City University of Hong Kong CLASS CLASS
Making Sense of Grammar
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asked Apr 18, 2021 in Questions about Chinese Grammar by Ariel (34,480 points) | 381 views

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请 (qǐng) can be used at the beginning of an imperative sentence to soften the tone of a command and make the speaker sound more polite or courteous. Note that, in English, ‘please’ can appear at the end of the imperative sentence, whereas 请 cannot.

English: Come in, please. Have a seat, please. Have some tea, please.

Chinese: 请进。请坐。请喝茶。

Qǐng jìn 。qǐng zuò 。qǐng hē chá 。

(Incorrect: 进,请。坐,请。喝茶,请。)

[1] Yip, P. C., Rimmington, D., Xiaoming, Z., & Henson, R. (2009). Basic Chinese: a grammar and workbook. Taylor & Francis.
answered Apr 18, 2021 by Ariel (34,480 points)

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