Separable verbs (1)
Some Chinese verbs are built in a special way: sometimes they stand together, sometimes they come apart.
Words of this kind are called 离合词 (líhécí) — separable verbs.
The examples in this section:
睡觉shuìjiàosleep
上课shàngkèhave class
下课xiàkèfinish class
上班shàngbāngo to work
下班xiàbānfinish work
说话shuōhuàtalk
读书dúshūread / study
看病kànbìngsee a doctor
生病shēngbìngget sick
The basic rule
When a separable verb stands together, it behaves like an ordinary verb.
But when another element goes between its two parts, the verb splits:
first part + another element + second part
Important:
not just any word may go between the parts; the set of possible elements is limited.
Together and apart
睡觉 → 睡了觉；睡了一觉
上课 → 上了课；上中文课
下班 → 下了班
生病 → 生了病；生了大病
说话 → 说了话；说了很多话
1. 睡觉
睡了觉
睡了一觉
睡 + 了 / 一 + 觉
2. 上课
上了课
上中文课
上 + 了 / 中文 + 课
3. 下班
下了班
下 + 了 + 班
4. 生病
生了病
生了大病
生 + 了 / 大 + 病
5. 说话
说了话
说了很多话
说 + 了 / 很多 + 话
The rule in short
Together
A + B
It behaves as one verb.
Apart
A + another element + B
The grammatical element needed goes between the verb's two parts.
Examples:
睡觉 → 睡了一觉
sleep → have a sleep
上课 → 上中文课
have class → have a Chinese class
生病 → 生了大病
get sick → fall seriously ill
说话 → 说了很多话
talk → say a great deal