Wednesday, January 14, 2015

全 (quán) or 都 (dōu): the Entirety or Each One of the Whole?

 (quán) is usually used to indicate the entirety of something. It can be used in the following patterns: 
  • 全 + Noun: 
    • 全国 the whole nation
    • 全家 the entire family
    • 全世界 the whole world
  • Subject + 全 + [Verb Phrase]: 
    • 这些汉字,我全写了。I wrote these characters completely (without any exception).
    •  这本书我全看完了。I read the entire book. 
 (dōu) emphasizes each individual of the whole. It can be used in the following patterns: 
  • Subject + 都 + [Verb Phrase]: 
    • 大卫、杰克、还有艾米丽都学中文。David, Jack, and Emily all learn Chinese. (Note that 都 emphasize everyone of the whole. In this case, you can not combine David, Jack, and Emily as an entirety. Hence, it is better to use 都.) 
    • 她的儿女都住在中国。Her children all live in China. (Note that sons and daughters can be regarded as a whole. Hence, in this case you can use 都 or 全.)
    • 每个礼拜天早晨,她都去教堂。Each Sunday morning, she goes to the church. (Note that “每个礼拜天早晨” signify any Sunday of her entire life, so it is better to use 都 rather than 全. )
  • Subject + 都 + [Adj. Phrase]: 
    • 今天的节目都很有意思。All the programs today are very interesting. 
    • 这几天都很冷。All these days are very cold. 
  • A and B + 都 + [Verb Phrase]:
    • 我和我太太都在上海。.My wife and I are both in Shanghai. 
    • 韩梅梅和李雷都爱学英语。Both HAN Meimei and LI Lei love to learn English. 

Please filling in the blanks
1)  小王和小张_______都去过迪士尼。Both Xiao Wang and Xiao Zhang have been to Disney.
2)小王他们______家都去迪士尼了。Xiao Wang's family went to Disney World.

3)他很想吃遍______中国的小吃。He desires to eat all the snacks in China. 
4)每个礼拜,他______学中文。Every week, he learns Chinese. 
5)他把整袋薯片______吃了。He ate the entire bag of chips.

Reference:

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