'Flexible Use of Interrogative Pronouns' - 谁，什么，怎么，哪儿

[Guest]

I'm reading through my textbook currently, and it's thrown up a grammar point which isn't quite clear - is anybody able to clarify the meaning a little?

 

It reads as follows, and I'll include examples;

 

"In Chinese, interrogative pronouns such as 谁，什么，怎么 and 哪儿 can be used to refer to every member in a certain scope, indicating all of them are the same in a certain way without exception. For example:

 

1) 谁都喜欢小丽。

2) 小刚什么都喜欢吃。

3) 我们怎么去公园都可爱。

4) 最近我觉得哪儿都不舒服。

 

I'm unsure as to whether 'every member' here refers to every object within a certain range (e.g.for #4, where I'm tempted to read it as 'recently I think that I'm uncomfortable everywhere') or whether it means that the four pronouns can be used completely interchangeably. It could just be that I'm tired and my brain's given up for the night, but I thought it best to ask for a hand.

 

Cheers!

[WenLei-William]

Hi Napkat,

 

     The textbook definition is a little complicated, but what it basically means is that these pronouns, particularly when used in conjunction with 都, provide an all-inclusive scope of their respective members. For example, Mike, John, and Mary (or any array of people) are all members of the 谁(who) scope because they are all people. Apples, noodles, meat, and vegetables (or any array of things) are all members of the 什么(what) scope (in regards to eating) because they are all inanimate objects. Methods of doing things, such as walking, running, riding a bike, taking a train (or any array of methods or fashions) are all members of the 怎么(how) scope (in regards to getting to the park) because they are all ways of doing things. Locations, areas, and places, such as one's leg, arm, and head (or any array of places) are all members of the 哪儿 (where) scope because they are all definitive points of location/places.

 

So for your four examples:

1) 谁都喜欢小丽。

    This means "Everyone likes Xiaoli." When the scope of "who" is conjoined with 都 (meaning all) it means everyone.

 

2) 小刚什么都喜欢吃。

    This means "Xiaogang will eat anything" or "Xiaogang likes to eat everything". When the scope of "what" is conjoined with 都, it means everything or anything.

 

3) 我们怎么去公园都可爱。

    For this one, I will assume that 可爱 was a typo and you originally meant 可以. So, this sentence means "We can go to the park by any means". When the scope of "how" is conjoined with 都 (with go to the park in between), it means any way. 

 

4) 最近我觉得哪儿都不舒服

   Your interpretation is right in the sense that you understand the grammatical structure and meaning of the original sentence. However, It can also be interpreted as "I just haven't been feeling well recently", to preserve the natural structure and style of English. This is a little harder to understand than the other sentences, but in this context 哪儿都 literally means everywhere in regards to the speaker's body, and acts as a way to emphasize the speaker's overall discomfort and illness (aching?). So, the scope of "where" when conjoined with 都 means "everywhere" or "at every part".

 

As long as you understand:

谁+都 = Everyone

什么+都 = Everything / Anything

怎么+都 = Any way / Any means (There is typically something in between 怎么 and 都 that defines what the subjects are doing.)

哪儿+都 = Everywhere / Anywhere

 

Then, your studies in this area will go smoothly. 

 

So, in summary, the "who", "what", "how", and "where" words set the scope, while 都 makes the scope all inclusive of its respective members. The way these words are translated into English should be determined by the original sentence's meaning, and the semantic restrictions of the English sentence structure you are translating into. 

 

Example:

谁都想吃妈妈做的西红柿炒鸡蛋

Everybody wants to eat the eggs fried with tomato that mom makes.

这种简单的工作，谁都会做。

Anybody can do this simple kind of work. 

 

I hope this helps!

 

William

[Guest]

Will, you're amazing. That's a brilliant explanation! Thank you very much - have a well-earned +1.

[Apollys]

Awesome! I have seen sentences like this and been really confused by it since I never had a proper explanation, thanks so much.

Would I be correct in guessing that in order to say no one, nothing, nowhere, no way, etc., one always places 不 immediately after the 都?

[Daniel Tsui44]

On 2016/12/30 at 7:12 AM, Apollys said:

Would I be correct in guessing that in order to say no one, nothing, nowhere, no way, etc., one always places 不 immediately after the 都?

That's correct.

There is something interesting with 不 and 都. Check out the example.

谁都不喜欢他。No one likes him.

谁不都喜欢他。Any one likes him with no exception.

他什么都不喜欢吃。 He likes to eat nothing.

他什么不都喜欢吃。 He likes to eat everything with no exception.

最近他觉得哪儿都舒服。He feels all very comfortable recently.

最近他觉得哪儿不都舒服。He feels all comfortable recently with no exception.

都是这样。All is like this.

不都是这样。can mean "All is like this with no exception." or " Not all is like this."

不都是。 Not all is that.

[Apollys]

11 hours ago, Daniel Tsui44 said:

谁不都喜欢他。Any one likes him with no exception.

 

So there 都 means entirely.  Just like "Who doesn't like him (completely)?" except it's not a question in Chinese I guess.

[Daniel Tsui44]

7 hours ago, Apollys said:

So there 都 means entirely.

No, It means all.

谁不喜欢他。＝谁不都喜欢他。＝谁都喜欢他。＝Any one likes him.

谁不喜欢他？Who don't like him?