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Ｂ大半花 (UTF-8)

English translation: passive vs active construction

GLOSSARY ENTRY (DERIVED FROM QUESTION BELOW)
Chinese term or phrase:Ｂ花 vs 花Ｂ
English translation:passive vs active construction
Entered by: Roddy Stegemann

10:38 Jan 26, 2004
Chinese to English translations [Non-PRO]
Linguistics / 中文文法
Chinese term or phrase: Ｂ大半花 (UTF-8)
The below sentence provides several important grammatical challenges that I will render in three separate questions

我的房租貴得很，每月的錢大半花在那裡。

Question 2: Is 每月的錢大半花 the passive contruction of 花大半的每月的錢? If not how does one explain the appearance of what is paid before the verb to spend?
Roddy Stegemann
United States
Local time: 23:52
over half of B is spent
Explanation:
you're on the right track about it being a passive construction. Though the active construction is: "花每月大半的錢". I don't really know how to explain it though, it just sounds right.

ex: 我花每月大半的錢在房租上。

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 5 hrs 37 mins (2004-01-27 16:16:28 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

我每月花大半的錢在房租上。

This seems to say: I spend over half of the money on rent every month.
每月 becomes an adverb of some sort (every month) instead of an adjective (monthly income).
Selected response from:

Kvasir
Canada
Local time: 00:52
Grading comment
Well, Kvasir you captured this one hands down.

I have one plausible explanation for what you and others perceive to be the correct active rendering: it is generally frowned upon to use the conjoining particle 的 more than once in the same phrase, even when it would be meaningful to do so. This is just a guess though.

Would another possibility not be 我每用花太半的錢在房租上? If so, why did you choose the one that you did?



4 KudoZ points were awarded for this answer



Summary of answers provided
4 +4over half of B is spent
Kvasir


  

Answers


33 mins   confidence: Answerer confidence 4/5Answerer confidence 4/5 peer agreement (net): +4
over half of B is spent


Explanation:
you're on the right track about it being a passive construction. Though the active construction is: "花每月大半的錢". I don't really know how to explain it though, it just sounds right.

ex: 我花每月大半的錢在房租上。

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 day 5 hrs 37 mins (2004-01-27 16:16:28 GMT) Post-grading
--------------------------------------------------

我每月花大半的錢在房租上。

This seems to say: I spend over half of the money on rent every month.
每月 becomes an adverb of some sort (every month) instead of an adjective (monthly income).

Kvasir
Canada
Local time: 00:52
Native speaker of: Native in ChineseChinese
Grading comment
Well, Kvasir you captured this one hands down.

I have one plausible explanation for what you and others perceive to be the correct active rendering: it is generally frowned upon to use the conjoining particle 的 more than once in the same phrase, even when it would be meaningful to do so. This is just a guess though.

Would another possibility not be 我每用花太半的錢在房租上? If so, why did you choose the one that you did?



Peer comments on this answer (and responses from the answerer)
agree  Beth Dennison
56 mins
  -> thx
agree  Lu Zou
11 hrs
  -> thx
agree  Benko
17 hrs
  -> thx
agree  HymnLau
23 hrs
  -> thx
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