In this New HSK 2 video lesson we'll learn how to say 隐现句 (Yǐnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Appearance/Disappearance) in Chinese and we'll also learn how to use 使/叫/让 (shǐ/jiào/ràng) to indicate “to cause”.

隐现句 (Yǐnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Appearance/Disappearance)
- Sentences of Appearance
- Sentences of Disappearance
使/叫/让 (shǐ/jiào/ràng) to indicate “to cause”

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GRAMMAR

Grammar. 1. 隐现句

Yǐnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Appearance/Disappearance

In Chinese, there can be two types of 存现句(Cúnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Existential and Appearance/Disappearance)

存在句 (Cúnzàijù ▸ Existential Sentences)
隐现句 (Yǐnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Appearance/Disappearance)
1. Sentences of Appearance
2. Sentences of Disappearance

We have learned 存在句 (Cúnzàijù ▸ Existential Sentences) before and in today's lesson we'll focus on 隐现句 (Yǐnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Appearance/Disappearance).

And there can be two types of 隐现句 (Yǐnxiànjù ▸ Sentences of Appearance/Disappearance): Sentences of Appearance and Sentences of Disappearance.

(1) Sentences of Appearance

A Sentence of Appearance follows this structure:

Place/Location + v.(phrase) + n. (phrase)

The n.(phrase) tells us what appears in/on/at this Place/Location.

The v.(phrase) tells us in which way/manner the n. (phrase) appears.

Example sentences:

Jiā li lái le yí wèi kèrén.
家里来了一位客人。
(In the) family-inside (there has been) one “wei” (of) guest (having) come.
Tiān shang fēi guo yì qún niǎo.
天上飞过一群鸟。
(On the) sky-surface (there has been) one flock (of) birds (having) flown-pass.
Xuéxiào li fāshēng le yì xiē shìqing.
学校里发生了一些事情。
(In the) school-inside (there have been) some things (having) happened.
Diàntī li yòu shàng lai le jǐ ge rén.
电梯里又上来了几个人。
(In the) elevator-inside (there have been) again several “ge” (of) people (having) coming-onto.

(2) Sentences of Disappearance

A Sentence of Disappearance also follows this structure:

Place/Location + v.(phrase) + n. (phrase)

The n.(phrase) tells us what disappears in/on/at this Place/Location.

The v.(phrase) tells us in which way/manner the n. (phrase) disappears.

Example sentences:

Jiǎoshì li zǒu le jǐ ge xuésheng.
教室里走了几个学生。
(In the) classroom-inside (there have been) several “ge” (of) students (having) left.
Dòngwùyuán pǎo le yì zhī dòngwù.
动物园跑了一只动物。
(In the) zoo (there has been) one “zhi” (of) animal (having) run(/escaped).
Dào le shí lóu, diàntī shang xià le liǎng ge rén.
到了十楼，电梯上下了两个人。
(After) arriving (the) 10(th) Floor, (on the) elevator-surface (there have been) two “ge” (of) persons stepped-down-(from it).

Grammar 2. "使/叫/让" 句 - 使/叫/让 (shǐ/jiào/ràng) to indicate “to cause…”

"Shǐ/jiào/ràng Jù" ▸ The 使/叫/让 Sentences

使, 叫, 让 can all be used to indicate "to cause" in Chinese. For example,

Tā shǐ/jiào/ràng wǒ míngbai le shénme shì ’ài.
他使我明白了什么是爱。
他叫我明白了什么是爱。
他让我明白了什么是爱。
He “caused(/made)” me (to) understand what love is.
He “caused(/‘ordered’)” me to understand what love is.
He “caused(/let)” me to understand what love is.

The meaning of the 使, 叫, 让 are generally the same, however,

使 is the most formal
叫 is neutral, it can be used in formal language and also casual situations
让 is for casual spoken language

Below are more example sentences,

Zhè jiàn shì zhēn shǐ/ràng/jiào wǒ lǐjiě bu liǎo.
这件事真使我理解不了。
这件事真让我理解不了。
这件事真叫我理解不了。
This “jian” (of) thing really “causes” me to not-have-the-potential-to-understand (it).
Háizi de kū shēng shǐ/ràng/jiào wǒ tèbié nánguò.
孩子的哭声使我特别难过。
孩子的哭声让我特别难过。
孩子的哭声叫我非常难过。
(The) crying-sound (of the) child “caused” me (to be) especially sad.
Tā de xiào nàme kě’ài, shǐ/ràng/jiào wǒ yǒngyuǎn wàng bu liǎo.
她的笑那么可爱，使我永远忘不了。
她的笑那么可爱，让我永远忘不了。
她的笑那么可爱，叫我永远忘不了。
Her smile (is) that cute, (and it) “causes” me to forever not-have-the-potential-to-forget (it).