m n ~ h a v e important matter dhe not here w5n kEuh a?

find him PRT 'She is rot here. Do you have anything ~mportantfor her?' HdAh-h6yfh gbng-&i d n ktuih rnwl sih a? c a n - m a n leave-dorm find himher what matter PRT 'Could wu leme e mescnge?' If there is a call-mitingservice. a call comes in in rhe middle of a telephone

zh

kLEpdIz::

Nnlversafim:

b$$

w>

E s ' ~ ~ the

nl~,,

i n i t g p atl? i:e a? +fitll0? c,,c t Mr Chan?' "aih-mai# 1 bwfl ce way .. a q u e s t : lnmatc

'lbI

Deui-mjyuh. @uh d i h r c d yahp llih. have p h m enter mme please sorry 16h

Ifdngdsng.

PI

wait-wait

'Sorry. a wn is m i n g in. Hold on a moment, please.'

ehing Wn lihn laailohk! 'Happy New Year!' (applicable to Western or ChiNew Year)

Ching

Chinese N m Y m .

rcqua1

Fonghti faat M h ! w n ~ r a t u h t i o r s make malth 'Have a p m p r w s year!' This may be replied

mahn Lguh yigng hdi-hh-h%douha? IAII doctor here-nnt-here PRT 'bDr Lau there. please?'

request ask

with:

Danihgi d m wah. wryow so say The same to you. too.'

GiinghB fwr rhGih! may alvJ k followed by a r e q w for a red packer of lucky money (Inih-sik. tradihomlly given by married people only) from children. employes or close q u a i m a n r r s :

mahn bingo d n k6uih a? aA w I I m

'May I a k who's call in^?

I

Replks and excuses include: Ktuih h h h n g h G j 6 wo. slhe walk a w a y - W IWT *He just mpped out.' Keuih h6i-gSn-di h&F!4OG-meeting 3he-s in a meeting-' she

w. FXT

dihnu4 w. ralk-PROG telcphpne PRT 'He5 on the phone.' Ktuih g h g + n

Mher common replks include:

Other New Year's greetin@ are tailored to the addressee:

Gangyi hingluhng! (a$dressed to b u s i n m e n ) business prosperous 'May your businesc prmp-' Hohkyihp Sunbm~h! (addressed to students) a u d y a r e e r improve 'All the best with your studies..

gnnhOng! (w to elderly people) body healthy -Wishing you good health.' Acquaintances leaving on a jwrney may be wished: YBt louh seuhn

Engl

cne m d follow w h l 'Have a m w t h p u r n g . '

20.5

TELEPHONE EXPRESSIONS

Wdi is used lo initiate wntact on the telephorre:

WSi? Hdh-maih ChWn SBang a? 'Hello? Is that Mr Chan?'

c k k g ngmahn h a y I ask' is a polite way to initiate a reqwsr.

H&hh-h6yIh WuWi d i h n d mn-mt-can leave telephone "Cwld you leave your number?

a? PRT

I

Ngdh jyun-liuh f i k Wan liih H. 1 tum-head reply b& yw PRT 'I11 call you k k in a moment '

Kkuih h h haidouh wo. h e

not here

Y*uh-m6uh gAnyiu ah haue-not-have Imponant malttter

d n k h i h a? fmd him PRT 'She is not here. Do you have anyrhinp, important for her?' H&hh-h+h g b n g d w6n ktuih m 8 w h srh a? c a m n o r a n kave-dnrm find himlher what matter PRT 'Could yw leme o mrzmge?'

If there is a call-waitingservice. a d m m in in the middle of a telephone crmvemm: Deui-mjyuh. $uh

W

d i h n d ymhp llih. m@i h v e phone enter come plea=

lehh Itangdang y w wait-wait 'Sorry. a wn is m i n g in. Hold on a moment. plea-.'

I

384

canton-: a compmhensh g m m r

Deui-mjywh, ng6h ~ l h g 3 M

rn

I

mw

n

,

yit

j6n

di

spe;lk-PROG one moment call

21 NUMERALS AND TIMES

f&n Mi Eih A. b a d to you PRT Im on the phone. T'll cafl yw right bad.

'w,

To respond lo a person who has dialled the wmng number:

Chhg mahn Wh d5 @ihwh dihn-w;i a? p l e m ask yw dal what number phone PRT 'May 1 ask ! h a t n u m b you dialled?'

21.1

NUMERALS

Table27.1

Nummb

Or simply:

Mi-mjyuh, 88 cho wo. Say dial wmng PRT (you got the) wmng nurdxr.'

'm,

Gmpound numbers are fwmed in the same order as in Endish:

36 Garnsahplohk thlny-slx 124 y3t baak yihsahpsei one hundred twenty-fmr 3-62 s u m chin luhk baak nghsahpyih three thwsad six hundred fifty-two Note that where a zem appears before a final digit fmm 1 to Y the zem must k ppmrmnrrd:

104 yAt one 6,W& luhk ax

hmk lihng s=i hundred mm four chin fihng h a t thmmnd

eem

eim

Above 10.Onnwr m h n J . &mwe speakers wunl in tern of thwsgnds ( m h n ) rather tlian thousanck chi^):

15.W (Wt) maahn ngh chin 130,0[10 sahpskm maahn

There is no wnrd for a mnion ( a p m by ~ @haurk r mwkn). ycir yrk i s one hundred million (100.000.W1), a number much used in financial r c m .One bitliirn (1.000.1#IO.M10) ib thus mhp yik.

M m m $ a@ is the abbreviated form for p yllrn )gt chm, I d h : mrmhn 'I I .OW, h~t liteially an e x p m o n FR the odds IO.M%l. is used to

1.5 hours (y3t) go bun jCng(t8uh) (here ym is &n pne CL h l f hour 'one and a haIf hours' or 'an hm~rand a half+

mean 3rst in case':

1.5 m t h s (y3t)

'Just in case you can't find any work. you can ux my money for the dine being.'

left out)

go bun yuht am CL haH nwnth 'me snd a half months' or 'a month a d a halt'

Maahn yrit lerh wAn mn'h dOu ~h jouh, h* 10.000:l you find nc4 s u d worl, do can yrihnp jyih n@h A chin In. IN C O W my CL money hm

387

1.5 )ears p t nhn bun (rrur*ySt go h n bhn) one year half 'one and a half years' or 'a p a r and a hall' In Wnquial Gntonese dby the wwkingdas, mr~y is & e n rdmrd m as dtu''water', as in:

ySl

pub h i

one CL

water

I

'one hundred ddlars' The decimal poim is read as dTm or go: R2 nhng dim zero point

yih two

3.2 dm dim yih three point two

$3.2 Sam ga yih (note t k ust nf go referring to morrey) three CL rwn Three dcllam twenty'

or

a a m rnsn nhng Yuhng htwhji three adlam and nve re-ts "three dollars Rvemy cents'

22.5

yahyri

dim

n@

huenlytwo point five

$22.5 yaheyih

go

bun

twenty-huo CL half 'hventy-two and a half

or

yah-yii man (tlhng) @h h h - j i wen?)-rwo dollam (and) five tenems

0.3 Tihng dim Sam Pem point three' 1.3 ySit dim d a r n 'one point thrae'

In the wse of one adlar sanething. yur is islwayr; kt7 out:

pOhn &ui one bash water 'one tli-d dollars' y3l

Mote that tar t h w n d dulle&, ix. Fi mmacrkh is relrred to as )&Mp and cme milhion. i.e. baak m k n as )vit b w k L@J where I@ is the classifier for small rounded o b j a a9 in jm Bp rt5hjl 'a grape'.)

w~

ng6h dohk &. (slang) help me acquire water 'Help me get money .' (usually by means of bcmmvhg) &g

Faai

di yidi bit psy 'Pay me quickly.'

dul.

I

I

(slang)

water

Ktuih h6u d a a m i p. she very heap water PRT 'She's gc4 bts af money.'

I

The mmpnmd numbers are readily abbreviated in informal +,

+

espe-

cially in quMing prices. yihsokg + numm~'hventy sanething' are often mntmrted to wrklwh-numeral:

$ 1 . 9 go a a r n 6 threp - w edollar and thirty ern Simiirly, in numben fmm 30 onwdrds. the w d .whp 'ten' is d u d to ah:

I

I

FWI r l u ~ i ~ we1 h ~ aurir llundrrd whnh cnd in sahp 'tern'. sahp can be lefi out:

-

LXl

mnn &I three thomnd dollars about *amnd L1.m

For n u r n k l . ~k m ~~~ lllc~ vamdw l i i ~el r~d irr ~ h l 'lhumnnJS, h ~hTnwn be

(yat) maahmhSt chin

Ynlrh . . . jidordjildm~. . .or simply X ji Y w X d o 1 4 1s uwd to give a range of figures 'from . . .to . . .':

Appvmrraliora

sahp&i

h

h kn-and-*few &pees',

some of w l 6 i

W

~ 1 L r l ; l m m~ ~ & I 'It l ~ - r n l - d

Jullarr', i.c. -1. -hp man 'a few tem Hddlars', i.e. 3Wq1 g&baak go yahn ";1 few hundred people'

'IheseTerms are also wd to e x p w ~ages approximatetely: yah-Whng mi huemy-udd' Salk$ 'IIIIIIy ~ i i ~ t l (yta~a i ~ ~ uld)' r: -hp seui 'a few tens of years old' (usually middle age and over)

In mlloquid usage, thirty years of age or a m can k m d IQ rn srfam jwrmg 'thirry'. saumfFung@i (y.&h)'thirty m h i n g ' a n d forty years d d as s@i@mgg,ek.. wherejPIIfl~isa h i k r as in @rpwflgjf 'a piece of paper': L6ult W h k Pl~n lul~kj e u ~ ~ g= g h. M d Wong this year six CL PRT PRT 'Mr Wong is years d d thrs year.'

Y without .vIrr~h'W

(yhuh) aahp jidou sahpeh mi 'frwn ten to tiheen years old' (yhuh) sei dim ji luhk dim 'from fwr to six a'clocli' (yhuh) ni d w h dou gb h h 'fmmhere to there' Juxta@o in

i.e. 13-19

bask* go y3hn 'hundrerkomethingpecple', i.e. 1

htimbh 'at lead sets a lower b a ~ h r y : EimAh luhksahp gu @hn 'at k a s l &ty people"

maahn chat

M,m h a t maahn-luhk &in + k t maahwluhk

There are several ways to express appmmmak numbers. are dimcult to express in English:

chin mSn gam sevhng M m e thousand dollar so above belm 'a thousand ddlars. give or take a bil' ?Sam chrn

130n (yat) c h i m m (baak) chin aam 4 W sei chiwbaat (bash) + x i chin ha1

17.m

j6yBo left-right

431

For numbers over one thousandwhich end in b w k 'hundreds'. bonk can be left our:

lm a*.

dadhkol yihsahp go haakyshn approximately hventy CL guests -about twenty gueS1S7 seisahp seui dbu forty years ahout 'ahout forty. f w - i s h "

(yst) baak-yihfsahp) M k yii 1M (ySt) baak4aat(sahp) + b a k baa1 240 yih baak+i(mhp) 4 yih baak sei 6.50 luhk bad-r&h(sahp) -+luhk h k ngh

-

danlhhi 'appmximately'. j w u . d h nnd finm se~rhngIrb all meaning -~hembufi;'am alw wed rp estimate an appmximafetipre:

of two adjacent numbers is ako wBd tm 'hedge':

y h h ssam sei p @hn yduh hingcheoi have three four CL people have interest r hor four people are interested'

luhk chst Ehm man d6u six seven thoumnd M l a r there *aroundsix to seven thousand ddlars'

Ngdh t6ij6 pi Ihhuhng bGn $yo je. I red-PlW one two CL book F%T Tve mly read me or two bvoks.'

2l.l-1

CARDINAL NCIMBERS

The numeral w a n before countable noum. as in English. w l l y fdbwed by the classikr:

390 Cwtonsse: a comprehensRg grammar &am

go

yuM

three

CL

m~nth

Wmerals and tLnm 391

luhkjek gih

six C L dog Note the following e x v i m which are similar in form but have very different meanings: ySt yuht 'January'

at p yuln 'one month'

sahpylh yuht 'Uecernber" ashpyih gu yuht 'twelve months'

I

1

+

2 dollars = lhhng msn (mf*yih m8n) 2U cents = l h h q hmhji (nop 4yih bbuhjr) ZO dollars = yibsahp men (riot *16hnphp mnn)

classifier phmx following the nwn. An altematitive order is numeral Thii form is used +ally in mntexts oF buying and selt~ng, and i n

recipes: Ng6h m5aih jb yuMheng

IEuheg I butmooncake two 7 bought two lmxa of mooncake.'

hahp.

II

h>n

Me,

yiu gaal8an y i ~g#n, dauhfuh k h g pteaw want. gdilan one catty tofu two 'I'll Iiave a catty of p i I a n snd two mkes of tofu, p k . '

m.

gauh. rake

GA s i u h yHt (recipe) add soy-muoe one qwm 'Add a spwnhl ofof m e . ' j
yat, yih7@am

I

y6uh deui ms+ifl€ui. has CL nwnsonldaughtw 'She has a pair of twin ddnughtem' Ng6h ~ h n g E h ma-pu. I with you hvin-kd 'Ishare a bed with you.' Drmeai @m gw yuht ge yuhi-gil why this CL mmlh LP w r h - e n d

'SxaKl'

Ihd~ngis med to quantify nmns:

CL

ltih

dim8 statement pair

@?

PRT 'How come this month's monthly statcmcnr m m ~ in g duplicate?'

n$ is also used m refer to rwo identical digits, for example double are read m mi Ohrrgand double t h r m as md m m : similarly. 228899 = rrad

people' Muhngdfm jiing "two o'clock'

b h n g j h g m 8 h hvo kinds of rice'

daan

mme

yhhn person

n&hdeih Iiuling go we two CL 'the rwe d w'

is otten ~ s e dto enumerate things that are doubled cr m e In The wwd a pair. e.g. twins are called ed ioi. the eupre~jond&mi Iiih meam%ome

h i h fie

. .'

daih yih (nor*daiilhlmg) number two

raro

20.000 dollars = I h h n H h rnaahn man 22322 dollars = yih rnaahn yih chin yihbaak yihmhp-yih m8n

Kiuihdeih haih m8-g hingdaih@mli. are twin-binh brotherdsimm m e y are twin bmthedmfers.'

yih, g h m yih, s3hng yih, chhib yih add two minus hve times two aivide two 'add two, minus m,times mu, divided by two'

go

amptable: 200 dollars = EuhnMhbaak man 2.mdollars r lhhndyih chin m3n

they

p

Ibhng

H w e r . fpr 200, 2,WO a d M,000 dollars both I&hflg and yih are

in paif:

...

'one, two, three.

An exception here is the literary phrase y'h {Ghn smgmi 'two pwple's wnrld' rcfcrring a hnppy muple. Similarly. yih flhn mri r h on a menu indimttes. dinner for two. and h h f l g in I n m n t i n g money- yrh is called for in some conothers and gometieither m e can be -8. k r h g iF r w d fnr llniM of mcng. such as rmSn Wlar' and kbthjf'cents':

yik ma bwr mri g h . I

2l.19 OROHAL NUMBERS Numbers such as %m','seventh'. ere. are fwmed regularly by ~ the number word with daih humkr':

d

n

g

yst number one

apih yih number two

daih

'first'

-d'

daih rnei the

daih luhk nhnggsm number ax sense 'sixth Xme'

'lau'

b s m n fahn !Cree pan (00 +twthirds' 'I4

Moms: dmh pir,dmh yih: the phrase daih p?~ 'number one' i s also u& idinmatically to mean ?he best' or 'the leading*:

The phrase &ih yih humber two' is a h u z d to mean "another': K b i h b h ylh@ yiu d n daih yii go m g . hey now must find number nue c Z &cmr 'Now they have to b k for another docfor.' ( C m p r e the adv& l(E.33.)

dmh j+h 'hh 'another time, m the future':

fahn (jj wt four pan (or) one sei

'a quarter'

%

m h n g6ng d?tih yAL ge nghhnhbhng whole harbwr number one PRT bank 'Hongkmg's kleading h k '

yih

WI

fahn Cji) S a m

four part (4 three 'thrrsquarters'

These exprrssions follow the noun which they quantify. Gb

bat chin

mmgifi

sei

Tahn a m .

t h a CL money Iosz-PFV four p r t thm Thrre-quaners of that money went missingm Fractions may a h be used in tie

oorrstrucfion with p (6.3):

N@h jaahn ge yhhngijng haih kCwh ge d a m fahn 9. I earn tbnt salary Is dhe LP three part one The salary I earn is a third of what he Bws.' @t btm 'half is used similarly:

dm% rngy IM bpBuesaionedwith .p5 'how Emmy)?' (17.3.8)!

haih H h daih gG go j5i a? this CL is your number wlid CL sun PRT Which son ofywrs is this?'

NT

p

Lkih ddh gG chi tsi ni go y S n g a? number what time see this CL dmm PRT How many times before have you w m this doctor?'

p w

Nofe that these q u d o m are $iffxult to h a d a t e due to the lack of m qrtrsim rneming 'which numb?' in Engldr. The tfl&~iun -huw many tlrnes before?' fw daifi g8i chi is thus U I M striaIy -rate because the Cantonege:question would include the current visit to the dactw in the cxpcacd amwcr.

21.1.3

FRACRONS AND PERGENTAGES

Franions of the form WY are exprewd using Yfohn Xor YfohnjTX, sf follows (note that the order of the nu-Is

43 ~ m nm h e part 'o&hird'

uq (09

Wt one

is the r e v a x of the English):

bun h o h l s % ~ ~ ~m6uh g &uhr@bhng. not-liw u ~ l m *Half ofthe students did not attend claw.' one: half sru$mt

Percentages mr expressed in the same form rn iswth the phrase bnakfhknli'per a n t ' fnlbwPd by the numemk aspdouh M-fahn-ji b a w h p l u h l . relative humidify h u n d d p r t eighty& T h e relmiw humidrty is $6 per cent-" Seungdemi

m g p m k lauhga dibt-j6 bak-fahnji y i l ~ h p . Britain housepike falkPFV hundd-part twenty "The price of Rats I n Britdn has R r 1 h by 20 per mi.' ImhkSang baak-fahn-ji hu&e&prt CL smkm Di

nghsahp d ~ u rPlh sl%: fifty alrm nnt know

dsap ge. answer PRT ' F i b per cent of the studena don't know the a m r : An ahemative way to m

s percentages is in tenths. h

g dhng.

I

394 Cmtmm:a ~pmpwkwiwg m m r

m%

err

lCuhng slhng two tenah

I

'20perwm'

Iuhk sihng bun ix temh half '65 per cent'

or

I

1

Ktuih mhp chi m h &u chi dCw h h bidouh. dhe tern times have nine tlm aka not here 'Nine t i m out of ten he's m4 there.'

In written Cantonese, the ten min b the transliterationfor English p ~ r m r . However, i t is very m l y used in spoken Cantonese. I-d, the bwword pch* i s often used typically with the classikr go:

hak

fahn ji g3wahp hundred p r t of nlnety

a m go p h t F n e g @-j6 F t go F"'. this CL month inflatmn 1ncreasePFV one CL percent 'Thi month's innahon (mte) has ~ n c r e a by d 1 per cent.'

'Ihme x p d n m r are used as in the following: Jeuiphn lhh-ga dih* ySt slhng. recently houseprice falbPFV one tenth 'Houhe prices have m t l y h l l m by 10 percent.'

211.4 L W K Y AND TABOO NClMBERS

This mnshuctionis also used to e x p n p m h b i l i t k

Ni

jing beling ji dsk earn dhng geiwih h h faan. this CL illness only $4 three tenths chance gwd return This disease has only a 30 per cent chance of recovery.'

are 1 x 1 expressedin tenths, but in terms of the frmclimto than the fraction discounted as in English:

Ng6h Mi h a t jit leih. I give eight d i u n t yw 'Illgive you ZU per cent off.'

(used by main to regular customers)

emyaht @uh d t - n g h jit. thii CL sore tculay have m - f i v e diismunt 'This sEow is offering 25 per cem df W y . '

Ni

eu

or

'90 per wnt'

Now: di-nn be paid &r

Idioms: g h s i h ~ g h '88 t per cent likely' expresses a nearwrtainty:

sahp chi $uh gAIl rhi him limes our often' functiom $5an 8dVerbIal p h r a . much as in English:

bmk fahn p luhksahp ngh five hundred part of sixty

9 1 5 6 g8u sihng ~iine tenth

I

N@hdeih g6u dhng syii ge laak. nine tenth nlne lose PRT PRT

baak film ji yihsahp hundred pm of rwenry

6%

rulnmrals and tine 385

Numbers we endowed with both positive and negative mnnotahcm. 'I he number wi Tour' is avoided hec8us.e it m n d s like S@J 'fie' (tothe extent that mme building lack a fmli floor between the third and fifth, or call the fourth floor 3A). wlqwer iouneen' is WE st~ll.b m u w of its phonetic resemblance to sohr d i ' m i n l y die'. By m a , h o t 'eight' Is favoured bewrrse it r h y with fm 'lxduw', as in fnnr dnnkt or f u u t c M ~ hmake money-. yfi resernMes yrh 'easy'. Similarly. m m 'three' i s lucky becausei t resemblaMung'alive' and si7angi 'business'. gu^lr 'nine' is ssswated with ch&ng.gh 'longlasting'. LuRk 'six. is e t e d Iouh 'md'.and yar 'one' L skated wth yuM 'day'. Vehicle l k c e plmtes often display these preferences:

-

328 s8.m yih baat = % nin@

(yih) h s i m (easy)

@ani pn@ i

hd

makemoney

lmh Tam one way make-mcney 'make money all the way'

16# ystluhk baat = @t

118 y8t yBt bat

= yaht

yahr hat

day day make-money 'make money every day'

398 Cantonese:a cwrprehensive grammar

9R8& g h baathat haat Panly for fhe =me -, S p k e r s often

709394

1

d for 'today'. ' t o m o m ' . etc.. tvzat the future as behind (hn~rh) a d the: past m in fmnt (rhihn):

The w

fm faat faat long pmsper-mr-prosper

= gAu

'w

Hrnyaht @m&n lonight' hAl11m1yal1l111 Cl~hl~m~~yalil 'ydlmdq ' khhrnmhahn or chhhmdahn '1st nigM'

prices offen end in 0.88 cr 0.99. numbersmmtivelyto make puw. e.g.:

chaf nhng gAu Sam &u sei lbih @au Smn gAau sei out m e Bo thme do Iwr

= cmt

mgyahr 'mmorrcw' tigrn8alin ' b m m night' clilhnyxht ?'the day b e f w yesterdq-

(usually referringtw a man having an affair).

212

DAYS AND MONWIS

The cbys of the wwk from Monday to Saturday are expressed by Hn#tih or Iriikbwi 'week' =fixed with the numbers one to sEx:

Sn&.Sh$Wfiihbaai-y8tLMond;ly' Hngk&ikyiWl4ihbai-yrh 'Tuday', etc.

Note that jrir go singkI.ihlIaihhi refers to 'one week'. The e x m p t h is singkPiA-pht!I6ihhr-ynht Sunday' ( m e that only a d i m uf ItJmdisllnguishrs ,Ungk.?lh-jGf ' M d y ' frum rIrr&Pih-yrht

'Sunday'). The months are also known by numbers. hut me nurnetal precedes the

:

wwd yrkr 'month? y31t .January'. yil, y d d mTtbruary'a,\d ?aan quirt regularly to sohpyih yuhr 'Decembef. Smges withln months may be expressed by Puh 'head' I chG 'kglnning'. j~ing'middle" and tw5h 'tail' I dbi 'm bMh referring to 'end':

I

cb~hrndahn 'the night before Is$tnight' hauhyaht 'rhc b y nftcr morrow' hauhm4ahn 'the night after tomorrow night'

These fw t m s may be exten$edby one day in either d i d o n by adding dmih:

&aih chihnyaht 'the &y before the d q before yest* daaiC clriCmnLahn 'the night fhe nigljt kfm W nigW daaih hauhyaht ?he day after the day after tornormw' daarh hauhmhhn 'the night after the night after tomorrow night'

Any of these cxpssiom may combine with times OF day. fm cxample: LAhmyahjiujivl 'yesterday morning" tingyaht hahjau 'tomorrow a f t e m '

1

Certain m m o n wmbinationl have a shon f m :

I

@m jiu 'this morning' ting jiu monnn~-

Note that klrkmm 'yesterday morning' d m rot ex&.

hhk-yuht dl6 six-month beginning '(at) the beginning d June' (cF. Wid16 "at fimm)

The order in dates is the reverse of the Engli~h.beginning with the year snd ending with the day:

baat-pht &i eighr-mmh hottom 'the end of AuysP N ~ Kp n f

png

month middle '(in) mid-June'

six

Yfit g3u

gdu

chst lihn luhk ywht s i a m ~ h phouh. m e nine nine m e n year six month thiny day The thirtieth of June. 1997.' This may be cumparrd te the form of add-. m e s before rhe meet addre,: in borh c-, the more specitic ones. Decades are denoted by Rhncdnih: l u h b h p llhdvlh 5ixfy decade

=me1 w

4

I

wi-yuht Puh fwr-month head '(M)the begirm~ng of April" (& the adverb h6ihrh *atmst')

hat-ywht dih aghtmonth tail '(at) the end of AugW- (cf. jeui d i I i 'the very ens)

w

Numerats and tim 397

in which the place name tlie general term prereh

1,

Numrals ard limes 399 Centuries are derided by m-@

yl'hsahp*

mi@ twenty-first oenturg

'the tpentr-first century'

213 TIMES OF DAY To coum the number d hwrs. the classifier go is used a d in mllquial Cantone= Lip, the ctassifm for w a l l rwnd ob*. asin yrJr Idp~~uhkyrin 'a

pill',

IWII:

I&~lng go 'FNO

$Sam 15p jung three CL hour 'three MIS' (mllquial)

jung

CL h w r

two

hours+

To spxify the hours of day dim @ng) is used: 400

4 dim(jiing)

Wh@ @i dim

a?

now

lmwhourFRT 'What time is it now?' CZi

Giing) hai-di a? (hour) h d d meeting PUT What t h e is tk mning?'

dim

how time

The half-hour is mpmsed by h n 'half follcwing thc: hour 930 @u dlmbun Between half-hours, Cantonese speakers tell the time in m

minute i n t m l s , called jih (referring tv tk ma*

s of f w e clock--),

counted from the preceding h x T h e m

jik are offen omitted:

8:E bSat

dlm a m eight o ' d d three

A Mteen-minute interval, i.e. ~ W Kin WBRglish, is called yl€t go gwdt in

Cantwe:

$:I5 h t dfm @tgo gwsf

%45 baat dhn mrn go g d t

Ncde that &Bng dim nfh 'rwo hour?.five' therefore means 2:25', not '2DS' ( h h n g dim )at).Similarly, stapes in the hour are expmsxd by danl~pand the number of jih past the hour: daahp sahpyih bn the hour' daahp Sam 'at quarter past' TWere pwkh Is r e q u i d . rhc m l n u b @ n W g w sirnfly Jh) mil k spelled out: 10:56 s a b dfm rglmhpluhk tan T w h dclock is rwally called simply salipyih dfm. althmgh r word bun& or bp'midnight' exists. There are many diffmnt ways t~ r x ~ ~ ~ f ~ O " 0t 1n fai m 5Vam0.lOa.m. fihng sih1dI-m sahp fin rero o'dochtmnming ten minutes s m ~h sahfih dSm sahp fin cleep night twelve dclodi ten minuter Nnte t h t R F w , d mlLmmnrning = midnight- mbe vscQ fvr any rimc at midnight. r i m e s which might be unckntood as morning or evening may be prem&d by jiujdu 'mvming' vr y & m h n *wning': jiu*. luhk dim bun momlng wx o'clock hlf Isix-tkirty in thc morning' yrhmhhn sahahp dim jung eimiq ten o'dmk Ten dclock a~ nigm' When a time ofday is combined with a day d t h e w e c k or month, the order follow that d dates. with the more fieneral term coming first: BrigkiAkyaht sei dim Sunclay fun o'clock 'lour 0-Ceock on Sunday' As dverbial erprrssions. all these expressiom d time usually come betmeen the subject md the verb: Nghhdcih ting~9ht h h k dim gin t o m m six dclock see we 'Well met at six 0-dodc tomorrow.' Altcrnatiwlely: TmgyuM M k d h n-i Mi DaaikWuih-Tbhng gm. Luru~rnnm *IF. u'r'ld ~ r : ar City IIS1 mccl -We'll meet at the City Hall at six o'clock tomorrow.'

I

I

~ 1

~

I

Appendix 401

APPENDIX: ROMAN1ZATION SYSTEMS INITIAL CONSONANTS

VOWELS Yde

IPA

i i@efore ne, k)

i:

LSHK i

yu

e Y1

u

u:

U c

before ne,k)

i

yu U

Yak

e

0 E:

CPA

LSHK

0

j:

0

b

P

b

eu

OC

P

ph m f

P

eu (kfmn, 1) a (wth final consonant) a (no final m w m n t ) aa iu

re: e P

a

EC

m f d t

n 1 B

m

f d

eo

iw

aa aa iu

n

eui

W

soi

I k

ui

UY

UI

ti

ei

ei

I

oi

UW

W

>

t

a:

k "Y

kh ! I

oi w

h

h

a1

ei

j ch

A tsh

EW

BU

a-i

B

S

au aai aau

uui aau

Y

J

gw

kw

kw

kw"

W

W

ai

TONES (ILLUSTRATED WITH THE SYLLABLE U) Yak U

FINAL CONSONANTS

aw

1

a d U

r n K u l high kvcl u l h~glifa5l u2 higlirise

mid leuel

tlh

u4 low fall

Bh

u5 lowrise

ul1

1-

eve,\

N m s : Yale refers ro the Yale mmanization q?&m, tlrc system gdopFed in lhb bwk, d h the empri- that the h i h Wing tore is mt usad, thc &mnoemed being shown with s high l e d tone. LSHK stands for the rommtmtion scheme proposed and ky the Linguistic Society of IImgkmg in 1993. The IPA symbals rcpccwnl head trammpticm. Tkc desmptionsin pxenthesa expl-din t k condition under wh~chthe mund is usad For a m p l e . in the taw for w l s , the mmanrzad fmm r is generally pmmunoed tw IF& [i:]: h w w e , it .is p~mouncedas F A [el before ng and k.

Notes 403

English -kern By conk&. M o r t JH these c o n m a m are Fully platalizcd C Cam-. Morawer. 11has been ohfiewed lhat young Female spcskm are more likely to p d u c e there palatalizedrounds. R m k r mearch s -q'

NOTES

to axensin tlx relaMmhrp hehvccn the m o l ~ n g r s t i factors c and the platalizalmn phenomemn. I

INrFWWI=TION I Infact very few yamman of Canlmese h m r k e n written m Chinese in the paY w n t y ycms. Ths may have Zo do wilh tlmp.erdcnt attlnde lhal Canton& rs 1 u ~ tI Chime dialwt and rlwr nnr Pnjny rhe camc pivile& qatlrs m P u m n g h u a l M ~ r ~whicll n. la ttu o k a l lanfuag of ChnU dnd Tarwan. Thw

1

most of t k mention hasbacn&voted l o the atudy and desmptlon of Mandam. 2 Thc pnmty of q x m h an descr~ytlw lmngutst~csis baxd on three main comideistions

R

t i m form: (I) m;my of the world's languages lack m y w (11) hbtormlly. all langua* were @en before thfq came to be umtftn(lii) chlUwn lcom l o spmk o lnngmg. b e r m ihey can rrad or 4lt m n m r IIE m l l e n l a n p g m t be comficu4y tau&t, wherear children do no( d10 be taugllt to sp~aklheir first language

vf ' h l d o n g ~ m ar Ch~ucl~rm (sourhcm Min) i n the emr and Hakhad~alensIn the twill. 4 Luke a d Nanc~rrow(1991) d m h e t k l a n g u a ~of Hmgltong n e w r s rn 3 D i a l a h h e l m g i g M mlpr grm~psarr .clwken in

,

PLIC~

ccmaain~nga whok range d registees frum class~calChinese to the colloquial f a I * , ~ ga IcpKqnkallon dspokcn Cantonese. s l y k wlldl voy 5 By wnlmt t h m arc 'c0rrme and cl ' l m r c c t ' pl onunnallom f a cemsln w d : nanhlrhh s preferred to mrrrhlilrk 'charm'. and r r w n to slhgarm 't~mt'. The +m~' pronuncianom (based c m eaymolog~almsldcralmm) am generally w d in bMcastbng and p m k d by lanpuage purrsa. mlh syondr e h ar general usage. 6 Standard witten Chinese m l m to the witten furm of Mandarin (Putonghra) luhlch IS taunht i n r h o k nrd idm ars&rnic cmlexts. I1 IS b a d VII #he w n h m vanety of Mandann spuken ~nBeljing 7 I n v l m d t h e lark of a u n i f i s d r m a n i z a t ~ o n s ) w m f m ~ m the ~ .Ling*sric Society of Hongkmg h a dewbped a splern intended to sene all p u v o l romanblion (see appendix). 8 The use01numhmlo rcpres~ltloner is mtcnt~rclyarbitmy. Fwexamplc, 1.2 a d 3 by convenlion rcfm 10 hrgh re* t o m and 4.5 and 6 low register tones. etc. followingtrad~liurmld a ~ M wofi ,fronts (w (nm 1947)Y 'this lype of crm s S i a x d i n Yip and Matlhws ( I W ) , w h m 1lR Lnlnese and Endis11mmtnrtlons wilh adjectwa such mcasy and d r p r l f me compared.

-,*-,

U

8

3 I n ccrlnin moinland vowtier: of Crmtowze k and -1 a n mrrged. bolh beina pmmrurood as unreleared -I. Morcnver. the merger of 9.-7 and 4 is crvnlmon m @herChinesc & a h $ . stlch as the SRanghal dwlm. 3 The 'corrert' l o r n mh) be 1 1 4 e1)mdngicall). for example. the Mandarin cnnnatc nt m .Face. IS m1. \r~thcuts maul onb~raant.u k w m tlw c o p a t c of n&h 'cow' is ithi. wit11 initial n c o r m i n * to Calltorrt&t

5 The mamiration being developed by t k Linguivlic Soriety aF Hon&wg m p a w s to make this dirtinctim. wiyiling on i n w n syllabks as in f a a ' W 6 A d b n t c o n m n t s do oxur i n compotd chpessiom For example. Ihe neptive preiix m as in m d i 'no need' is an irdepndent syllahlc. a m e m atso occur in ommatopwic words. such ;n Mng-Mhhlg ' I d l i n g ' and Ihe s w l d AEkJdM., and sre stwnerirnc$ mtsinod i n ccrtain I a n - n d from Englkh. altlmugh the clustcrs are nor~nallysimplied i n tlw cwrse 04 h o m i n g . 7 Some linguism (e.g. Y-S. Cheung 1969) I m e repsrtd d d i w i i r n hew d with high lewl and high Falling tones. I n Guanghm and other v # t k oi t a n m o m spolicn In uuangdarg p m m , t l r tone at issue is ohen pr* n w d as high falling: h m r . the high b e 1and high falling varianls m nol clai~ncdto be dislincrive in rccmt m d k . A m q u c n c e d this variation b lhal rmnm~sr. qxakeerp,have d i h l t y distimhing he high b d a 4 faring tones i n Mandarin (Wmg 1'432). 8 Wllik Iht cunrenliowl scalc involves five pitrh Icvck. only fota are strictly ntcesary todifferentiale the tone?. aspointed out by K-H. Cheum (1%)- I n a fau,-kwl y a m . tlw high &I l o m i -Id bc 44. kigh &ir@ 24. 9 Acoustic m r i m e n l s bv Dr Eric Zw of tlw C h i Uriv~esitvof Hongltong . ~ S wCi l h r ~ ; ~ ~h d &tvalhn I x e a k a Wu (l'l\j9. 173) 10 A s a rrsult. chc Inn ri
2 WORD STRUCTURE: kWRPHOLDGY AND WORD FORMATION 1 Nc4e tlml dourr'degm'v am occrrrwiI6gf? (&) "hawmany'a? i n q w i o m n g the mawremenu of +ion and temperature:

1 PHONOLOGETHE CAWONESE SWND SYSTEM 1 The Yale symbols i n thc book a w in blks whercas the IPA symhols are given i n q u m e brackCW r ~ccordinpro q c r l m c n ~ suulrlulrrl Ly DI El; &. Mlc alvealar mscmnrn hefore edwi rcmln lhclr f l x e d artidation, allhough the slmulmemIS p l a l a l contacl m y give tl~ecorrsm~ntr a palatal q~ml~ly. Fullpalatalizalmn. as in .dung [Jeong]. s dwmcumt~cof nm-malive qwakees well as Mandarin a 4

gi d0 douh p h m i l l a? how many degees shorlsightcd PUT How slwn4$ted m

Ltih

~u

your

$I & dwh a? remperature how many degrees PRT

mmyaht heiwan

'k"",'stoda)'s temprature?'

4W Cantonese:a mprehensive grammar 2 An i d i d c me of s h r ~ - ~mr ir ~s in Ihe f d l m n g context. Kedh h6u n h k dtn4ng. dk v q familim nmler-nature 'She's In her elemnt In w l e r 3 Mandann &~-lvdPr-wu d e n to lhe end a hp of an ohpct or place, unlike Cantone* nr-riuhlp-lhrh. wtmc meaning nor cmly m n that of the Mandarin wunlcqmrt but a n also l x extended to refer m thidthat area or delcllc Iwwl lhere. (For rmother ~nlerpremlmn&cd to mnctrrrenl ewnrs i n Inme. i e 'x soon rn. 9' 16.2.1.) M o m . in Mandunn. y i l s often inserled between thc demonlhaliw ;&In; and f f ~ r-1) to avoid conl~sion&king fnm treatie g ,011 in a d a s h e r as in ? k t rou NI; ' r h ~ c m ' .I n CanIm&. !'TI ~ ~ d kleh r .cul In n i CWWrrrrklgd4fl#)-fd14h 4 I t hm batn oweneA that anafhlng m#to n m s to form ndjerriw k a mwlr of En&& lnRuence cspec~allyu4m m l a t l u i g f r u n Engl~shto Chinese I n marn casts -smg can be len om without affacllnp the meaning: likks~(-smgl slhhfi htsw moment 'h~toricmanellt

2 MeCgwley (1972) mggest~that w a l l e d auxiiuries in M which are s1lrral@7d for a dame.

M

n are simply i&

4 SENTENCE STRUCTURE: WORD ORDER AND TOPBCALlZATlON 1 n o ss l m l d not bc takcn to impl) that k ~ 4 . m d s u b ~ ~ r~ c t mppl~chhkm unimlrvtil~ltm C h ~ l r r egrammar. a5 i s m ' v ~ ksuggescsd \ T h e poaaihlic) d mining the s u m is &~KIto ccmtr;rints(see 5.1.1) and omitted suheck are treated In many andyes ar null (ze~o)subjects, i.e. ar flaying tlw r d t i n the slrunure ofthe sentem even rhough they are nM overtly prewnt. 2 An altematiw rwlysiis miglm k lb lhis a a H v e wim Il&ngpbgthepwsmrof&noun phrarelhlrp(63).W~~pcrhapsgrm*natin l l y ptp~~dhk in thn r w , m a nmln @W H F t ~ d r (tr5) r IPvhR possible, but nm fm all cagffOf 'double whject' wnstrucliom Compre:

-.

H,3m&n~ e g o d m ~sik klruih ge. H o n g h g CL-CL all LIW her PRT 'Everyone i n Hongkmg k n w s her.'

3 T k treatment d ceneric nmm phnses m d.=fmii k mrr umrmal. C m r e the

g w k b i ( + n ~ 1 wfivfll

~nternatlonal conlerence lnttrnaliowl oonferencc' chuhll-khh(4ng) jOilaahn who!e-&k di~uer 'globcJ d m t t r ' 5 All the -fa sufhxed mmptmk WIHI disyllabic mprcFFr m have the prop& m thepwgcunam#on: i 0. tlm p i c r r c d order s l a m g - M P -wrhfa H o w . some w r n p u d 141th m m y l l a t i -C ~ WEh BSJO-fa~ n n n m l e ' are oflen usad w ~ t hs preposed obcct h ~ l ahers e like .pm-fa g&@ri 'heuul~fy tlw home' and luhk-fa &akr$-#Ing 'make the envmrncnl green' mn harc rhe objects lollowlng t l r -ficumpound j'asrrfhr;stion Is a n o t l w r e ~ m F kof E ~ l s h ~nfluenoeon Clnnese. h 1) uh n an apprenl exwption. i t may be used m a p r t l d e lollowinp HICokp3

u m c i m n t d a vnk MIII m h w silk faahn ~ m h you dm'l eal rlfe yet 'Dun't eatjust yet.' Np6h h h d B g6ng MI yhhn rPng p h 1 nut wII say to people hcar ye1 'Iwon't tcll anyone fm Ithe time h m g L

~awcm, wmk rem s t m c a l l y to me mmmuousaqxu, this is a tiisrinct wage ofnwh. mem1n~speclk~lly~iw1he linebeing or ln negalrwmterres I K ~ r t ' (see 11.2 3.13.3 A wnnlar argument appllcs m the nw Eipv w l r h Imdiuinct funmomar rl a q m 3 marker and &al p r i d e (11.2.5. ll 3 1)

3 SYNTACTIC CATEGORIES: PARTS OF SPEECH IN GAKTONESE I Snw qn.ynrKlicirm. d & MKmvlc! (1W3. m o t wrdp mch as a*, kbm and sirwe a5 p r e p t i ~ whrh 1 ~ take either a noun phrase or a d m as therr corqdemern. Under I ~ Eznnlps. they belcmg to ml) m e suntactic catwen though tlwy may alsofrrrr~~~~~m conltmtms

=

a?dan@tidspe'=i#.

-

I Topic &aim were first discussed by TSao 11979): their strudwe is examined i n $hi

(1W).

5 PRONOUNS 1 FZdh $hn ond ~ h d & c m h? uced i n t d ~ & ~ntendedis generic ' p p W

when tlm r e f e m

Keuih jnngyj h o l t y$lm(deih) +ung-go dhe like imitate pen+ sing-mg 'She l~kesto imitate people siwng.' Ngfh h h & m g I& yhhn(deih) j i i . 1 n u want k t ptoplt 'Idm't warn pwple to k n w .

know

2 W d e that while May is me direct object in Ewlish. i n lhe Cantorme M d M alsos~vesas thesubjectoifaarrmthn the serialverbmnstruction.Thcexample is t h d e n t with rhe subjectrrrientarlonof jib#

6 T H E N W N PHRASE 1 A n exception is the numeral comrnlcfim in wfrich n u m r a l + ~ irollona k the noun (21.1.1). Ths mnsrructionis used -ally Fur mxrmdihts, and emphasieesthe number. for i n advertisln&

7auh Kung sung @I* m n g jmg. lead prize send air-tdet trw CL

( d o ad.\

T h e first @ w is t m free air Wets.'

2 The txnct ,umbc,

an (s) vnrialian k e n dinktb nad i n h i & ~ n l s , and (b) w*clher daasikes u+ i n mitten Chmese are induded. As these are hit wilh i n works m Mmdmn, they are mulled k r e , 95 arc sMlse clamfers used i n M~la)anCanlonew ( K ~ l l i i e y1882b. 19831.

wow 407

a Cenfmese: a wmprehensw grammar i i i s made in Kilhngky (1983). a thm@ m d y d!he syntax and m n t m of c h s s i h i n Mala+an Cantonepe. u i n a m n e n t l a l mlvBis fur the xrnanl.k. H e r d l s r u s m substantd d;f6errkes from ~ G g k c m g Cantonese 10 u w e d ~ n d ~ v ~ d&&hen: lull for m ~ r d e wl. , s amlwd to fruits such as pih& 'apple' which m M lake go i n H'ongiong &lone=. KlllInglq (lW2b). a $+wry d dashkrs, revrals numerous mil d i i i r r r ~ w . 4 While the diindan between [ l e e mensllral and m t a l classifiers is relatively clear, i t dws n d divide the classifiers themselm into two discrete groups Stricrl) speaking, the distimmn is ktween mensural and sorts1 uses of d a s i frers, as Ik same c l a s i f k ms). serve both hnaions at different times. For exmp(e. p u h k ths c l a w k r 161 $&dl 'am, tw% but also u%d ;rr a as i n )P p1.h fm@m 'a bmp d soap': ydr f u i dmwes 'a shier.'as in yal fu' ~wh66ms'a &ce of6nch~rni'bu s d m ar thc h.w , c l m i h r I- m k . 1 thin LfiacesLch as ).arfagl ~ o r .a d c ~ t ~ 5 Strictb waking, the functional parallel k r e k misleading m that o m is a pronokm. genuireiy suhatituting lor the noun phrase, w h k i n I n e the kd mun may b t &klm leaving the classifier behind. As a =It o f this difference, one cannot say *&tr o m p b hut one may my either nifrik 'this one' cm n t p ud 'thlb. picture' 6 A diffcwnt w vf &ow is In ym &an 'one W Mi&m r s as a verb1 complement s i n :

3 This d

.

KBurh Mi y&~

6j6

fl

&.

b y somaone W - P F V one dcse 'He was badly bzatearen up (by 9omeone):

dhe

(#t) cMan d l &%I haih dak go @L we wwlc (me) full death still he gain CL nothing 'Wr'rc -lid mwzlura iu hillh l &nignllnrlm~dl~nm~'

Ng6hdeii puh

7 This idiom can f

Mi g h

u h as a raunntive complementa9 in: dou n@h y H d k +h.

you make till I one wok hubble 'You make me end trp in a lot of tmuhk ' Also i t can appear in the predicatiw mmpkmml @tion:

GBm chi

n@h janhrnh

pi

2 El=',"k

really one time I rhu lime Pm really In s lot of I m b l e . ' this

8 '1his idiom Mtm hmdions

N$I I

a pradicstiw rompleinentm in:

t8t1hji fltbtra~h, e r n chi janhah pt bobk inveM fail t h s lime reallj one bowl

4ahnlPuih la. tear PUT 'My imewmem k h i ,this time I'm really in heuble.'

9 ~ o t that e t k distal dem-rive g6,,nor the -m ; a1 &nm&dve nris used in Canrehives unless a clear de~ctic functm is intended as m: Ng6h khhmy?d~t mhaih n i Wn syU M u Mu. 1 y c W a y buy tkis CL book %wy fxpmsive Th!! bwk that I h g M yesterday mas expensive.' 10 Wnllke Camoncse, Mandarin a 1 k a demomrr;fii togelher with dr+FS i n wt; h s I r i d e n~e)mjzr2fla'ttmt m i c i a n 1 h :

8 M E M R B PHRASE 1 This w d d c r alternation i s a a y l i i phmanemm comparable ro Not~nP l m Shih In English: for example, the d e r (b) below is wed lo avoid

the chmrscnm of (c): (a) Ipl Lt* Ltli'kb u,Ulc hlrlc(b) I put on the mble all tlle articles I Eoula find an C a m grammr. (c) I put all the artides I could fmd on Csnloncx p m m a r on the table

2 I& in this furctbn might bt meted ar a pr@im, M SLS@& ITS-W Tang (1W). As for theeouerba(3.1.3), i t is diFficul1l o s h thisto b e t h e m , s h constnwlim such x sums . M; . . . could equally v d be mal vcrb consmions. 3 Y-H A. LI (19W) 8rmhlrs lhis rtpetilion t o the nulion ofstnrtural Cesc:way m u n phrase musk bt w i @ dChe by an adjactnl verb, h e m the verb must appear rwm to assign Case to both tlle d i m and tlle M a l o b j m 4 p m g 'put' rannor &r uwl indpppndemly a main wrb unllke mwrh Euch as y u k s 'use', wdn l o o k for'. elc Like Mandarin bd, pung functlons as a mse marker or pAposition r a t k than as a m l n verb. 5 W 'UP' is sometin= c o w r s d a d~rmmrralwrh. hut d m not mrkimte in Ilrs ynllnta *.id#I c , r i n ~J I)&I8l.s 1Itc u l l ~ a~r I6.3.2. I will, l lCMS~IICIIVI ~ ICI literary phmcs w h as hi+ Wlh 'pull UP one's spirit<'. Mi La11 as a \&3l .

.

-

cornplhint giva lhe meaninp'whene&

m

.

in:

K4dh siu Ml6h go y-p hdu nhm. mile upfome CL w a r a n r e mrj s W I d s n l w m she smiles'

%

vcrb. as in hk'Id!rlnl. 'build Flarslholmj', ~ d b - ~ ~ ' r i k - k m =dget ~ ~p'. 6 T h c indtrecl w&w "c f o ~ n dIn n number of Southern Asian l a -n ~-e sinclud. ing ~letmme-seand T h i ; sae S F e w ~ d a(1%). 7 Huang (1982) analyxs tte u d a t y i n g srrunure of t t e M a r i n senrmes ~ 4 t h retained oblear as IV-NP] NP whcrc [V-NP] is a -ex p d i c a t e mkmg the second yost-verbalNP as m m l f +m.

9 ADJEGTlVAL WNSTRUCTIONS: D E S C R l m l O N AND COMPA R M 1 Anlaugh dative wrbs ruch B pq)~ 'lih' m y dm be modified by Mu, tlre meaning differs rn ahat hdrr beIore a verh inlensifies the meaning - o f the id. whik u i h a p#d:rdti%e kdjenivc i t a l a r p l ) witlmut mearnng. 2 Thew c.nstrurtinm and I& Icarniw woMems to w k h the,. -giw IIW are anal) sed I n rlp and Marmeun ( 1591). ' 3 T-R. Huang (1991) provides a r g u m ? that rhere ~ r m counterparts t of Englkh Twgh Movemerrt as I n hmd to y ! m a= lexical mther than synwctic i n nature.

11 ASPECT M4D VERBAL PARTlCLES t Note thet thio consrmction mquira cithcr rm lgpm mmkm w o ~ ~ ~ ~ I t n t i u c nmicle lo he oresent. Ilence rrin Eannol be mined here. T k e socalled b l w ~omructlonxle;d IU z h a m e r i n r errnrs on Chinese hmrs' Eng1.a. m.:h as '% h o d s hotr onler.~dolrscly As di-d tt) Yip ( l n r l l ~ -

408 Cantmase:e comprehemh grarwnar rormng). t h m m a r to be failed anmqw a forming Engltsh pappives, but In fw urnrdw m h k r of t l ~ eChtnese ropicalizath conslructim. 7 The term dpZmiatk D also tlscd for a surm'br m c t u a l rnednrnr in R k a n amd

olher Slsvonic languages. 3 These notions are sometimes kmwmn by the G e m term AM&murl. The C h i n u pandks arcalm hmm + r e a u l I 4 6 t 1 v c v c r b a ~ win ~ ~ ' Li , ond

Thom$Wl(1981). 4 g w , wh md hni do o m r in t b wmtmctms, hut on)) as y e h l particles, wall m i n g s which are dearly d~stinclFrom thelr W a l funcrim: d8k gwo 'WgWDnhy' kaau dAk jyuh 'reliiahle* tal dak llai 'cqimistlc' stun

(see 129.1)

5 Thm critenm is clue to Ha. S. Cheung(1970-The habitual pwm, For example 111.2.71. is a m n i d e under this crnerion as n mav be combined with an a m krker'k i n ;;uh g w m 'has ~ gut ~ used to living': 6 uw corresp~dsm Maruhr~n.punts in s o w contfxfs. c g ghk fl~~fchrflib# t a r trp', but satd b much more extellsntly used

1 Thlhese words are typically witten In the Yale syaem umh rR w i n rhpngyt 'not like'. d l i d i should indicaten high fallil~g m e rid is thus potentially miskad'i The m e of rn- here is intended i o s l m mi thsi t l m w p t w p e f i h Irma &tinct rrud kvcl tone. but that the Im fall~ng tom d r k h tcnds to be A d in ilw ~ r r r r ~ i b i ~ ~I I ~mU L~~ a, I ~ rlelwl ~ ~ o ~l m ~ &~I&n thnw& ~ . rwrlrr~lvn in drdn 'I. Z Smllarly. In EngliEh anyaw may not be the sub@ of a negative sentence Icl. * Anvune dmsrtf %nhere r m d e.e. cumnns' devlml line A n v m Irwd in a &try hdw I-) n ~ h bm i b i t ~ o n-,q n bp a t m i u t d to me fm ;hat t ~ w wr& a n y m and f f m p In strbpl posllim are not withln the scope d the n t g a h .

I The class of words or w?dmwhich l i m e the indefinire usage d q u n t h wor& is mmplex Sep Y -H.A Li ( I W ) for Mandarm.

18 COORDINA-

AND SUBORMNATE CLAUSES

I EWin (1WI) w e d !hC lxlc vf dimrxims & m e n t y m

d d t i m a ! in

Chinese and pStulaMd correspMldlnp cognltive d d f t r m c c s between Chinex and E ~ l b wakecs. h m e fildine are disputed ty Au (1W)and in mwh subsoquenr rexarcli-

l~'how'mheuWdedave#b.

Huih &p Hlm. k w P F V her lm p r s 'rue kmwn her fm ten pn.' -birr W and >?uBRK are red as verbs i n the Followin& N@h

I

1 T k pirch m o t m of imortPItim qwstims, mm red with the mrrespndng

Kemh h6u sErnyru yZl Mhn @ng. v q need onc CL joh 'He r e d s a p b w q much.'

slatcmerds, are shorn In spectroxrams in Wu (1& 171R.). The m n n nntoraturoll 16mmedonthe hnnl%
slhe

fJg6h

gr :,a

'I m n t a cup of coffee.+ thc wvrd for 1 4 cnn ulw mcen -1' urd is OMen ueed in yur occursNT Wn syil ngfh IM ngoilyiu ge la, h6ySh thiE CL bmk 1 not WIU PRT PRT can dim-j6 Wh. d u n p W it 'Idon't wanr this bodc my more; it can

G4

go f6ng n@+ t k d CL r a m want *What is thal room WT msdi * d m Y n

d is u d as a

be dikpved of.'

lhi

puh

count

do

m8f ga7 what PRT

d i n the fonMng:

ni Mn d h h da sillpan read (hu CL hmk WnV-neeQ very m w t rbne

Tgi

'Reading this tnoh h

ahere

Y rake a lor d time'

F.

PRT

18 S E N E N C E PARTICLES AND INTER!ECTiONS 1 The p r m k number depends on the tresrmmt d r e h e d f l i c k such alaHak I1 all related forms & l f t i n g In 'lone arc treated s drstlnct pnicles. Ihere me m n d lhrrty m giwn i n Kwok (1984). Counting all vananl$. Ym (1965) d e n t i k d some 205 forms. Z Some mien m.4 thcsc lntonatlonpaiterm a5 t m l pmlwk. ha51ngm phone1~ lorm apart f m tone. w h ~ mmblne h wilh dhef particles10 pmdm the tonal d a n t c . LBW and Neidle (IW) p m p m cuch an and+. b e d on Chno's (1%- 812) analysis of * n t e m - h I 1nlma2ionpatterm i n Mandarin as tonal plicles Law and PJe~dlep d l t h w such iorrll p a f t ~ c k s (a) Ihc high m e a in 6. Id and 113' a tonal 'wcakrcr' indicatinghesitmq: (bJ Ihe low Wling tone as i n Irh and HIXI. a tons! 'urengthmer. indicating disIof abrupmess: (c) Ihe ha@ rlslllg tone. which dws n a a f f m pmicles happeaes i n forming alw q d m u ~ m (1.4 3.17.l.n

3 Kwok (I%$)gim wvcnt)-(nta mihle m t i n a r i n m of rwo or Ihree pnivles. d uhii siYf)+~glgllt actually occu In her corpls. Nots Illst dib ia s slnalt h g ~ r e

410 C a n t o m a w m p w h a m g r a m-r a o m p d rv t k t k t k a l l y v i l e numbs of permutarions grim the thrrty basic panicles m g n i z e d by Kwuk (p. 8). 4 Both formal and filnctimal argument3 sup@ h e awmprion mmck in ~ m k (1984) and e k v h e r e lhal these forms Are cuntrscth On the one h d , mmblnalium avrh x gt u and ~ I do I not m.a fact which is ud In w r m nf rllp~rfiinrhrmr h~rdlmvp g i w ~ t l m~m p l i m t l w gu i d/hh am c o n t d r&?lizallonsoft h e combinatins Punctwnally, the mnhaclad form haw the corntuned c h t & a ~of the indivdual prtidcs; hexample. ga replacer g m questions which wollld Q ' p b l l yend with a. Hnih j8n g. (st~dment) + b true PFT -It's true.'

Hnihmhaih jan iywt-b true #IsIt -7'

ga? (qufftionl PUT

rn g + iRna + @in0 Simlar argumemh f o l h lm olher canbirrations 5 law and Neidle (1992) suggest tlial all w dge ar p r t r c l t i w o k the hrslh g mmrmction, w ~ l h the copulakoih being+ionally deleted. Thisis plausible l n so far ar hah cam be mitted in vrmou, mhpr m ~ r u ~ t m(SPR m 8.1.1],6YCh a$;

..

Ni

go

(haih) ng6h

a1-W

1%-

this CL (IS) my brother PRT %Chis iF my W m p e r ) bmtk.' 6 The c h a m k r i m h n is due to Luke 7 The ohenation i s dw m Chd (1W).Mole that the alternationfiplUiydi+akl 8t)dh s q p m the ml+ of olirakldI1 as valiants of a smgle prtlclc. I F lhest pan* were unrehted, rve wuld m l e x p d a p r a l k l set d varbam d the exclarnahm mya.

ni NUMERALS AND TIMES 1 T t a form fi!~ is m r n o n l j heard as a restllr of the cham fmm syllabic ?rgtv m, being thad especially by speakers wha do not we initlal ng (15).

GLOSSARYOF GRAMMATICAL TERMS Tins grammar uses a mmlmum of teclnlcal term, mEst ofwhich areesrahhshedin the *udy of Eumpcan l a n g t These ~ are syqrlementrd where necessary by t m n s drawn f r a n Chinese linpstics, especmllyfrom studles olMandarin Clnme, and occ~stunallyfrom g e m 1 linguk41csand languap typology. Tern &I& arc mt m i n e d w l l e ~ t l ~m y r i n t l r main text aregkxxd here. AdJrctlw are words ckmihngqwlitles crrctcmUemlicsof nwm, like pod. nd and poor. T h grarnmatlcal slatus d adjechveq IS less clear in Cantthan i n European languages, s they resemblt ierbs In m w t respects ((ase 3 1.1). Adjectms are dimnguidd. howevey, by takmg rolnpamtire f o m (93) and unde@ng pmrticular t y p d redrpl~cat~on (9.2). Adverbs are d a whwh quahfy vabs, M n g arthert k manner of am miim

(Mi mhmh

l i b r qrrkkly ru wtfi gr ~hC l r n l m U n m (spnlmm m k r h , l~ke noday 4probo#y). Adverbial conshuchons a d phrases m thwe which perform the function of an a&&, describm the manner of an aeMn. w l h l s p e d i d l y mntalning am d w r h This afire5 lo many p ~ p m ~ h o nphrases al m Fngl~h(e g fw a ch-) and lo m a l C a n l m t constnuions (see 10.4). An ankc&ol a a word or ae to wkch a p r o n m refers back, as in J&n proud o f w I w b the an#-1 ot tile d m fxerarun htmspIf. A phrase in is appendad to another +se to prov~deadddcmal ~nformat~on a b u t it, h i my heslftiend In John, m ) besrfrienb h m {#I. As+ IS a gramm~tl~al c a t e g q ~nwdnng d-twgs of vltwin: and d m d k g ewots, statesor p m m A p t d ~ s l i n g mthe l ~ tlme r e l a a n s q w w d by v e h , but i n a different way from tenses, which relate the nme d #he everm dtscrikd ta the I m of syetch. A*pe& dcscribt an ewnt as ongmng or comdete. ratller than mar mxcm or lumre. The d i i n d l o n betwen the ~ n i l s &rugredre h and'slmple t m m s as In I nvls m f h g n? hm this ntrvnirtg la. I ra/:erlro her this lslorni~rpis considerd to bt one01a& TTthan d reme. since b I h sentences clr$ty rtfer to the same tone i n ihe p.4 (set tense below and 11.1). Aqirslim is an i q m d m t p-c charaaeristic (&I& see kbw) d Cantagsnnanls. &ing of an emimon of alr ~rnmediteIyafter a a l rdease as the ccnrwnam IS formad T k ihtme 1s m m a l l y pnscnt in EngEsh consonnnc cuch acp, t m d Ir, M 18 k Mt 0 dctlnefive 6ePutt. om,I( IC thc IeLlr of d n g which dstlnplhes these smmk Imrn b. d and g. In Cm-, the +rmbn it the rtltvant dibtiwtlre festurt (& 1.1). A l l r i h l h *rives art fllese idwithin a nam phmse ro d c n h f y or d m i c the noun. as In h e hbr@book. Anldlmries art & which art only med topether with another vab, and carry a g r a m m ~ meaning l M hnotim, hke h w in in hove J i n i M . Thc main ~ l x f l f a nIn g Canrvnese PT? W a k , like miphi in d& h?kwe. Bshv-talk is the vanery of language llred to converse with -11 c h i , charr~xl ty dirninut~msuch as doggie and rallphcated expres&m wrh as cI& In Enfl~sh.

J C

412 :

EI

Glossary of grammatical terms 413

c w p ' e h e h gmmmar

musation of an event or Mate of hmaUre m r u c t i m are tkx m c h affaies. t n Englgllshand .(7antonesc, lhrj auxiliary vedw such ;fi mok i n Endish make rhm waL (see 85). -rs me an ilnportant c i s d w u d which rdasily' nouns b) leaturn such as slmpe, size a d function. 'lhey are used i n counling, l i k e f o u r p u s q f h and fwlp h d of cotfle, btn are used mucl~more extemiwly than their English counterpm and are wquired i n many m n t e m (see 6 2) IS part d a aomph sentence, eonmmlng a subject and a wrb. See a15o suhwdlnnte h s e . C m q a r a l i w w r & t r u a i m are t h e MjChfompare t w notm phraws mih respecr IC a qwliry, x i n D m n a IY mllpr r h n C h d ~ . C m w h m n t a t b . refees to the syntaftic pattern m r b w lo rollowa particular worn: m ttlm Ewlish w x b m f i e takes an mfnnive m m i x 70 i w r m e . -rns of v e k (&.'I) And adjeahus(9 41 me t k u f r l i l t m dpprupl'ole ro follow those pmcular ~tems Canpoundhg IS #he combinalmn of twc w m04 words, C i C h of which wstc 11~1,~mlenlly, to form a new word, m in wimbar. Chncensiw d a m and corstrtlnions arc thmx dlich m& or d m 1 a p n l , muall) crnnteran~ngthat pani in rn following dause Typically, they are ~ n l * duarl by a ocncessrw con,unclion s u d ~as drtI n bMh Engl~shand Cantonera. IKwmwr, m n y consmvmom lvlthout aMm& !arc CDllCeSSlUe in (we 16.2.4). mennlng. for wample the plwase no motrer wlw.4~1 m C h d ~ t i m mcImses. l mrmslly ~ntroducedby i n English, state a d ~ h ~inder w h ~ lthe following ciawe holdr Full d t w d stntemrs eonlaln b t h an a n t d l ( I { ) clause and a c o q u e n t (skra) daw (see 16 9. as I n If IW w r r . ( k w ~I )W d m w y o r r l h e ha?y expbypylrh i n Cantoncsc.Althotlgh this term h @ i n u o u sre& to he 6 plrp wd fqr !IF Enmsh p g r c ? m w (-tnx) form tlle m n l ~ r m ~ u a sv r t as expr-d by huh differs #rum the pmgrdw exprewd by p.the m l n u o u s dewiblng statlc atuanow and the pmgrersnCedynarmc ares (see 11.1 md 11 2 3). D word m &me Isshened by lm ColuracticmIF a fom dahhrrviption d A vowel, cunscmam or syllable: for msmple, drd & i s r e d u d to didn't (;oordin&ion is the mminn of w&. &ra,wz. or chum. whetller by m lik ccdw tq )uu;apos~Lolas in mdny C ~ I - comrmctiom (see ~h 1) -tar ~ r art m t m l ~ k etwan IU re wnonmar) hrmlon a to ~ l n krrm, noun phrases ( x e 8 1.1 j. Cn~mlerP&ual damzs are t k expresring m h r s which are knowm to he wrrue. The man typical tax is in a mmditiil mmc vf Tile I@ T I W krzowt. I t r w I d k o % wcome in which it is ~rnplwdt h d f l l t speaker did not know and did mot come b w b r m C h i area s u ~ s s o f u e r t r s ,~ ~ c ~ l t B d k ~ ~ are ~ ~typically # t h e wed y ~ p c t l u rWith andhtr w* drm mrrcspondinng to ~ o s i t i o n sIn h g h ~ h

A

I&

... .

(3 13). DedtnatLm i s the gradual darhne

m pach RS a stnlerre is spoken. h tonal languae, i t has the consequence thgt a gWen tone, such as the rnd lad t m , w14lh e p o m d a t apmgressiyelyl o w e r p i t c h o r t r l h e c m o f r l w m t e r r e DeRnltenw la the m l c notion e xby the i n English. A nolm p h w is dei nite when i t is clear whd oarhcular entitv i t refers loisee 6-1.6 21. Rdirnitalhr-k-k, e&d by h i h i n k ~ t o n e f i e1il.2.6), medninptc dv k r v n ~ c t t r i w ' h awwhjle'.Thed& eouident i n Enelish is tlle u x o i a wrhas a noun as i;l how o c t w . I k m a s i r a l i w s are w o r d tsed to piclc out entities i n time and pee. indudiig the

-

d j e c t k s shfi and rhar and a&* stlch as here a d d m . Dedgm~h t e r m are tlw kimllip tenns used to rder l o one's relatives, but mt n n r w r j l y lu uJdm them, h m wraliws. DhcUwd verln ( 8 3 2) and ~ c l e (11 s 3.1) are w& d e n a i n ~d~remiunof mowmenr While the two calenorleb overlsp w some enem, some rvords function only as d i m 1 v e r b . - m l ~ r ronly & dirrctimal prtides: Folbwinp a

wm

(SX

tl3.1)-

D k b c 4 w reler, to the placongof an ektrent our& thc sentence. sepmted fm il tq a pauw. lafi-dlslrrmbn is a form of topicalez?lhn. a? on My om#. eovtyun? h h a her, n h e the ~ dqmt nry row is made t l e top^ and replaced ar the +1 t6 t l r pmnnun I~e,r In rW44mllnn an c ' l r m ~ l a t adckd nt the end of a sentence (seehelow). M i fphrrrs arc an i n n p l a n t o o n q i n mfening to Chose nyrrb ur p l u l l u l ~ ~ m lwlll~11 ul Jburlgudl ur*~ wwad (rum dwlkr. I n Englldl. the d ' i n o l v e Emlure differerne belureenp r and b u b thrr the Ibl sound is v m d . while IvI is nut. ~ e h o ~ u ~ s t i m s ~ ~ l h o s t w h krcprbtionof h e l ~ c ~ t an item tmm a pe~ioussentence spoken by anmllerspeaker. T h y haw d"$ti&fm. bufh as Yut did WHAT' mwhel~ the word m31m is s t r a ~ d y a d and is not moved To the beginningof the senaence a$ i n an ordin& oucstion. Echo a d o m arc e x & d - i n - t e n r ~e.p.'tle . pan& wdh indirating hearsay i n f o m t i o n (15.3.4). Edstemk malal*v is Ihe rneanin~e->ad bv modal wrbs such as musl in Ymt h t t w tw Mr 8&wn. where mrit in'dicates lhar l h t identity of t k addis belng lnfermd (w12 1 3. 12.2.2) E m l v e & are a class d intramilive vcrbs dcnuting a change of wale or k r i m . whifh the s u m uncle-. m t k than an adinn whlch Ihc m+ct perfonm. Exampln i n Englisl~are The w~nldotr,hmke (compare I h k e the ~ * ~ N U I O t t ~ w h edae r e trmindow15 the objtct) and The stp fell Idown. w k r e Ihe fall n mr inltlRed by rhc ngm. M w s are forlrs or mmmrtions with the menring -1w' rs i n too fmr (sec 9 3 5). m i s l m r u t t ~ denote s the ex~sMnceof somtthine I n m n y lamma-. exisentiah e x v m m are closely relared l o m e - u r n . lhc'm& d ' ( v o t r l l In Cantoncx) IKDmn -nave and 'tntre i s (see m. 131 Ex~smwM w a d i h R s me expressla m a h u g and s m r ~ r w r . Exporrentml aspect (11.2 5) expressrs an actlm whlch has b a n e-iptnenwd at ka
.

w,

-

.

Aomowrr. are words which have the same form, h t d i i t (urd

unrelmcanmgs, Ilke tnp ']otmey' and trip 'fall mW Homophonws words sound alike, b t a i r @led Jifleiently, as in tlw csst d a l e and eight Hyperbde is a figure of irrvdnng aaggeratiar, as in ~ N told V ymr a rholrsmrrl rimm. Hvwr-im is a lvm of error M u t e d hv m i s o l a d m o t h s otcorrermesr;. For exam*, fnglisl~Gakers d m do n d &;re h i n casual speech may t ~ k e care to pmnwnce it In formal h m m t s , leading W urm d h i n wor& where i t does n d belong. avch apple. Iqmratlve sentems express commandsand m, as i n HIT rpror Hem [dl me tilt answer. s u m , a in T h d s no Impersmmlcmslrdmt3 are thaw which lack a rted ro e m m t e lnahlensblem3awdml re& ro n d v e cormtruciirm w k r e the ilmu M o w I;ltnrnleally or perrnn;ently to tk posse9Por. t l p i n l c m &ing body mrlr and klmhlo k m . Thew items mm he mafksd difter~ntl\from alwnabk items in w e & cmmuctiors (see 63jhcurporatjuois a torm of nrxnpcundng In whch a noun a other item psn of thz rtrb. I n rwbdbject c v m ~ the~ +ecr . is incmpmted, lnsine PI of IL- onpnal meanlng in t l praxes ~ (7-3.3.8 2 4 ) h d k d word r. w ~ u hhr h 6 r q a r l s d or quoted br onother p o k e r . 1ndlrw-l qudlcm are q u k l m e y e d hj. one speaker to amlher, as i n She asked rroe kow ~ w 1wnev h I rtwded which r e w m the mestion How much money do yuu n d ? Idred - 4 s a r t the re'@ cobnlerparl of hpemtiw sentences, e.g I l d d you m be quiet repMts lhe mmmand Be ~ 1 u e 2 1 1 are wnrds or ~nfkct~ons imerted w~thinr wad rather Ihm at the bEgimning mend. I n Canumese and Endish. Ikrrwin aamdcs ~ n r + e m k I i v e ~ r ~ ~ aaS , i n f l M m h y 4 r t d y ! (m3.1.3, 9.1.3. 11.3.2); h t a d i m rtfmm the variatiar i n pitch during the mum of a s e w ll shwM be tiktinguishcc' from tam whkh i n m a 1 languageslike Chinese, is the inherem pitch pattern of words M syllables. LreL whrn IW W ~ $ O I wr-aw mhange their p i t i o n , as m WIU )I# mmr?, an ilweKion of He w71 come. L e x h borrarrk IS the adopnon of words tmm a h c i g n language. The term is something o l a m i ~ o m e isn tM kmmd' words are rarely returned to the 'lel~ding'language. The kdcm is tk vrrcabulaiy uofa language, as to its prammar. &a&are A clam of duwd to +fy locatbn in apace or time. such as

..

=

daifwvl~ihn'in front IofY (s~e3.1.4.7.1.11. L.lve exprcaslms 1oc;uion in s&. M o d u l i i is the lirrmnst~cemrcis~onof notlons mx+

8s

dhiih. necesYfv and

pro&l~ly, an to-saneaient hypotlletlcal rafhtrthan'famal. ~ o d & a r e ~ & l x or r u x l l i a w mlcile x p r a mdallry, llke m and #myIn Englkh. is the Morphom are the SmelleM meaningful unR In a language. surly of the forrrwtion of words. includinga k a h and compoum%ng. Nml $w&$qrn 11i n which alr is emlned through the nost, causing the ml cavity to r-te. The nasal f a r m a n t s in E n g l i and Csntonm are m, n and

nR. NPgalire pdaitr a d e x t s are r m t i m d y negative emimnrnents i n which wgdh pnlsrity ibcm such ns mm rind m y ~ u h min Englhh oocr. Such c m m t c orr as &cAlom: (a) Gllmving a wgah.e pradrate, as in {don't #ink

he'R ever sum&

@) m a question, as I n W i l l k @IWwrcrurd?. tc\ an Ihe rf clauw d a Cod~tionalmlenre.as in If h r f t e r weds. I n C h h w e , qu& words med in negative polarity m e x r s may have an indmmte sen=. for mample, h d m r h 'whae' har the meaning '.arryn2we' i n thest contexts (see 13.4). The mwn ph& a the noun and any &tiers, such as demvmhat'irs and c W h , which aocompaw it. Technrcally, the subied or +ec& d a wnknx is a noun p l r h c . e\znifiic&acsofo~ I)a ;In& nounorproniu~. winfrdvrsow m uteh htlh John mrd mv cumlml~cm m w r a u q . The objact 15 the m u n p h r w irnmcdiatdy following tk verb. A dtpa objecl is t v w ,fly ~fftetedby lk a n i m k n o t t d by the verb: (hert are alw dirrdiaml &E iike home ingo h m i n canto(8.2.1). ~n a i m 3 &jecl(8.2.2) is a x w n d Wt. k i n g ildircnly d k t d by tlolc a d o n , such as k r . in Give Iur d break. Perlkks (3.1.7) are mkellaneox d m s cS m d s with ~ m m a t i c afunawn. l Vernal mrfkks1113), m r n b l e t h e of o h r a ~\lerts in EneIuh. such asrrrtiv In throw n~twy.%Wenre or mienme mrlicles are an i w l a n t class of varhels in C a n t m i w h i c h lmve no direct counteqwt i n ~ r @ l k (see h ch. 18). Parshp m t r u c t i o n s arc time in r*hich the sublect undergoes some action.

.

when' the subject d he

6- bws not correspdnd W the dlrecr o w n . as in in am-e hy the prtide 16 (11.2.4) expthe

I h d u t d h e x h t k I l 8 4.11

Pededw aspect, m x & d notion of a complete event. Jt should nut he codusad d t h either past l a s e or pxfd as lnatanliated in Engl~sh,alth* it.; range of weoverlaps wlih M h A is Ihe slnrrllest seemem c d sarnd that cm be dislinaushed b, tlleir &trast wjmin words, e-g.'lp] in pir and pj in hir are phonGmes whi& can differmlwte the two words. Phts the study .of the mnds of a language. It diffen fmm Won& in comideringclaws of sou& and their hehrmim~in yanous errvlromnentarather than h w i n g on lndnidual m m k i n kolalron As an aample of Ihe d i m n c e , aspiratim is a p d y pfmn.4~ feature i n English. but a 1-p o m in Chllrullw.

Reonnstk ux o l a word (fmm the Greek 'filling out+)i s the reinforcementof one expregion by another w ~ t hshnflar m m n g , lor erample, hdrdorrk rein*1np thc pr0ppsm.e+j (11.2.2) and d m 'so'wrth hWrhiIr 'seem' (10 1.2). hd)c&e edje&ven are u k d to 'awn tha somethng Nus a ;enain'qtm~it) m chararttrim. as In The hurdee i c dirty G-mlmY a u r h l i r e . Prefixes arz otzm which do not exiw it;dep+t~dend,. h u onl) ~ ocrur attached at the h r U ~ n ~ l ~ n*gmo lf k r word, like uz.In mdo Cantoncw ha6 few prdixa (2.1.1). Prepositbm are a drm of wordr which ~ ~ d i c a rthe e spatial. temporal or other

between noun phrases I n Canmese, t k role of m m t h is and d (3 13). -lorn are t l d e i w a l e m of pwywsitiom.t*l~ follow the noun, tile ~se of hallzols Mollowingm m r d that d ptpmitions (3.1.4). h ~ m are t s h e w behind a smternem orquenion,ar.ye1 in Haw totr s w n the quf~rs imp)+ that the addwill the queen qi me pol" Roddive p m e s z s and aonstructwm are t b s ? by &ich new vm& and s=w lences m a y k -led: lor example, nndm is a producbveprefix as we coin ruIPt1~)~@a\d

largely by r&

416 Canton-:

a corqmhms~veqamnar

G l o s s q of grammaticalw t m 417

m words as m d m - d m i M m m n g k f f c i e n t l y &he$. I'rwwsim Rspect, as eKpresead by @n, m m h l e s ihe Englih prog~ermmform -~tg a in M s m d i m g , dcscrihng an ongang action. Thc C n n t o ~ ~p sx rqrcsiy~ s much more rear-& In (sage, lawewr (11.2 2). Qmnlilkm are terms wh~chrelei n a l o individual entities, inn to d a m o r quanI~tiesolthem AU. nmi.mmcand rrorreare pi-1 quantihemx see chapter

Snperlstires are I m s d a d p h m or expw8hgrhe meariing W,such as lhcf11s#sI and the rnosr eryemi~e. ALlaMesh&m r c k r s to the wav in which sounds arc wmbird to form svllubl~. example, English d m co'm(nive msonantssvch ass as in strip Hnd8 as

or

.-

td

w

"Y'

a l mnsrmctions exprcs; the meaninp 'each other' Chmree l& reciprocal pmoum. eqm=ing tllis manlng tllmugh adrwbs and speaal mm

~edupllcatA t m r e of mtrehy a Hwd or syllable is douhld, m r m e t i n ~w l t l ~~ l ~mod~hcat~ms. l n I t d m rems to intensif\,u d ~ f the v meanlngof +iver, as In Englbh 1 m n y - v . I n Csnlonw. hmmer, i t also hw numcrws r r r m l l w l fuldluna fi.21. wmll mill lw llrlllr. adtrrlm lt0.1.3). yusnaltws (14; 2) m d que
-

~toaid.~inmsq~r&hw*?rarsflmmtoanadlanive~~nhowrl m drcrh. I n Cantmen?, m l t k i partides i d l m n g verbs (113.2) have a slmmTar funchm. Rherdca1 quenions take #he form d a q& but do not c x p an ~ mswr, rv~icaTlvsenrime to make a wint. H m ,s h l d I k m ? and Wlw c a r ~ ~are y &d&. can&t makes dxtemsiw use of rhetmml q u ~ (see ~ ch. h 17)RieW-di-n refers to the illlwamnce of m item at tlle end c d a semem, r x Lthr right d v h e r e i t w o d d " o m 1 1 ~bclong. I t g a l t a t u r c o l c a s u d ~ h as , i r b SWs pwny smm, rhar grrl a 71aey'w g m . probawy. Serial +d ~ n u m c ~ (8.3) i m are a dl-& p t t e r n i n Chinese syntax, In w h d ~ two or more wrk are j u x q m d w ~ t h w tany mjunnion. T h q resemble w m l m t i o m 11kcCmesnylaeIIu m Amtncan English, a Goand habe a drirak In Btlmish En~hsh. S t s h e % s ~ b ; ( ~ 1 . are 2 ) w& nrh as knot, m d htu w h r h h f e r to PRWof affain r a h t r thbn to d a m 1 5 or tvents. I n Cantor&. 81 n d ~ w u l rto disrlngukh belwter stalive v e r b and adjeclivs (3.1. I). hd$!c~ is a grammatical role perf0m.d by a noun @rase with respect m a , \lth 8 p r e d i ~ t c lhelljcn vf ? sentcwx is m l l y ? npun p h r i l ~ combining d t c a t e to form a sentence. I n bet11 English d Cmumese, the s u m prthc wrh. mher prupertles of sutjJhts depend u l Ik I s n p q e c%mc c r ~ r dIn : Enplal~.it a t l su-t ~ ah&* drtsrn-irn t l k fom of agrwment on rhc uch. whac m h t o m s c . tlw mtcccdcnt of a rclcn~vop o m n must normallybe R wbjm (52) orlentdh rekn to the khaviour of items such as the refla& pronoun pli+gt which ohlipwrily or peferemialiy refer back to the s u m of the sentence M l n a t e c l w m arc daum eonmininpa sentence and a q u m t h m . wllich are sulwrd~mtew (dependent on) Ihe mah clauw (16.2). A subordinate c l a w , EM asIhuwh-re:v rivrme. cannot be wed alme as an ~dcptdentmtence. SufRw are Items (muallv sinnle wllahles) which do not occur ~ndewndentlv.hut are atlached al he ends d ;vo.ds, like is1 i n ry$I: Cantonese ha; relativei~Tew auffrrea(2.1.2).

i n #UI. wkrerrs Cantonex dws not (see 1.3) is the way words are p r t lcgetlrr m form smtencm: the rules of m k n r e SITJ;IUh. arc sllachrd lo slatenvnn lo fm queainm. like rm'r ir in Il's n &mw, irrt't (17.1 6 ) snd wggations. as i n L7Y7:rgo.d r d w 9 Tern SI the gr,mrnatic.d expregrion of Incotion In lime. C 3 m m lacks unsr in this *nu. as time i i s x p r e r d by aduerb(103.3) and h) ~ ( 1 I . I ) . Tme n t l t nitcl~a s s m n d m each svilal~led a wad (1.4). Tow i n Oracmm is a d~lmctlue'teatore.nmaklng the dknclion betwaen'wo'rdc s in jujr 'one' with a 11r@ l m wrmayub Jny' w ~ l h a l u w krd Lvla I4 sllvuW nul LC wmlCd w d l ~ tone o f w k e (see ako ~monation). Tow 1s t k phenomenon whcrtby lhe q a l tone c h m p i n -In c ~ t e x t s typ~cally , to a nslnR tone. e.8. m h 'door' b m m m in hmhmljn 'back &mr' To+ d e n fo a p r m n m l phrase, Zrpically a m n phmsq at the beginnin&-a1the acmtence. Related l o the the notion 'rooic d a farvemiiun'. the sentence nmc cs1rh)lrha u hrt tho rmtcnce k ~bnuc.'or retc chc bxkground a p i ~ s u c h k h ;he 1-1 o l the wntence is to te undcritoerl. I t IS d l s ( i ~ f r m the subject ia t w i t ? ma) haw grammafical r o b a h t r than ttml of sl~bpX(4.2) Topicalizatim IS Ihe pmmorlon d sume element of the s m m to the qk p i r i m . as i n Jolmn, I rmIIy m'tS I U in ~ w W i the otjea John is ropicallzed (4.2.1,4.2.2). Tr;milhr v e r b are thost which take a.require I dvect abject I n Cmronese, many rmts are transitive hw m e r p a m in Erglish m intransitirr. i n part~cular.r'eTbsof &ion such as h t i 'go+ may take obpcts (see 8 21). 5 s the uudy of lang~mgerypes, i n which hngualpsare w r a p 4 m terms of illelr muct~lralsimilarilies, regardless d their h~storicalrelanomhqs. The dm~ficmicmof Cnntonese or an h l a t l n ~lnnm-e ich 2) and as a to+rprominent lanpagt (4.2) nrr rypoloy~al c&epi<. h r e k d c o r n a n t s are formed as i t l o monnum a rm, hu withut the relr,.se of a ~wluch r a c m p n & a slop ~n'Cantone#~, r a h h art unreleased w r r n tney come a rheend d a syhbk. Mrb+bjetl rompour& (2.3 3.8 2.4) are rn cumbinatior*,of a verb dan &fed in which the c # p h ~ a s o w of its orlgnal meanin:, e.g. duhk-syu 'to study' w k ~ the q -rqqiA4bppk' lacks qny direr1 reference to books. The +d p h s e contarn; the wrh, 115 objects (ear rrw. I d hrm mmq') and any adve&6 d i f y i n g il(as In w.4 fad) I'ocalhrsare cme 4 m d r e s s s x h as Sir u darling- l s*ne cages Cnnloncsc hrrs natinct t m s uscdio UM- -1c (wmlivcc) end to d e r to ahem (dwmruives;see 20.3). is a mneth-feature ofm . b k f i g voioed i n !if and p v d m h i n PI! h is a W d w fehrre in English. h t m t i n Cam(- m l h and 1.1). &I

he

I

e,

. .

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Au. T.L. (1983) LChinecr md Enplish w n t e h d u r r l s - rtp wr-whd H y p t k s i s resiaited'. Cognirbn 15:15>87. Bauer. R.S. (1982) ' C m rxidinguislic p n e m : aorrelalinpsocidcharactrristics of speakm with p h d o g i c a l variables in H o n m n p Cantom?='. un&khad InDGsser~ation.Universityot Califmki at B t r k l y . (LW3) 'Cantonese sound chanpc acm d g r w p s d tht Hong)tong speech cumrnunity'. JwnmI of Chims~LingtdIicr 11: 301-54. (ISM)'Tkcapanchne sllflbmy fi Hwpkwg Canfwmc'. umublishedms. -(I%) ' l l w microd a round change in p o p s 5 i n Hanpkcng Cantom'. J m d of C f r h Lingzri~firs1 4 : 142. -(lW) 'Written C a n t o m d Ho-, pnpcr presenled at thr F d I,mrrutibnal Cankrtm an Gmrmtx and other Yue Dialcar. Hmgkrmg. Bimtead. N. (1978) Gerrirrg Around in Cartuvrm. Howkong: Heinernnra Asia. Bloom. A. (IIWL) ?hLirrgrti~dirMaping of T(~II&: a M y ui l/le Impan of L a r r g ~ g eon Thinliirrg in Ctiuta and rAp Wesr Hillsdale. Nd: L m r m e Erlhum. Bdton. K. nml K w k . H. (eds) (1W) S a c i o l i n ~ t ~ i ~Ttwlay: cs ImmIia~ol Perspwli$m-hdon. rout led^. h r g e r i e . D. (1WJ) 'A quamitatiw of sodolifistic v a r i a h in Cantonese', unplhlished PhD dismarwn. Ohio State Vnivcrrity. Boyle. E.L. (1970) CantBuic Count {vok 1 and 2). Washington: Fweign Service Instautt. Bmn,ning, L.K. (1971) The Candialect with spaial rcfcrtnre lo contrasts with M d n r i n as an appach m detmlnlngdlaba rclmm!nd, r m p l l l k l s l l PhD disferlatim. Gcorpemn U n i v e m . Cllale. W . L. (1976) u j i v e n m . contrasti-,dehnitcntss. s u b j e ~ t mpics, ~. and pinl~fviw'. in C, Li (dlS: z & j ~ rund Topic. Ncw Ymk: Academemic Prcss. CIWII.B. (IW)'Code-mixing i n Hongkung Canton-English bilinguak mnstrain*; and pmcesses'. unplbl&hed MA l k k Chinwe U ~ v e r r i t y of ~ e ~ e . cha,.. M. nr.4 Kwok. 11. (1%) A M y of L c M &war&# ffrorpr EirgIidr in Hmgkong C h k r . University of Ho+g Cemre lor Asian Studies. -( 1 W ) Fossils from a Rum) Pa%: a Smd] qf E m C o m m C(iildm"sSongs. Honpkmg: Hrmgkmg Vnivercity k. Chao. Y-R. (1947) A Conronesc finer. fimbridge, MA: H a r v a d Vmversity Prcsf -[1Y&S) A G m m r of Sp0X.m Clritwse- Berkeley: UniveKily of California

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The phonology of --day

PhD thesis. Un~uepsilyof b r & n

lto appear: Li-c

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Cantom$, urplbliihed Soclzty of

Hag-

h u n g , LY. (1983) rrn C h i ] 'A total wunt of Cantmew syllables with no chamdtr representltiars'. Yunw la 28135. Cheung. Y-S. (l!%Y)[in Chines4 'Xiartgang Yucyu pnpng-diao fi biandao mti (A aludy on the upper even lone aed t w d h i In me C a n t a r w dialect m spoken In HongkonR)', l m l of h In~Ifmc of Chinese .%dies of ?heC f r l m U m d y of H m g h r g . 2,2: 81-105. Olik, H-M and Ng-Urn, FY. (1W) &w F&h Mirrnmy: in yd? R m w r z o r h . M m d h ~I ~ IPuryin. New Asia-Yate-in-Chi Chinm Lmguag Centre. C h i W University d Hon@m~~. Clliu. B. HC. (1993) 'mir&aional strtx&ureof Mandarln Chmese'. unpb l a l d PllD rlisxltdivnk Univeu;tyut C h l i h n t at L a r A n g l e s . Cllui, CK-W. (1988) Topics in Honglmng Cantmew rymax', un+had MA thesis, Ft1Jen C a t l d i i Univemly.Ta~wan. Cmdes, R.T. (14.191 C i 1 1 1 1 o m S p k e r ' J -D Hcmglmng: Hongkong Univenity PRSS. de Francis, N. (1%) ??IF C h M Lmngziafl: Fod a d Prmhsy. University of Hawaii Press. nf Adnn Pol., C Y.Y (ls74)A Purrqm~nl%I+ nf T m r in r m r r n t m p Studies, Universityof H m g h g . Gao. H-N. (1980) [in Ch-] G~vongjmrF m @ i Yihngm CR-h on Ihe Guangjau D i a W ) . Hmgkong: Cornmenial Press. Glbborrs, d. (1979) 'IJ+y-wa: a linguist^ d y of thc c m r r p l ~Impape ofhdenh at t l Uniwnity ~ of Hon~kow',In R Lmd (d.)H m $ h L~ a w @ mr~. H m g k m g Honpkmg Universiv PrCg, Q3 -(1W) ' A tcnlative frrunework fw -11 z+al &xfptPtlon of the urterance prticle in oonversathl Cantom'. Lrngufsirs 18- 76?75. -(15%') Ccdrytlrring orad Code Ctmice; a Hm&mg Case Slwdy. M u l t i l i m l

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Hashimow, A-Y. (1972) S L ~ I Fm K Yrre Diolm. d. 1: 7hc PImdogv of Clnronese. ambridge: C a m k @ c U m d t y Rts. Hltan~, C-T. J ( 1 W ) -1' r e l a t h and the themy of grammar', unpublished PhD dissertation, W ~ a f l ~ u s e tlmtitute ts dTecltn&gyY Hturng, C-R.(1931) 'Mandrrln C h l m and rhe k x h l m m n g:*I nsltdy uT t k imermrmn of rnorplmlqy and aegumenl changing', umpllrlisld mma, Academrca S i n k , Taiwan. Muang, P. (1970) &nlonew OMMlm'y. Newhaven: Yak U M y Press Hturnp. P. and ~ o k ,G. (1970) Speuk Canlmsc, vds 1-3. Newhmm: Yrtle Univer* Press. Juraf&y, D. (1y88) 'Dn tlle mmtk of f i n m e # changed rone', h c d t r r g s cf rhr Brddry Lrr@ic SoritY), Umvarsity afC~lifomiam Berkeley. change i n Cantonew: a preliminarysurvey'. Kam. T.H. (11117) ' h i v a t i o n by J o ~ r r aof l # u r n Lm~gursric~ 5: 1S210. Kao, D. (1971) Ilhe Smuaure of ik g f b W e m c a m o m Tk Ham?Mouron. Ktllinglq+ S Y . (197Y) I ~ r r e m a l9 m d u r p of rlx C3mlEneH IVotd lRld &mrd Pt&m of Word Analym in C l i i m . Kuala Lumpur: Penerbit U n i v m t i Malap. (1%) K4r Grummrrd f&wrchy pf Vdqwrl CP~TX~P H E W by the author, Newcastleupon-Tym. (1W2b) A Yron Gbo-'y of Cammrsp Uwsifim. N e w a d w p e r r r n : Grevntt and Grevatl.

-

420

I

c m w : a m p r e h e n m gramw

-Grtvatl (1983) Conmcw OwsifTm: Syrrla* arrd S m m l h . N ~ M l ~ u p o n - T y n e : and *an.

Rsf%pnm 421

Monk, P.T.(lW) Crmmwsr Love Sorrgs. an E w s h mddm ofJw Jt-Yung5 Cammew Scvrgs of the Eady NtnPIPPm'h C m y - Hongkotlg: Hmgkmg

- (19%)

A N m *h k ar Cararmse Tones: fir w SIX?N b k u p m - T y : GrevaH & CRevatt. Kwan, C-W. (td.) (1W) ?Ye Righr W'rrrd m Chnmme: Gxvmgjmuw J-. Hrmgkmg: The Commercial PRss. Kwan, C.W. m 01. (eds)(IP91) En~lisIiCrmtoMseDidbmq: ~anronespi n Yak Romni7arim. New Asia-Yale-iwChina Chi= Lawape: Cenme. C h i Universjly d Hongkotlg. Kwok. H. (lY77) A LirrNaiF Smdy oJ rkr Cmnrmse Varb. Ccmre of Asian Sludits, U n i r ~ r s i l yd Hmghng. -(1'183) Spnlwcp pm~iclesin Consme. Gem of Asian Stud& Univeqify of Hmgkong. K W ~ .H. w d n ~ ~ M. m , (1985) A w y vf hxdcar & ~ g ~ r M ~ r nIn a l & h . 1d1i&d reference to m~liFh m H m g k m g . Universityd Hmm i a r Centre of Adan 5tdea Kwok. H. and Luke, K-K. (1W) pn Chine] ' ~ntmratioo;form and fi~nction',YIIHZPI 13.3240. LRU, S. (PW) Inwm&e C M ~w16 , 1 ;md 2 Hargkmg c h m m e m Publiwiow. -(IWS) ~ d i w n dC ~ ~ S 4 R .. 1 nnd 2. Hmgkmg Gcwrnmem Publicaliors. -(1977) A RimifidConmc,v-i%gfirk Diaionory. Hargkong Governmail Publinliom. Law. SF. (iW) -The syntax a d phonolngy d ppnpSclff in Canme'. unpublishedPhD diwnarirm, Boston University. Law. S-P. and Neidle. C. (1W'A ) s y n t a u ~analysis of C a m szntcnec final p n w , unplbliskd ma.. hllm Hnpkim University and Boston University. Lee. T. H-T. (IW) The w w d qytem in trw varieties of C a m ' , UCLA Woding Pnprs m Pkwerim 35: W- 114. -- ( l m ) 'Studir; on puantiiitorion i n Chinese'. urrpubliskd FhD m a t h . Universify d California 3 bAngeles. (IW)[in Chinew] 'Yuhiyuh %ai" dik l&sp hhkdim' bgicsl pmper*sot Canton- 'mi'),p p e r p e n t c d a t the fim l a r e m a ~ 1 C m t e R f l c eon

-

Lanfarcze

Li,C.andC'-,l S. (196) s+ct a d topic: a new aflangusg'. In C. LI (d.). Wjw n d Topac.New Ymk. h d c m ~ hc s . -(1%1) A F K / K ~ ~Rve~kRm~c Gmrnmar pf M w d m C h i n . Berlielq; University of Glltornia P r m Li, Y-H.A (1SSlJ Order and C o m h c y m Mandarin C h i m . lhrdmcht: Kluwer. -(W3 l m & F m i r c 1Vh In Mnnderin CMrzscr. Journal of L d Mmn L/wrhfh!s -1,-7-. -175-56 -- --. Luke. K-K. (1WIb U-e PaniCIes in Crmronese F r m r m r i w r . A m s l e h : John ~enjahim.' Luke. K-K. and Nanr;rrmw, D.T.(1Wl) 'Ch beingliirate in Hcmphng'. I n s r i m o f l o n g ~ g ein Ed~narionJournal 8. W ~ w l e v .d. (1%) T?w Swrraclk Phwmerm of Eirdirla. 2 vols. Chicam

ur..mty Plws. Pan, P. (IWU) [In Chiraesel trmd of simplificwim af kimllip terms'. U l i m h n p a g e Rer,rt*. 40: M I l . r E. (1921) Lrmgrmge: en h r w d d o n $0 tk W y of S p d t r . New York: m r t Brace J w a n d . an,D. (1989) 'Topic cham as a syntactic categmy in Chinese', J o d of Chmese Unpilacs 17.2: '&I. Siewier~b,A (I!#) 7ku Poww o Ccmpmtirw Lm@mrc Analps dondon. CroMn Helm. Tai. 1 (1%) Tcmpnral sequence aW C h i m wnd order', in J. Haiman (ed.) I m f i w rrr Syruut A r m t e k John BenMrnim" Tnrac. C€.I ( 1 W ) 'CIiilsx t s l k n i r d , N d r r u I Lurrawbz,mul Lirrwhlir rimy 7: 95121. % Tdnp. a S-W. I C ' of %win and d a l k nnxqructimin Cantun&, bperpresentedat the Lingrudic tiF~ocir, of HongkongAmual Regearch F m . Chinese UniveKig of H m k w , 1992Tong, K. and dames, F (1%) CdInguwl Cunroncre. London: Routledge. T m ,F-F ( 1 W ) A Amcrrcvd Sludy of To@ k C h e w rke FiW S q Towards ni~
%

I

i

t

I

I

I

+

(km

'7

Yap V. ( T u t b n s ) 1nserlrar.psge and L m b i l i i y : From Chinese to E@!sh. :

John Bmjamirs.

Yap. V and M s t t h m , S. ( 1 W ) 'Tough m m m r in %ne&E@ish in-nguage: wnlrawiw analysis and learnability', i n T. Lee (4.): h r o h on U l k c s e Liyrisum in Horrptmg. Horlgkcmg. Lmguistic Sacicry of Hcmgkon~ U n n , B W ( I M )'Putonphm *south bound" cub? Contoncst &northbound*.' Chinese h p g w &view 39: 51-7.

1

INDEX

I

I (a) g a m t i m l term whi& are used edn the grammr w mrnmfywed ln reterence p m m a r s o r -pions dChim(yee t h t G m for e x p l a n a m oF t k tcrms), (b) English grammatical d s 611~11as d; (c) Cantonese rwrds which have a grammalid functiar or whosc synractic w i e s are de~ribcrlin Z a l m a r . Idiom arc ~t l i d i n d j v ~ d u a l l y ,but will be found untler t l r g m m a k a l words t* armdin

Wng Kelp' 3.1.3.83 M h 82.3, 141.1

hi11L3ih'dmliy' e x p r e n g time 10.3.3, 11.1 retrmoeclivdlcountthctml 12.1.1.

This i n b *:

c f d i k b f n 14.15, 20.1.1

c&r(*fl. dddhrlh c&l!

mid level, low ris~ng,low falling. Imu level

P p ~ x 2 . ~ . i173.1,202,m3.1 , dh padirk 183.1 dh parlide 17.1.1.182.1, 1823, 183 1 ability 12.1.2 d d r m , i r r m m ut 20.2 addr-212 1 a d j e c r h 3 1-1,9 rtlrributive9 12 cmnparim of 9.3 cumpod 23.2 ndmcatmn 9.1.3 prcd~cotivchl.1 siatrls of 3.1-1 adverbs 10 modal P2.2

10.1 sentence 10.3 t i m 1033 nff~n18 t, 18 3.5 after 7.22, 16.2.1 aiy intcjectim 184.2 dc particle 18.3.2 all 14.1 also 103.2 although 162.4 always 10.33, 14.1.1 dmu partide 18.3.4. any 13.4, 14.1.5 apl20.13 @bate

appranmaiom 21.1 an7ides6.l a~pad11.1,112 continuous 11.2.3 dolirritalim 11.2.6 experkntial 11.2.5 hditual 11.2.7 ~ r l c c l i v c1124 prngreRfiive11.2.2 W r a t m n 1.1.1

I

aw&rrve mmrmdiar 6.3

mxillans see d a l 6 . 3 - 1.2 -talk b;rr 13

16.13

W I r h 192 be partick 18.3.5 tvcause P6.2.2 before 7.22. 162.1 Btr 'to'with i n d i c t ok+zls in indiipx3 s p v r h 16.5 passive marker 8.4 Myan11 'rather' 9.3 Whhl 'than' 9.3, 102

hIn 'any' 14.15 kW aec h-&A 'wtnch' 6.2.1,1733 W o u h 'where' 17.3.4 biqo ' w W 173.1 bo P8.3 5

K2.2

bur

'apt

fmm'16.7

llme' 14.1 "5

directional verb82.1,8 3 2 w r h l portido 8.13, 11.3 1. lZ3.l drP111bEAn'ouside' 7 1 du 'lime, msiom' m-1.3 cM/m 'ago' t M chlIi~ihiIiri'in front.(ofr 7 1.1 c h ~ w 'mme o than' 14.4 1 'wrongly' 113.2 ~rhirlt~tgIRrIi ' m r ' 13.3 r h y i i h n h d t ' w W 14 1 classifiers 6 2 rnmunl6.22 rdupl8.23, 14.1 3

wrtal6.2-3 synnax and mgz of62.1,6.3,6.42.

22

tWgun %r'

..pngryk bq

c k h f t s 'unless' 16.3.3

NOE Tor rase of rekrmce, t k alphaktiwl e r i n of ~ Cantonese hm!w b m tht h mahng law tmm: mtqucnliy, fm ornmpk, mh pe* mmh. Words differing only i n lart are giwn i n t l r cunvemiwl order: high k d , high rising, a pa* 182.5,18-5.1, 19.1 a pann&17.1, 18.2.1, 18.2.3, 18.3.1

oovertrr3-1. 7

c / r g -pieast l ( r . i . b ,

I

17 3.3, 21.1.1 cktt xntences 1 M colour term. 2 3.2,9.2.2,9.2.3 commands 19 indirmt 1Y,5 comparlm of ;dpctim9.3 of adverbs 10.2 sr(unl 9.3-2 of quantities 14.4 mplementizers 3.1.7 aomplemrnc;, mmplemmtation ol adlecirves 9.4 od verbs 8.5. 11.3 compkx v& 2 3 3 mrnplmwntf 70 1 d compound nouns 23.1 cmnpoudhg 2.3.3 concewve c m r r u o i m 1-4

dwknh+h 'but+16.1^7,16.2A dauih M 'plenly' 14.3 daorh@'evtryone' 14.1.1 da~ 'h' 11.3 1 &i %

h , m n p ' 94.2 &III 'nwnbar' 11.1.2 daE, AwrtR~13.13,10.l.l

modnl (potential) 12 3,17.1.4,193 ~ I t a t i v 8e 5 3 dd+ndliJ.

'okq?' 17.t.6

rtrWIPuhm 'free' 9.4.1 duht dm$'spffially' 10.4 PPnp '11nqr 16-2.1 d r r n ~'let' 19.2. 19.3.20-15

dares 71-21 d a p d the week 21.2 d d i a l i o n 1.4.3 dehiteness 4.25.f~l.6.2.15

dh in adverbial comstrwhm 10.1.3, 19.1

with Ileduplblcd a d m s 2.1.2, '12.2 deik phrral auffuc 2.1.2.5.1 demonsnanw 6.1 derivation 2.1, 2.2 d c u 'bnurtk' deal 'pad 6.2.172.1

d&md~n ' m e C7.1.1 dcmwyuh 'sorry' 20 1.3 rli

rn d a a i k 6.1.6.2 i n wmpawhues 9.3,102, 14.4.1 i n lmperatlw 19.1 in q~mtirmc17.1 2 drk poasessivdlinhngw c l e 6.1. 16 4 dfrn(jiirrg) ' o " c l d 21.3

424 m e s e : a mmpre-

e n s W 173.7 d m d n i 'why' 17.3.6 d h 11 17.6 d h sym 17 6 dftrm rmdtative prticle 11.3.2, 1 2 3 3 dlhng'ready'8.3.2. 11.3.2 ddwg(hoik) 'or' 172 diredion 7.1.3, & 3 3 d M i o n a l partwles 113.1 d i & h l v e r b 8.3.2 d ~ q u r r t ~ o16.1A. n 17.7 dlcrrmce 7.1.2 drh 'faW 4.1.2.83-2 do 'more' M.3, -rnuch/rnanyL14.4 daph 'rlmnk you' 20.12,20.1.4 d s n 'wl~ile' ~ 16.2.1 d w g - - f w h ' ~ K A- , R' 8.1,1, 82.2 &mi probably' 122 t 'mmly' 14.43 &.dim

d%w' 10 3 2 '.any7 13.4

'all' 14.1 .I lim 16.12 dill' 162.4, 163.1

p

grammar

fscezo

fastuhng (ir) 'Rmernely' 9.13 finals 1.3 fnqtwra'cnnwmirnP 9.4.1 fractions 21.1.3 h e reldlves &4 3 froquelq 10.310

pim Lths' 6.1 @ryhr 'tway' etc. 21.2 gdm modal verb 'dart' 12.15 gdm adverbial 10.1.2 R inrerjeaim 18.4.1 as preAicare 10. I2 p m 'so,s'9.1.3,9.3. 102 Ram # 'somany' in superlrttives93.5 ggm k j h 'so IrmgB16.2.I Yollm+ing)' 3.13. 7.2.1 -*A 'nexl' 16.13 @!I m - l v e a s p i rnmkcr 11.1, 11.2.1. 113.2 gun$ gd 'even m e ' 93.1

as conjumrm 8 4.2 8 5 3.9 1 3 16.2 1 dmr M e d l prhcle 8.3.2, 113.2 ddu w r h l panicle8 13,11.3 2,1233 d m h 6.2.3, 7.1 1 dmddorrh 'evq-hrt' 14.1.2

17.1.5

exiaential qurmrifwhm 142.15 erperlencer 4.1.2,8.4.1 experkmid a

fim

dimlirmd vmh 8 7.7 verbal panicle 113.1 fhp f i n 2.1.1 fhnnylh 'on the wntray' 16.1.3

greeting 20.4 g~ particle 18.Z.3.18.3.4 g m hatinial 11.2.7 gcdj (cxpkl~vc)nn k h 2.1.3 w ~ t hadjectives 9.1.3 gwo t v e n t i a l aspen marker 11.1. 11.2.5 in q u d k 17.1.4. 17.1.5 with m p i a t i w Y 3 5 ~ownpmtive L t h d 993 directimul verb 'm'8 3 2 verbal particle 113.1 g ~ h r d h'tm' 93.4

hd pnicle 18.3.1 #dl1 delimitalive

,

aspsl mrtrker 112.6. 18.3.5 Rahlithn k d e f 7.1.1 # r d h 20,20.1 A hi '(k)at' 3.1 .a. 7.1 hdiddt 'be here' locali*e 7. I.20.5 pmgresiive 11.22 Id,,

aoprlarvcrb8.1.1 17.1.8, 17.1.9

.. ...

&h. h8.1.1, 14 1 1 huih ge 8.1.1, 1&4 I~unrk-mhh14.1.1. 17.1.3.17

IW.5. 14.1A

cxlm questinnmy 17.1.7 either. .. or lb.lA, 17.2 E@ifh, m h l l m y 10.1.2 txcesslvcc 9.3 4 e x d m n a r i i 17.5, 183.5, 18.4.2 existential mmmmbrs 42.5.15,

I

gaRi~iuh'intmdlre' m.1.5 gain1 'Itsch'8.2.2

dm1 'd 7.2.1

C*

g&g 'say' 165 grammatical dabs 4.1.8.2

f i f m 'pn' 15.4,21.1.3 fa kot' 13

&t

'qllite' 9.13 'how' 173.7 'how many' 21.1.2

@kid 'Iw many(hw much' 173.8 gdi&I~ 'Ilm IM~' 17.35

'wlwn" 17.3.5 g&$in'since' 16.22 pn 'see' 8.13 gfig h a ' 7.13 $1r~wi5mnjunnion 1hI.3 $IU 'call' E2.2 gd'ttmt'h 1 . 6 4 7 &hn,,gMmh ?here' 7.1 $o ciwfier 6 2.2 @ p M h 'rhen' 10 33, "when' 16.2.1 @th

16

h h g 'he willing' 1 1 1 5 Mngrlrkng 'rpnninly' 17 7 7 harh 'an& 10.4 k+iLup' 11.3.1 harmohng'hope' 12.15 heui 'go' 8.2.1.83.2 Mnng 'at' 3.1"3,7.1 Iwug %wads' 3 13,7.1.3 h k '$e a k ' 12.12 116p~rticle18.3.1

hot directiml p n u l e 113.1 hbiiual aqrct mstker 112 7 h o t d m 'happy' 9.4

fy$&*

12.2.1 ' ~ I 9.4.1 W homonyms, m h m y 2 1.2 fi'wrYIPy wlth dp31ues3.1.1- Y 1

as @prefix 2.1.1 w v e M plide11 3.2 hdwmh5.u 17.1.3.17.1.6. 17.4 M.m cfr&'CcRhrrrakly' 10.3.1 Irhr do'rnuch' 9 3.1, 143 Mu& Vlttk' 10.3.0, 14.3 M d d h ' s a e m ' 10.12, 121.5 how? 173.7 how many, hw much? 173.8 h y r h 'can' 12.i.i hy-le 9.3.2.93.5 hypcrcorreetion 1.1.3.1.5 it 16.3, 16.3.t irrrperati*~ 19 in~xrpxation d -23.3, 8.2 4 I n d l r a s p c h 16.5, 17.4. 19.5 hlixed Tonns2.1.3.9 13, 17.3.2 initUs 1.3 mterjections 18.4 mlerrogatlves1 I inwnatim 14, 17-1.7. 181.1 rntmductions 20.1 5 inverskn 4.1.2.9.3.5 conjunairm 16.13,16.3.1 p r h &dm 10.1.2 @ ~ u n 'cucn ir 16.3.1 #, je partick 10.3.2,1823. 18.35 p k prticle 18.3 5 few 'most'9.3.5, 10.2 Jruhn, je~~Rn[eukng 10 2 )Fang classifier 6 2.3 j81ng +I' 7 I A in serial m ~ c t i o 8n4 1 ji'know' 8.1.4 #yur 12.13, 12.1.6 )I %lmI'93.5.102 j d 7

~Tddhts% h e r7.22, 16.2.1 ji&rhn$

8im' 162.1

p$&n 'hetweed 7.1.1 # I d 7.2.2, 162 1 ]%.hih lnte+Xim 184.1 ~iAkd& Wh'9.4-2 jT(ah 'within (time)' 7.2.2 ~ r 'maw n ~ 8 5.1 'remain' verbal parrick 113.2 rru 'follow' 72.1 per6ectlve zsptmarker 11.1. 11.2.4, 163 1 in quedluedlm 17.1.4. 17.1.5 prrh 'do' 20.1.5 In serial m c t i o n 8.22.8.3

mfi 173.6 ji%&m) 7.1 jWconjunction 12.1.6 juhrrg 'still' 10.3 3.13.3. 183.5 ~n-ivcs 9 3.1, 10.2 j&brg}u'&lr mdumrifi~16.1.3 jouh

mignA

b h

direcrional prtkie 113 . 1 dired~onalverb 8 3.2 qmtifying panicle 11.3.3+ 18.3.5 rdi11 'dan't' 13.3,19.J maJl uxijunction 16.2.2 Mandarm s?r lndurrion grammar 8.4, 11.l, 18.1 phmoloey 1.4.2.1.2 m t l r w ~ 'what" ) 2 1 3,1732 m~particle17.1.1, 183.1

k d h a n m f7 1.1

WA%IlrP ~

tc%k 'helshe' 5.1 kirship term 2.1.1,20.3

nfeif~'nol yet- U.3, 162.1 formingq u e s t ~ m17.1.4,17.1.9 melh m 12 2.2 mKi; 'p4esehhank yw' 19.1.20.1.1. 20 1.2

unlinuous aspen marker I1.I, 11.2 3

Bpurlidc 18.2.1, 18.3.3. 19.1 b particle 17 1 4 , 18.3.3 6bh i n t e r + t i m18.4.1 lirohn 'difficult' umplementation wilh 9.4.1 as pr&v 2.1.1 f i h 'comc' 8.2.1,8.3 2 ar complement of pupme 162 3 lok particle 18.3 2 Ern 'tlnnk' 8 1.4.112 3

#thng ' h L " 14 1.1

'W 21.1.1 Bltn 'even3 113.3, 14.1 .1 lihng 'make'8.5.1 l/ltngyd~'pdm. m d l d 12.1.b lisfs 161 2 f i particle 16.2.2, 183.3 M i c n 3.1.4, 7.1.1 kcmion 7.1 h k particle 183.3 lohh '(go) d m ' &3.2,11 3.1 lohk-heul ' m t ~ n u t '8 3.2.11 3 3 Mrh 'old' a prtfm 2.1 1,3.2,20.3.1

~ &WfirG ~

names 2.1.1,5.1,&2.2,202 n m b 1.1 3 nteessity 121.3. U 2 2 negnllon 13 ad&tivaIl3.2 d w W c 13.5 lexical 13.1 veiiml133 la? particle 18.2.1 mih 'yod see l&h neither. - n w 16.14 .

mhih

163.3 negative copula 13.3, 14.1.1 "no' 17.1.8 mR6u 'don?' I33,19.4 rnhhqisl 'sony'20 1 3 mjui 'be urnfling' 12.15 mji 14.2.1 [email protected] 3.17-6 ,,ir,*;I?' &R jl'nul cr*lly' 133 d n l mh&x 12.2 d a l rerbrlaux~liark12.1 modaliry 12 mlihtion of adwives 9.1 3 of ad& 10.1.1 mmrhs 21 2 mrphology 2 motmn 8 3.2, 11.3.1

W

mwr W 3 rtwnm

'w8 12

ng#l 'I. meme 1.1 3.5.1 II@I&#I 'we, m'5.1,192 rlr'this* 15,6.1 ni'bazn, n l d d * 'here'7.1 nouns 6 numerals 21.1

in c W i h m 1 s

1sr6arh ne@=

existential verb 14.22.

15.4, 17.1 8 as preh 2.1.1 in cornpa-

9.3.3,10 2 nt~ating verbs 11.2.4, 13 3 m h h ddk ' m n W 123.2 &/I 13.3 n t b u h h h n 'wkther' U.3,16.24 mj~ihwoh 133 n d i 'no d 12.1.3.17.1.8. M.1.2 rn*ti-yirr 'no nee# U.1.3 & 'qulre a bd 14.3 mung 17.6 mrirlt '41' 10.3.4, 14.1.4 mtith chr 'every time' 10.3.4, 1 1 34

diectional ll.3.1 quantifying 113.3 rexultmva 11.3.2 senreroelummnce 3.1.7. 17.1.1. 18 verb1 2.1.2,3.1.7. 11.3 pans ol q e c h 3 m w s8.4

i n d h 8.4.1 rmiltatlve K4.2 ppi)dh 'for examp$? 16.32

percentaw 21.1.3 perception 8.1 3 permmion 12.1.1,123.1 mwmm1 politenem 19,20 pssemive wnmmtim 6.3 p s i M i t y 12 psrpcmtlom 3.1.4 11.32,12.3 pragmtlcs 18.1.20.1 pefmw12.1.6

p e f m 2. t.1

FoPpositims 3 1.3.7.1,8.3 presentative semenms 155 prearpposilirms 17.1 pronourrs 5 of 4 1 6 . 5 1.1, 1 8 1 p e r m 1 5.1 recipml5.3 refkxivc 5.2 resumptlve 6,4.1,64.2 -passive 11.21 plrpose 7.2, 16 2.3 q~rcriomd 17 3 h q u h n l i f ~4.1.1,823,14 ~

queslmn rvords 6.4.3, E3.4, 17.3 qlledwm 17 A-not-A 17.12 allern~tim(disiunoi*) 17.2 direct vs. indireft 17.4 echo 17.1.7 exclarnrttq 1 7 6 existential 17.1.5 nmner 173.7 mullipk 17.5 pflide 17.1.1, 1 8 3 1 plrposelresson 173.6 T n x s w lT.lA+17.1.Y he(or'lcal 17.17.1-1.17.3A.20 1 4 tap 17.1.6 vh- 17.3 &no 17.1 miply& 5.3 n d u p l m t ~ m2.2

of ~ v e s Y 3 .

d adverbs 10.1.3,19.1 of d a a i h m 14.12

Or now 14 1.7 in q u m - r n 17.1.2 d v & 22, 112.6 r c A e x i m 5.2 relat~res20.3 re$ter~IIltmducfian rtplis see ~ s e s r e p t e d speech 16.5.17.4. 19.5 requcsts 20.1.1 mporr;csto q~estions17.13, 17.1.9 resultt*m wnstruoims 8.42,85-2. d 5.3 mullnrim wick 11.3.2 righl4slmation 4.1-3,12.1,122 rvwanr~gtbnST M-ductipn

Index a

428 C a n t o m s ~a m~rehenshm grammar muixall' (qmmifylnpparticle) t1.3.3,

20.1.2 diheed'12.13 m d ~17.3.6 sandhi (tore)1 4 2 wk~'&hbely' 12.22 d &h 12.3.1 diidie' wrb4.1.2 with adjectiycs 9.13 verhl p n i d e 11.3-2 semivmvek 1 1 I dfrng 'the whde' 14.1.1 dIIn#)&

'ehvpy' 10 3.4

wnal verb comtructions 8.22.8.3, 11.2.3, 16.5 'a l~ttlt'14 3 ~u\iIrn 'dthougV 162.4 snrr yiu 'wed' 12.13 eung %ant, wish' 12.1.5 s&/ifag 'up' (dlrectimal verb) 8 3 2 sp~rfrng(brhn)'abwe' 7 1.1 ~~Irdmhn 14.1.5 xik 'km~y'8.1.4. 12-1.2 dl ddL 12.1.2 sin 'first' 103.3

'only' 163.2, 164 m duk ly.i sin particle 18.35

h c e 162.1. 16.2.2 +i%g wfflx 2.1.2 sihng. &hrg

In 'hquestmm ' 17.3.7 in manner &scriptiom 10.1.2 sl*

'wntl~'21.1.3

rru

W 143 'Iltlle' 14.4 sm'b~-sh~ 'a W e ' 9.3.1, 14.3 sLgng 6.2 4 snmetims 14 m e w h e r e 14 smnd chnges 15,S.l sdN11(gp)'all' 14.1.3 r 4 1 k 30, therefore' 1k13.16 2 3 qxcificiry 6.2.1 mbpcl 4.1.1 doukk 4-21 subordinate d a m 162 sumxls 2.12 st~pp.estiom19.2 s l d * A "tamliar' 8.1 2 WtIR ' w d . g i d 8.2 2

i m 9.3.5,10,2 syllabic nasals 1.1 4 syllable structure 1.3 rynn (fmih)'count (s)8.1.1 '

ym bne' 21.1

e

w!'hn' 9.9.4. 10.2.20.1.1 taboo numben 21.1.4

d h adverbial ubjbjects 8.25 w w l s 1.2

I

iap, lag qumivm 17.1.6 ''look. wW8.1.3,8.2.4 telephone e x p d 20.5 Iense 10.33. 11.1 rim prlide 18.23,18.35 ttii

?i$r

4 irdsaalkr 6.2.4,20.2 w'd~inl-ion 20-5 Waihy)

adverbs 103 3

nndaF@=rtll oonjunctiom 16.1.4.16.2.1

coojuntfan 16.2 3 p r e p r i m 7.2

d &y 21.3 1.4 tasider2cal 1.4.1, 17.1.7 change4 1 4 4,23.1,9 2,11.2.6, 20.2 rm 9.3.4. 10.2 toprc 4.2.18.2.1 tome

4.2 tqplcalizatwn4 2 1 . 4 1 2 of* .2.3.3,4.2.1,8.1.4 semdary 42.3 olwrk424 fralwiuty &2.1.8.5& 11.333 m d a t k n 3.1.17.1.7, 1K1 b i h 'with, ~ a n d 7.7 1 In uunparatiw 9.3.2 cmjumtim 16.1.1 as c w e r h 3.1.3.8 3.1 ffiAngmPorh 1612 typolo~y2,4.1,4.2 tqkpmmi-

. . . cr' 16.1.4

"maybe'( a d d ) U.2.l wmrh resullatiue panicle 11.32

time

us. *I 4.2 topif chnirs 4.2.6

kngti12.2 qualily 1.2.1 wd prticle 17.1.7, 18.3.1 w! inlerJecrion 18.4.2 w h +say' 16.5

wdn 'Fook for'3 t.3

I

in serinl comrmdion 8 3 # d mu&l p d t k 11.3.2 wather verbr4.1 2 what? 17.3.2 uhhhuever 6 4.3.1624 uhm? 17.35 whartverll.2.7, 11.3.4 &ere? 17.3.4 herever 6.4.3, 16 2.4 ðer 16.2.4, 17.4 whl~h'l17.3.3 whk 16.2.1 w h " l 17.3.1 wlhocvm 64.3.16.2.4 why? 17.3 6 &gyWm 13.3 wo, kvoh panicles 1I.L.1, W.t.183.4 wdh prlide 16.5, 17.4, 18.2.2.18.3.4 nord formation 2 nvrd v r k r 4.1 ward struclure 2

d h 'will, would' 12.1.1, 16.3 1 rrmrrmatim. p h u k c a l 1.1.3. 1.5.5.1 wrkkjm ompour& 2 33.8.24. K4 1, 17.15 wrbd aspect 3.1.1.11.1 wrb5 8 of mgnilkm Kl.4 erptiw 4 1.2 d peroeptwn 8.13 Fepetllron M lU.l.1 serial 8.3 statiw 2.53.1.1,8.1.2 tmmihvr vs. mtrplnrjtive 5.2.1

phmhbk Lany' 14.1.5 pihikridrth'@pltb 5.1 lakg directional verb&Z.1, 8.31 y h p b ~ l t n'I* 7.1.1 pnmarh 'bwsklw (of)' 7.2.1, 1b.1, 16.2.2

with reduplicated verlrsZ.2, 11.2.6

... ..

yrfl @ 'one by one' l0,4 w1. muh b.;swn a '162.1 ~murrh hdc 162.1

...

y6ldrhn$'demntely- 12.1.3, 122.2 FrJ~mfi. . . y h m h 'either. . 4 '

16 14. 17.2 yigywling 9.3.2 ydu doh 19.3

?h in m

ndjcctiqw 15.3

ymh.

.

p h s 9 3.3.15.3 etislential vcrb 4.2.5.4.26. 15.1 w prefix 2.1.1 with verbs 15.2 M d r i h 12.3.2, 17.15 @ik-WI&lh nn mmpamtiue? P 33.10 2 in qwstims 17.1.5 @#!I 'frcm* 7.13

'both.

pmh

. .rsld' 16 1.1

'miher. . . nor' 16.1.4 p? imejectiar 18.4.2

> ~ k w a h k'or' 17.2 yrJf~~hallh 'atterwards' 16.13 ying&''shoukT

12.1.4

yiu 'netd, want- 12.1.3 yiu lnlh 16.2.3 y W I ~ n b'if' lh3,16.3.1 y # t f ~ Yinlsh' 11.3.2, 16.2.1 yrrhng 'use' 3.1.3,8.3.1. 162.3 vlrhngp'h 'easy' 94.1 y u h y i ' k IvlHlng' 12.1 5 yarhr.. .yrrlar'lhtmore.. .themore' 9.3.1 ju$n Idil~prkt 'mme md more'9 3.1. 10 2