Small words. Deep structure.
Learn a pattern, inspect its context, and test the next occurrence.
Recover the object
After a transitive verb, 之 can stand for a person, thing, or previously stated situation. English number and gender come from context; the graph itself does not supply them.
Read the construction →Reference · 19 teaching examples之Connect a modifier to a head
A phrase before 之 can modify the expression after it. Possession is one common relation; association, description, and a whole clause modifying a noun are also possible.
Read the construction →Structure · 7 teaching examples之Put a clause inside a larger sentence
Between a subject-like phrase and its predicate, 之 can help present their relationship as a constituent within a larger sentence. This is often discussed under nominalization or subordination; analyses differ.
Read the construction →Structure · 18 teaching examples者Name the one, thing, or situation
A predicate followed by 者 can refer to what satisfies it: a person, thing, or class. In other contexts 者 marks a topic or a pause before an explanation.
Read the construction →Structure · 15 teaching examples所Focus on what an action concerns
所 before a verb commonly builds an expression referring to what the action concerns, especially its object. It contrasts usefully with many 者 expressions, which refer to the participant doing or characterized by the action.
Read the construction →Reference · 15 teaching examples其Track whose, which, and whose perspective
其 often introduces a possessive or demonstrative expression. In some clauses it contributes a conjectural, rhetorical, or exhortative force instead. The surrounding syntax decides.
Read the construction →Connection · 25 teaching examples而Read the relationship between clauses
而 links predicates or clauses. English may use “and”, “but”, “and then”, or no explicit conjunction. The logical relation is supplied by the content, not by a single invariant English gloss.
Read the construction →Connection · 22 teaching examples以Identify means, basis, and purpose
以 often introduces what someone uses, relies on, or takes as a basis. It can participate in constructions translated with “by”, “with”, “because of”, or “in order to”. Start with the local structure.
Read the construction →Connection · 16 teaching examples於Locate a relation
於 introduces a relation to a place, person, circumstance, or comparison standard. English may require “in”, “at”, “to”, “from”, “than”, or another relation. Certain predicates also permit an agent relation.
Read the construction →Predication · 12 teaching examples為Distinguish doing, being, and acting for
為 may describe doing or making, serving as, regarding something as, or acting for someone. Some constructions also use it in passive expressions. These uses should be kept apart before translation.
Read the construction →Predication · 17 teaching examples也Recognize a nominal predicate
Classical clauses can identify or classify something without a copula corresponding to modern 是. A final 也 is common in explanatory or identifying statements, but it is not itself an all-purpose verb “is”.
Read the construction →Predication · 7 teaching examples也 · 矣Hear explanation and a changed situation
也 and 矣 often make different contributions. 也 can frame or conclude an explanation; 矣 frequently presents a newly relevant or changed situation. Neither is simply an English tense ending.
Read the construction →Discourse · 4 teaching examples乎Recognize a question or an exclamation
Sentence-final 乎 can mark a question, often rhetorical. Elsewhere 乎 can introduce a relation comparable to 於. Position is the first clue, and the preceding clause determines its force.
Read the construction →Reference · 4 teaching examples焉Resolve “there”, “in this”, or a final particle
焉 can refer to a location or a relation understood from context. It can also function as a final particle, and in interrogative uses it may ask where or how. Several analyses must remain available.
Read the construction →Predication · 34 teaching examples不 · 未 · 無 · 非Keep different negatives apart
不 commonly negates a predicate; 未 often presents something as not yet the case; 無 denies possession or existence; 非 rejects an identification or assertion. Context can refine these broad distinctions.
Read the construction →Discourse · 5 teaching examples毋 · 勿 · 無Recognize a negative directive
毋 and 勿 often express a prohibition or advice not to act. Some texts also use 無 in directive environments. Distinguish a request about conduct from an ordinary statement that something does not happen.
Read the construction →Discourse · 18 teaching examples何 · 誰 · 孰 · 安Locate the unknown
Question words can ask about a thing, person, choice, place, reason, or manner. Their syntactic position may differ from modern Chinese. Some questions are arguments rather than requests for information.
Read the construction →Structure · 13 teaching examples未之有 · 何以Notice an object before its verb
In certain negative environments a pronominal object precedes the verb. Interrogative objects also occur before their governing verb or preposition. These patterns explain sequences that look reversed to a modern learner.
Read the construction →Connection · 15 teaching examples則Follow a condition and its consequence
則 often introduces a consequence, inference, or contrasting case. An “if” relation may be supplied by the preceding clause even when there is no separate word meaning “if”.
Read the construction →Connection · 2 teaching examples若 · 如 · 苟Build a conditional reading
若, 如, and 苟 can introduce a supposition or condition. The same graphs have other uses, including comparison. Read the complete two-part structure before deciding.
Read the construction →Connection · 5 teaching examples雖Keep the concession and the main claim
雖 introduces material conceded for the sake of a further claim: often “although” or “even if”. The surrounding argument decides whether the situation is treated as actual or hypothetical.
Read the construction →Connection · 7 teaching examples故 · 是以Follow an explicit inference
故 and 是以 often link an earlier statement to a conclusion. 故 also has lexical uses such as a reason or an old circumstance. 是以 can be understood through “because of this”.
Read the construction →Predication · 2 teaching examples以…為…Read what something is taken or used as
以 A 為 B commonly presents A as being used, treated, or regarded as B. The roles of A and B are essential; the construction is more specific than matching two isolated function words.
Read the construction →Predication · 10 teaching examples使 · 王 · 衣Notice a change in argument structure
A familiar noun or property word can function as a predicate. Some uses mean making someone be or do something; others describe treating something as having a property. These are interpretations of an actual construction, not arbitrary new definitions.
Read the construction →Predication · 2 teaching examples見 · 於 · 為Identify who undergoes the action
A subject may be understood as undergoing an action, sometimes without a dedicated marker. Certain patterns with 見, 於, or 為 make this relation explicit. Each pattern has its own historical distribution.
Read the construction →Predication · 15 teaching examples如 · 若 · 於Identify a comparison and its standard
Comparisons can use words meaning “be like”, constructions with a standard after 於, or negative comparisons such as 不如. The compared property may be understood rather than repeated.
Read the construction →Structure · 11 teaching examples者…也Separate the topic from the comment
A sentence may establish what it is about before supplying a comment. 者 or 也 can help mark a topic boundary, but topics can also be unmarked. The topic need not be the grammatical agent.
Read the construction →Structure · 23 teaching examples∅Recover what the text leaves unstated
Subjects, objects, and other participants can be left unstated when the discourse supplies them. Reading requires explicit hypotheses about those missing relations, especially when a new speaker enters.
Read the construction →Structure · 44 teaching examples對讀Let parallel clauses constrain a reading
Repeated structures can reveal constituent boundaries and contrasts in meaning. Parallelism helps test an interpretation, but it does not prove that every repeated graph has exactly the same sense.
Read the construction →Reference · 9 teaching examples吾 · 我 · 汝 · 子Track speakers and addressees
First- and second-person expressions depend on who is speaking. 子 can be a respectful address as well as a noun; quoted speech may shift reference several times within a passage.
Read the construction →Longer guides
4 guides behind these patterns · each linked to primary passagesOne graph, several jobs: reading 之
Use position, neighbouring words, and the larger clause to distinguish reference, linkage, and embedded predication.
4 source passages ↗Turn actions into things to discuss
See how 者 and 所 let a passage identify people, actions, objects, means, or topics without treating every case as “someone who”.
4 source passages ↗Who acts, who changes, and who is implied?
Track participants and the scope of negation before deciding whether a passage describes ability, action, influence, or responsibility.
4 source passages ↗Follow the argument across the turn
Read questions, concessions, conditions, and reported replies as steps in an argument rather than isolated quotations.
4 source passages ↗