Help with 多duō in this sentance

[Clarice Zhao]

今天天气很冷，你要多穿点儿衣服

 

In this sentence, "多" means more, the sentence in English should be: It's very cold today, you should wear more clothes.

 

There are some similar sentences which use "多" in Chinese. Here are some examples.

 

1. 你感冒了， 要多喝水。

    Since you caught a cold, you need to drink more water.

 

2. 下周就要考试了， 你要多看书

    The exam will start next week, you need to review more often.

 

3. 她的心情最近不好，你要多照顾她。

    Recently, she was in a bad mood, you should take care of her more.

 

Hope the example sentences will help you understand better about the Chinese character "多".

[Flickserve]

you got me thinking about this because this is quite normal in spoken Cantonese in Hong Kong. I also recall hearing the 多 preceding the verb in Cantonese. So asking some colleagues they said spoken Cantonese usually will put 多 after the verb. When at school learning formal Chinese, they need to put the 多 before the verb (otherwise they would be marked wrong ). In spoken Cantonese, it is OK to say 多 + verb and it is becoming more common to hear it. This comes from the increased communication with mainland.

I agree with lips. In Cantonese:

你應該多啲飲水 You should drink water more often.

你應該飲多啲水 You should drink more water.

你應該多啲讀書 You should read more often.

你應該讀多啲書 You should read more books.

啲 is similar to 點 and 飲 is similar to 喝.

I would add that 你應該多穿衣服 sounds weird to me as it seems to mean "You should wear clothes more often" which sounds like you often go without clothes.

你應該穿多點兒衣服 is clear. I'm not sure what to make of 你應該多穿點兒衣服 though. Perhaps the presence of 點 makes 多 associate with 點兒衣服 rather than 穿?

你應該多啲飲水 You should drink water more often.

你應該飲多啲水 You should drink more water.

I found this quite interesting and went back and asked a colleague about this example. After a discussion, yes, this is how the meaning goes in speech. However, such fine details are not immediately obvious, even to a native Cantonese speaker in HK.

[Flickserve]

今天天气很冷，你要多穿点儿衣服

In this sentence, "多" means more, the sentence in English should be: It's very cold today, you should wear more clothes.

There are some similar sentences which use "多" in Chinese. Here are some examples.

1. 你感冒了， 要多喝水。

Since you caught a cold, you need to drink more water.

2. 下周就要考试了， 你要多看书

The exam will start next week, you need to review more often.

3. 她的心情最近不好，你要多照顾她。

Recently, she was in a bad mood, you should take care of her more.

Hope the example sentences will help you understand better about the Chinese character "多".

Thanks.

So my question is, for Putonghua, does 'duo' always have to be in front of the verb?

[dwq]

Apparaently, if you are taking the HSK, 你要穿多点儿衣服 is 有语病.

第51-60题：请选出有语病的一项。

52．A 天凉了，你要穿多点儿衣服。

B 老师的鼓励，使他信心大增。

C 昨天睡得很晚，所以第二天9点多我才醒来。

D 为防止在野外活动中迷路，你必须掌握定位和测向方法。

Answer: A

Source:

http://wenku.baidu.com/view/26a83b6e011ca300a6c390a5.html

Click on 继续阅读 under the 下载 button when you get to page 3. Look at Question 52. The answer is at the end of the document.

Text version:

http://www.sodocs.net/doc/e0fc0bd53186bceb19e8bb38-8.html

http://www.sodocs.net/doc/e0fc0bd53186bceb19e8bb38-29.html

[lips]

Good point, dwq.  You are right.  In standard Putonghua an adverb goes in front of the verb it modifies.  My understanding is that this is so in northern dialects (maybe western as well?).  In southern dialects it's the opposite.  Many Chinese who speak a native southern dialect will, in everyday Putonghua conversation, put the adverb after the verb.  Of course if they are speaking formally or taking an exam, they'll do it the standard way.

 

To avoid confusion one may change the rule in conversation, e.g. one often says 我来早了 for "I came early" instead of 我早来了, which can mean "I came a long time ago".

[Guest realmayo]

How would something like "我也吃很快" fit in? Is this incorrect in standard Putonghua?

[lips]

Strictly speaking, it should be "我也吃得很快".

[Guest realmayo]

Interesting. So "他工作得很努力" is right, "他工作很努力" is wrong.

 

How about: 他是一位工作很努力的人 -- also wrong? Or is the dropping of the 得 acceptable here to avoid sounding awkward before the later 的 ？

[lips]

The following is my take.  Someone more knowledgeable in Chinese grammar should correct me as necessary.

 

In these cases the standard Putonghua construct (adverbial before verb) sounds more natural:

 

他很努力工作 - he works diligently

他是一位很努力工作的人 - he's a person who works diligently

 

他工作得很努力 - same meaning as the first sentence above but a different, correct, construct.

 

There's also the construct with 地:

他很努力地工作 - he is diligently working

 

得, 地 and 的 are all pronounced the same in these sentences in Putonghua so it can be confusing, but this should be well covered in a formal Chinese course.

[Guest realmayo]

Ah okay we need someone who knows Chinese grammar better than you or I, to explain why "他工作很努力" can sound right, while technically being wrong.

[Shelley]

wow, I thought I had asked a simple beginners level question, but it seems to be much more complicated than I imagined. I eagerly await to hear from the person who is able to answer this to everyone's satisfaction.

 

My original question, for me has been answered, but this discussion is very interesting.