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Aspect Markers & Advanced Structures

Aspect particles
国之根本在于民。
The foundation of the state lies in the people.
Guó zhī gēnběn zài yú mín.
Classical 之 (zhī) as genitive marker
其人已去。
That person has already left.
Qí rén yǐ qù.
Classical 其 (qí) as third-person possessive
失败乃成功之母。
Failure is the mother of success.
Shī bài nǎi chénggōng zhī mǔ.
Classical 乃 (nǎi) = to be / is (literary)
百折不挠 / 坚持不懈
indomitable perseverance / unwavering persistence
bǎi zhé bù náo / jiānchí bùxiè
Chéngyǔ in formal argument/essay
他不来之原因是病。
The reason for his not coming is illness.
Tā bù lái zhī yuányīn shì bìng.
Written nominalisation with 之
予以表扬
to commend (formal written)
yǔyǐ biǎoyáng
Formal verb 予以 (yǔyǐ) = to administer/give
遭受批评 vs 受到表扬
suffer criticism vs receive praise
zāoshòu pīpíng vs shòudào biǎoyáng
Adversative vs beneficiary passive contrast
话题链 (topic chain in discourse)
same topic maintained without pronoun across sentences
topic chain
Discourse coherence: zero anaphora for same topic
这只是个玩笑罢了。
It's merely a joke
that's all.
Zhè zhǐ shì gè wánxiào bàle.
把 + 所有材料 + 整理好 + 放到架上
Put all materials in order onto the shelf.
bǎ suǒyǒu cáiliào zhěnglǐ hǎo fàng dào jià shàng
Complex 把 sentence: multiple complements