3 comments

  1. DT says:

    你好 Serge,

    Is there any different between 在附近的天安门广场有一家. and 在天安门广场附近有一家.

    When using the adjective to modify the noun, should I place the adj. in front of the noun or after the noun?

    Also the words 要 and 需要 are there any different?

    谢谢
    DT

  2. Hi DT! Yes, a big difference.Zai4 fu4jin4 de Tian1 An1 Men2 guang3chang3 you3 yi4 jia1 (在附近的天安门广场有一家) will mean: On the Tian An Men square, that is nearby, there is one. It implies that, there might be several Tian An Men squares around here and that there is something on the square that is NEAR to where you are.

    Basically, the core of this sentence is zai4 tian1 an1 men2 guang3chang3 you3 yi4 jia1(在天安门广场有一家)-there is one on the Tian An Men square. Zai4 fu4jin4 de(在附近的) modifies the noun Tian An Men. What kind of Tian An men? Oh, the one that is near by!

    Ok, the second sentence, zai4 tian1 an1 men2 guang3chang3 fu4jin4 you3 yi4 jia1(在天安门广场附近有一家)-there is one near Tian An Men square. The main thing here is the construction zai4……..fu4jin4(在….附近). Mandarin is based on using many fixed constructions that you should just simply memorize. So where? Near Tian An Men- zai4 tian1 an1 men2 fu4jin4(在天安门附近).

    Grammatically, your first example is no wrong. It’s perfectly right, but, it doesn’t make sense, because there is only one Tian An Men in the world.

    E.g.zai4 fu4jin4 de shang1chang3 li3 you3 yi4 jia1(在附近的商场里有一家)-there is one in the shopping center, that is nearby. This sentence will be correct.

    The adjectives that are used to modify the noun are usually placed before the noun.

    Hope this was helpful!

    Best,

    Serge

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