Obs. Such words as these are construed as verbs, just as if they were monosyllabic words.
[ [1] Or 張羅 tsáng lú, to nurse (also c.)
Separable groups. 359. Those combinations that admit of the insertion of other words, so as to lengthen the group will now be illustrated.
a. Those that consist of two coordinate words, admit of a qualifying or governing term being applied to each word.
- 飛禽走獸 fí giun ’tseu seu‘, birds and beasts.
- 歡天喜地 hwén t’íen ’h’í dí‘, exceedingly pleased.
- 通文達理 t’óng vun ta ’lí, thoroughly understand literary composition.
- 心滿意足 sing ’mén í‘ tsóh, satisfied.
- 咬牙切齒 ’ngau ngá t’sih ’t’sz, grinding the teeth in pain.
- 囘心轉意 wé sing ’tsén í‘, to change one’s mind.
- 思前想後 sz zíen ’siáng heu‘, thinks of the past and future.
- 循規蹈矩 dzing kwé‘ dau‘ ’kü, follow the rule of propriety.
- 求神拜佛 kieu zun pá‘ veh, pray to spirits and worship Buddha.
- 早思暮想 ’tsau sz mú‘ ’siáng, meditate early and late.
b. The groups formed by the numeral particles admit the insertion of adjectives and adjective phrases, between those particles and their substantives. Material nouns sometimes take their auxiliary after them.
- 一根長銅絲 ih kun dzáng dóng sz, a long piece of brass wire.
- 一片大鐵片 ih p’íen‘ dú‘ t’ih p’íen‘, a large piece of iron.
- 一隻會白話個鸚𪃿 ih tsáh wé‘ báh wó‘ kú‘ áng kú, a talking parrot.
- 一根長竹頭 ih kun dzáng tsóh deu, a long stick of bamboo.
- 一隻花狗 ih tsáh hwó ’keu, a spotted dog.
- 一張厚紙 ih tsáng ’heu ’tsz, a thick sheet of paper.
- 一張薄紙張 ih tsáng bóh ’tsz tsáng, a thin piece of paper.
- 一枝有鋒鋩個筆 ih tsz ’yeu fóng mong kú‘ pih, a pencil that has a point.
c. When a group consists of a transitive verb and its regimen (which sometimes answer to a single verb in English), auxiliary words come between the verb, and its object.
- 上之檔者 ’zong tsz tong‘ ’tsé, he has been entrapped.
- 專之權咾殺脱之皇帝者 tsén tsz giön lau sah t’eh tsz wong tí‘ ’tsé, relying on his influence, he killed the emperor.
- 惹有見識個笑 ’zá ’yeu kíen‘ suh kú‘ siau‘, causing the laughter of those who are intelligent.
- 叨儂光嗄 t’au nóng‘ kwong au, I beg your favour (light).
Obs. When a verb and adjective are combined, the tense particle follows the adjective; e.g. 繩放鬆之末好 zung fong‘ sóng tsz meh ’hau, it would be better to slacken the rope.