when to use measure words

[pokeyzilla89]

When are measure words used? I have seen nouns written with and without their respective measure words, so I'm confused about their usage.

[dsrguru]

This web page has the best explanation I've come across so far.

[pokeyzilla89]

Thanks!

To quote the article: "It is obligatory to use a measure word when a numeral, a demonstrative pronoun, or an interrogative pronoun qualifies a noun."

[dsrguru]

You're welcome. That's a good way to summarize it.

[Shadowdh]

Dsrguru... thanks for the link to the site, looks like a good resource for study...

[dsrguru]

No problem. Here's the home page: http://comet.cls.yale.edu/mandarin/content/grammar.htm

[renzhe]

Still, there are exceptions, such as 年, 天, 寸, etc.

So you would use a measure word for a month (一个月), but not for days and years (一年, 一天). This page has a list with some of them: http://www.ctcfl.ox.ac.uk/Grammar exercises/Measure words.htm

[xuechengfeng]

It seems measure words are to be used when you are studying in school. Other than that... it seems like many situations when in country, people don't use them.