An Analysis of Chinese Aspect Particle ZHE

In the Chinese language, there are no specific grammatical indicators to express the tense, which often result in confusion for the non-native speakers when they learn Chinese. Among the most frequently-used four aspect markers: le, guo, zhe, and zai, the aspect particle ZHE 着 is more likely to cause errors. Though already numerous studies have been done, there are still inconsistencies in the specific usage. Sometimes the aspect particle ZHE 着 can be used to represent the tense of sentences, and sometimes it can also be used to express various aspects. It usually describes a state of imperfective, or ongoing, or just is the idiomatic use. “There is agreement that they do not relate the situation described by the sentence to the time of utterance but express various perspectives on the situation; hence, they express various aspect rather than tense relations, and are often called aspect particles or markers.” (Li and Thompson, 1981). In this paper, a detailed explanation on the usage of aspect particle ZHE 着will be given through analyzing some sample sentences, which will provide the Chinese language learners with a new understanding of the usage of aspect particle ZHE 着.

Method

Analysis for Structures of the Sentence with Aspect Particle ZHE 着

The author analyzes five types of structures for sentences with aspect particle ZHE 着 in this paper. The details are as follows.

The verb plus ZHE 着. This kind of sentence is the simplest one. They are usually independent sentences. Sometimes these set of phrases can be regarded as the fixed use.

(1) “Ting zhe” means “to listen” and has the same meaning as the verb “Ting.”

(2) “Kan zhe” means “to look” and has the same meaning as the verb “Kan.”

(3) “Deng zhe” means “to wait” and has the same meaning as the verb “Deng.”

This type of sentences expresses the request to get into a state or keep a state. Below are more examples: “Nǐ tīng zhe.” (You! Listen!) “Zhè ge nǐ ná zhe.” (Please hold this.) “Nǐmen jìxù děng zhe!” (You keep waiting!) (“All Set Learning”, 2015)

The verb plus ZHE 着 plus X. This structure is often used to express the opinions of a particular situation. For example Kan zhe hao kan, chuan zhe que hen chou (Good looking, but very ugly when wearing.); huo zhe bu rong yi (Not easy to live.), etc. “Kan,” “chuan” and “huo” are the verbs.

The subject plus verb plus ZHE 着. Below are the sample sentences.

雨还在下着. (The rain is still falling.)
S: 雨 (yu) V: 下(xia)
他们在那儿跑着. (They are running there.)
S: 他们 (ta men) V: 跑 (pao)
王朋在沙发上坐着. (Peng Wang is sitting in the sofa.)
S: 王朋 (Wang Peng) V: 坐 (zuo)
屋子的窗户开着, 门关着. (The window of the house is open with the door closed.)
S: 窗户 (chuang hu); 门 (men) V: 开 (kai); 关 (guan)
你要的书在桌子上放着. (The book you required is put on the table.)
S: 书 (shu) V: 放 (fang)

The above five sentences share the same structure, but the meaning and relations between the subject and the verb are different. For sample one to three, it shows a dynamic state and the subject is the doer of the action. However, for sample four to five, the subject is not the doer but the object of the action, and it describes a static state.

The subject plus verb plus ZHE 着 plus object. In this kind of structure, there are two types of sentences. For sample one to three, we can see that the subject is the doer of the action. But for the left sample sentences, the subject is a place, and the object is the doer of the action. All these nine sentences are used to describe the continuous state of a situation.

他正在跟朋友说着话. (He is speaking something with his friend.)
S: 他 (ta) V: 说 (shuo) O: 话 (hua)
他一边洗着澡，一边唱歌. (He is singing while he is taking the bath.)
S: 他 (ta) V: 洗(xi) O: 澡 (zao)
今天她穿着一件很好看的毛衣. (She wears a beautiful sweater today.)
S: 她 (ta) V: 穿 (chuan) O: 毛衣 (maoyi)
墙上没挂着画儿,只挂着一张地图. (No picture but a map is hanging on the wall.)
S: 墙上(qiang shang) V: 挂(gua) O: 画儿 (hua er); 地图 (di tu)
外面下着大雨. (The rain is falling heavily outside.)
S: 外面 (wai mian) V: 下 (xia) O: 雨 (yu)
桌子上放着书, 本子和笔. (The book, the notebook and the pen are on the table.)
S: 桌子上 (zhuo zi shang) V: 放 (fang) O: 书, 本子, 笔 (shu, ben zi, bi)
墙上挂着几张画儿. (A few pictures are hanging on the wall.)
S: 墙上 (qiang shang) V: 挂 (gua) O: 画儿 (hua er)
他的衬衫上写着几个汉字. (A few Chinese characters shows up on his shirt.)
S: 他的衬衫上 (ta de chen shan shang) V: 写 (xie) O: 汉字 (han zi)
树上开着一朵花. (A flower is blooming on the tree.)
S: 树上 (shu shang) V: 开 (kai) O: 花 (hua)

The subject (or no subject) plus verb 1 plus ZHE 着 plus verb 2. In this structure, three relations can be found between the verb 1 and verb 2.

The two actions occur at the same time. Sometimes it may also be understood as verb 1 is the modifier for verb 2. Verb 1 provides an explanation of how verb 2 acts. Here are the examples.