Lessons 16, 17, 20, 24: Rhetorical questions and emphasis: 难道, 又, 何必, 何况

Explanation

Structure

1. 1
   难道+…+吗/不成？

   Used in rhetorical questions to strengthen the rhetorical tone; the sentence often ends with “吗” or “不成”.

   • 他是为了你才受伤的，你难道不知道吗？

     Tā shì wèile nǐ cái shòushāng de, nǐ nándào bù zhīdào ma?

     He got hurt because of you; could it be that you don't know?

   • 她要回国了，难道你没听说吗？

     Tā yào huíguó le, nándào nǐ méi tīngshuō ma?

     She's about to go back to her country; haven't you heard?

   • 我帮助她难道错了不成？

     Wǒ bāngzhù tā nándào cuòle bùchéng?

     Surely it's not wrong of me to help her?

   • 小姐，你已经读了三遍了，难道我不愿意快点儿吗？

     Xiǎojiě, nǐ yǐjīng dúle sān biàn le, nándào wǒ bú yuànyì kuài diǎnr ma?

     Teacher, you've read it three times already; don't you think I'd like it to go a bit faster too?

2. 2
   又+不/没+…

   “又” emphasizes negation; common in rhetorical questions and challenges.

   • 我又没告诉你，你是怎么知道的？

     Wǒ yòu méi gàosu nǐ, nǐ shì zěnme zhīdào de?

     I didn't tell you, so how do you know?

   • 今天又不上课，你起这么早干什么？

     Jīntiān yòu bú shàngkè, nǐ qǐ zhème zǎo gàn shénme?

     There are no classes today, so why did you get up so early?

   • 又没下雨，你怎么弄得跟落汤鸡似的。

     Yòu méi xiàyǔ, nǐ zěnme nòng de gēn luòtāngjī shìde.

     It isn't raining, so why are you soaked like a drowned rat?

   • 这儿又不是你一个人，总得有个先来后到吧。

     Zhèr yòu bú shì nǐ yí gè rén, zǒng děi yǒu ge xiānlái-hòudào ba.

     You're not the only one here; there has to be an order of who came first and who came later.

3. 3
   …+何必+Vverb+呢？

   “何必” = no need, not necessarily; used in rhetorical questions.

   • 我们都是老朋友了，何必那么客气呢？

     Wǒmen dōu shì lǎo péngyou le, hébì nàme kèqi ne?

     We're all old friends, so why be so polite?

   • 就在这儿买吧，何必跑那么远呢？

     Jiù zài zhèr mǎi ba, hébì pǎo nàme yuǎn ne?

     Just buy it here; why run so far?

   • 为这点儿小事生气，何必呢？

     Wèi zhè diǎnr xiǎo shì shēngqì, hébì ne?

     Why get angry over such a small thing?

   • 我本来也不是什么贵族，何必要装出贵族的样子呢？

     Wǒ běnlái yě bú shì shénme guìzú, hébì yào zhuāngchū guìzú de yàngzi ne?

     I'm not an aristocrat to begin with, so why pretend to be one?

   • 我们两个就可以了，何必要那么多人呢？

     Wǒmen liǎng gè jiù kěyǐ le, hébì yào nàme duō rén ne?

     The two of us are enough; why do we need so many people?

4. 4
   …+(更)何况+…

   “何况” uses a rhetorical tone to express a comparison that goes one step further, meaning "let alone…"; used at the beginning of the second clause.

   • 学习母语也不是一件容易的事，何况学习外语。

     Xuéxí mǔyǔ yě bú shì yí jiàn róngyì de shì, hékuàng xuéxí wàiyǔ.

     Learning your mother tongue isn't easy either, let alone learning a foreign language.

   • 平时这里就很热闹，更何况是星期天了。

     Píngshí zhèlǐ jiù hěn rènao, gèng hékuàng shì xīngqītiān le.

     It's already very lively here on ordinary days, let alone on Sundays.

   • 很多中国人都听不懂广东话，更何况我们是外国留学生了。

     Hěn duō Zhōngguórén dōu tīng bu dǒng Guǎngdōnghuà, gèng hékuàng wǒmen shì wàiguó liúxuéshēng le.

     Many Chinese people can't even understand Cantonese, let alone us international students.

   • 大学四年，我的英语成绩一直不错。更何况，大学毕业了，该找份工作了。

     Dàxué sì nián, wǒ de Yīngyǔ chéngjì yìzhí búcuò. Gèng hékuàng, dàxué bìyè le, gāi zhǎo fèn gōngzuò le.

     During my four years at university, my English grades were always good. What's more, now that I've graduated, it's time to look for a job.