Lesson 13: Summing up and judging: 总之, 总得, 好在

Explanation

Structure

1. 1

   ……，总之……

   In short; sums up what has been said above.

   • 要自己照顾自己，要自己洗衣服，还要学习怎么跟周围的人打交道。总之，挺难的。

     Yào zìjǐ zhàogù zìjǐ, yào zìjǐ xǐ yīfu, hái yào xuéxí zěnme gēn zhōuwéi de rén dǎ jiāodao. Zǒngzhī, tǐng nán de.

     You have to take care of yourself, wash your own clothes, and learn to deal with the people around you. In short, it's quite hard.

   • 听力、口语、阅读、写作，总之哪门功课都很重要，都得学好。

     Tīnglì, kǒuyǔ, yuèdú, xiězuò, zǒngzhī nǎ mén gōngkè dōu hěn zhòngyào, dōu děi xuéhǎo.

     Listening, speaking, reading, writing: in short, every subject is important and must be learned well.

   • 玛丽说要去西安，麦克说去云南，总之全班同学各有各的计划。

     Mǎlì shuō yào qù Xī'ān, Màikè shuō qù Yúnnán, zǒngzhī quán bān tóngxué gè yǒu gè de jìhuà.

     Mary says she is going to Xi'an, Mike says Yunnan; in short, everyone in the class has their own plan.

   • 田芳喜欢打太极拳，张东喜欢打网球，我一般下午去操场玩一会儿篮球，总之，大家都比较注意锻炼。

     Tián Fāng xǐhuan dǎ tàijíquán, Zhāng Dōng xǐhuan dǎ wǎngqiú, wǒ yìbān xiàwǔ qù cāochǎng wán yíhuìr lánqiú, zǒngzhī, dàjiā dōu bǐjiào zhùyì duànliàn.

     Tian Fang likes tai chi, Zhang Dong likes tennis, and I usually play basketball on the court for a while in the afternoon; in short, everyone pays quite a bit of attention to exercise.

2. 2
   总得+Vverb

   Must; what is inevitable.

   • 一个人长大以后，总得独立生活，不能总生活在父母身边。

     Yí ge rén zhǎngdà yǐhòu, zǒngděi dúlì shēnghuó, bù néng zǒng shēnghuó zài fùmǔ shēnbiān.

     Once people grow up they have to live independently; they can't stay by their parents' side forever.

   • 一到春天，天气总得冷一阵才能慢慢变暖和。

     Yí dào chūntiān, tiānqì zǒngděi lěng yí zhèn cái néng mànmàn biàn nuǎnhuo.

     Every spring, it is bound to turn cold for a spell before it gradually warms up.

   • 不能去上课，总得告诉老师一声。

     Bù néng qù shàngkè, zǒngděi gàosu lǎoshī yì shēng.

     If you can't come to class, you should at least let the teacher know.

3. 3

   ……，好在……

   Fortunately; points to a favorable condition or circumstance.

   • 最近我特别忙，没有时间照顾家，好在孩子还听话。

     Zuìjìn wǒ tèbié máng, méiyǒu shíjiān zhàogù jiā, hǎozài háizi hái tīnghuà.

     I've been especially busy lately and have no time to look after the home, but fortunately my child is well-behaved.

   • 房间不太大，好在只我一个人住。

     Fángjiān bú tài dà, hǎozài zhǐ wǒ yí ge rén zhù.

     The room isn't very big, but fortunately I'm the only one living in it.

   • 妈妈身体不太好，好在我们家离医院很近。

     Māma shēntǐ bú tài hǎo, hǎozài wǒmen jiā lí yīyuàn hěn jìn.

     Mom's health isn't good, but fortunately our home is close to the hospital.