УРОК 54

GRAMMAR COMMENTARY

54.1. The interrogative word 那 nǎ

The word 那 nǎ is used in post-classical Chinese as an interrogative adverb. It precedes the predicate, replacing an adverbial modifier of manner, and corresponds to the English "how?" or "in what manner?" A question posed with this word is often rhetorical.

那 nǎ can be used in combination with the modal predicatives 得 dé and 可 kě "to be able":
a) 那得 nǎ dé 是我女袍, 那得在市 shì wǒ nǚ páo, nǎ dé zài shì "This is my daughter's robe, how could it end up on the market?"
b) 那可 nǎ kě 那可嫁女與之 nǎ kě jià nǚ yǔ zhī "How can I give my daughter to him?"

54.2. The interrogative phrase 何所 hé suǒ

The interrogative phrase 何 hé is often found in post-classical Chinese, including in the phrase 何所 hé suǒ. One of its meanings is "where?", "from where?" Comes from the semantic word 所 suǒ "place" (synonymous with 何處 hé chù):
當於何所得奴婢耶 dāng yú hé suǒ dé nú bì yé "Where can I get a slave?"
於何處失 yú hé chù shī "Where did you lose her?"

何所 hé suǒ is not necessarily formed by a preposition, but usually comes before the predicate:
何所從來 hé suǒ cóng lái "Where did you come from?"

Another meaning of this phrase is related to 所 suǒ as a predicative neutralizer. In this function, 何所 hé suǒ precedes the predicate and replaces the object, acquiring the meaning "what?":
汝何所作 rǔ hé suǒ zuò "What are you doing?"
汝何所求 rǔ hé suǒ qiú "What are you trying to achieve?"

54.3. Third-Person Personal Pronouns

Throughout the preceding period of Old Chinese history, there were no third-person personal pronouns capable of functioning as subjects (sometimes the demonstrative pronoun 彼 bǐ was used instead of a personal pronoun, and 其 qí could be used as the subject of a subordinate clause).

In the post-classical language, fully-fledged third-person personal pronouns capable of performing any nominal function first appeared.

There are three such pronouns:

a) 伊 yī
伊必能克蜀 yī bì néng kè shǔ “He will surely be able to defeat Shu.”
汝兄自不如伊 rǔ xiōng zì bù rú yī “Your brother cannot compare with him.”

b) 渠 qú
女婿昨來,必是渠所竊 nǚ xù zuó lái, bì shì qú suǒ qiè "My son-in-law came yesterday; he probably stole it."
長夜枕渠頭 cháng yè zhěn qú tóu "to be a pillow for his head throughout the long night."

c)他 tā
驅 tā牛還主,驅到他門 qú niú huán zhǔ, qú dào tā mén "He led the ox back to the owner and brought it to the gate of his house."
還他馬，赦汝罪 huán tā mǎ, shè rǔ zuì "Return his horse to him, and I will forgive you for your offense."

Of these three pronouns, the last one is the least common in the post-classical period. However, it would later supplant the others and become the only third-person personal pronoun in modern Chinese. In the 3rd–5th centuries, the word 他 tā continued to be used in its original meaning of "another," which is reflected, in particular, in the text of this lesson:
以我應他人 yǐ wǒ yìng tā rén "to marry me off to another."