BONUS: “How Does What" - Adverbs of Time

Reminder About "How Does What" (Adverbs)

The Mandarin Blueprint “Grammar Word” (GW) tags focus on the different parts of speech and ways of categorizing them. For example, what are the different ways to use adverbs in Mandarin Chinese? 

In our tagging system, we refer to adverbs as “How-DoesWhat,” because that’s how they function. Adverbs tell you how an individual action takes place. We divide the sentences that contain adverbs in The Mandarin Blueprint Method Foundation Course into six categories:

1. Deny 否定 - An adverb that denies or negates the action (Phase 3)
2. How Often 频率 - An adverb that shows the frequency of an action (Phase 4)
3. In What Range 范围 - An adverb that specifies the range of an action (Phase 4)
4. Time 时间 - An adverb that adds context to the amount of time that relates to an action (Phase 4)
5. To What Degree 程度 - An adverb that specifies the degree of an action (Phase 3)
6. Tone of Voice 语气 - An adverb that influences the tone of voice surrounding the action (Phase 4)

The Chinese word for “adverb” is 副词 fùcí, which translates to “‘auxiliary’ or ‘subsidiary’ word.” Considering that you can't use adverbs alone and must attach them to an action, “subsidiary” is an apt description.

That’s why the six tags are as follows:

GW-[How-DoesWhat]-Deny-副词-否定
GW-[How-DoesWhat]-How-Often-副词-频率
GW-[How-DoesWhat]-In-What-Range-副词-范围
GW-[How-DoesWhat]-Time-副词-时间
GW-[How-DoesWhat]-To-What-Degree-副词-程度
GW-[How-DoesWhat]-Tone-Of-Voice-副词-语气

In The Mandarin Blueprint Method “Grammar Building” flashcard decks, you can find all sentences that have these tags in the sidebar of your flashcard program.

GW-[How-DoesWhat]-Time-副词-时间

Another way to use adverbs is to identify the timing of an action. Will the action happen ‘immediately?’ Is it ‘still’ yet to happen? ‘Already’ happened? Here’s how you can express this type of adverb: 

Sentence 1:

我马上来。- Level 13
Wǒ mǎshàng lái.
I’ll come right away.

‘马上’ literally means “horse on,” so you can imagine that in Ancient China, if a message was ‘almost’ or ‘soon to’ arrive, it was already ‘on the horse.’ Use 马上 before an action to indicate that it’s ‘about to’ happen.

Note: People say 马上 as a direct response if you ask them something like, “Where are you?” or “Are you almost here?” 

Sentence 2:

我才来。 - Level 13
Wǒ cái lái.
I only just came. 

In this context, adding 才 to “我来” indicates that the speaker wants to emphasize that they’ve only just arrived. Suppose you just arrived at a party, and someone asks you, “How’s have you been enjoying the festivities?” You might respond, “我才来” to indicate that you don’t yet know because you haven’t been there long enough.

Sentence 3:

我刚刚吃了一块面包。- Level 24

Wǒ gānggāng chī le yī kuài miànbāo.

I just ate a piece of bread.

Adding 刚刚 to 我吃了一块面包 clarifies that it happened in the immediate past. You can also omit one of the 刚’s in this context, so ‘我刚吃了一块面包’ is also correct. 

If you want to specify a time, use a single 刚, and add the specific time after the action. You will also often hear people add 才 cái before 刚.  Here’s an example: 

我(才)刚来成都三个月。

Wǒ (cái) gāng lái chéngdū

I just came to Chengdu three months ago

Note that 刚 or 刚刚 is relative to the speaker’s perception. Three months might feel like ages to one person and barely any time to another, but regardless, if you see 刚 or 刚刚 in the sentence, the speaker feels that the action happened recently.

Sentence 4:

他说要给我打电话，可是电话还没打过来。- Level 17
Tā shuō yào gěi wǒ dǎ diànhuà, kěshì diànhuà hái méi dǎ guòlai.
He said he would give me a call, but it still has not come in yet.

The first half of the sentence establishes an expectation that a call will come in, so the fact that it hasn’t come in ‘yet’ or ‘still’ is what causes the speaker to say 还. Another way people tend to use 还 is when someone is ‘still’ in the process of doing something, in which case you would use ‘还在.’

A: ’她可以和我说话吗? Can she speak with me?’

B: ‘不可以，她还在吃饭。No, she’s still eating.’

Sentence 5:

我们从来没有哭过。- Level 19
Wǒmen cónglái méiyǒu kū guo.
We’ve never cried before.

In this sentence, we can assume the speaker is expressing some level of machismo. Why? Because they emphasize that ‘from the beginning 从来’ they ‘did not cry 没有哭过,’ aka ‘never cried.’ You could say “我们没有哭过,” but this theoretically could mean “We never cried within some specified period.” By adding 从来, the speaker makes it super clear that they NEVER cried from the beginning.

Sentence 6:

你可以随时来，取走书。- Level 20
Nǐ kěyǐ suíshí lái, qǔzǒu shū.
You can come at any time to pick up books.

随 means ‘casual,’ so if you’re ‘casual’ with ‘time 时,’ that’s similar to saying “any time.” Use 随时 whenever you want to clarify that the action can take place without the need to specify a time.

Sentence 7:

我一直爱着那个男孩。- Level 22
Wǒ yīzhí ài zhe nèige nánhái.
I have always loved that boy.

You’ll hear people say 一直 any time they want to clarify that something has always been the case. If you leave it out of the above sentence, the speaker may have only loved the boy for a couple of days. Adding in 一直, in this case, makes the statement far more romantic.

Sentence 8:

这种样子的包已经卖完了。- Level 16
Zhè zhǒng yàngzi de bāo yǐjīng mài wán le.
This type of bag has already sold out.

When you say that something ‘already 已经’ happened, it’s because you want to express some degree of surprise. Imagine that a new phone comes on the market and you walk into the store 10 minutes after it goes on sale. If it’s sold out, it would be strange for the sales clerk to leave out 已经, because it sure did sell out quickly. Without 已经, “这种样子的包卖完了” is a mere statement of fact with zero tone of surprise.

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