- 家裏窮末勿要怨恨爺娘勿發財 ká ’lí gióng meh veh yau‘ yön‘ hung‘ yá niáng veh fah dzé, if you belong to a poor family, you should not be discontented that your parents are not rich.
- 發財發福末勿要怠慢脫時落運個人 fah dzé fah fóh meh veh yau‘ té‘ man‘ t’eh zz loh yün‘ kú‘ niun, if you grow rich, do not treat superciliously those who are unfortunate.
- 兒子話勿來末來巴勿得要伊會話 ní ’tsz wó‘ veh lé meh, pó veh tuh yau‘ í wé‘ wó‘, if their son cannot speak, they wish much that he should be able.
- 要做好官末, 只要念頭動, 舌頭動, 筆頭動, 造出多 許善事體 yau‘ tsú‘ ’hau kwén meh, tseh yau‘ nían deu ’tóng, zeh deu ’tóng, pih deu ’tóng, ’zau t’seh tú hau‘ ’zén zz‘ ’t’í, if you want to be a good magistrate, you have only to move your thoughts, tongue and pen, and you can do much good.
c. Examples of the conditional clause as a case supposed, introduced by conditional conjunctions.
- 若使考過秀才要伊去鄕試 zák sz‘ ’k’au kú‘ sieu‘ zé yau‘ í k’í‘ h’iáng sz‘, if he has taken his Bachelor’s degree, they wish him to go to the examination for that of Master.
- 若使勿高興讀書千方百計騙伊到學堂去 zák sz‘ veh kau hiung‘ dók sû, t’síen fong pák kí‘ p’íen‘ í tau‘ hoh dong k’í‘, if he is unwilling to learn to read, they use a thousand arts to trick him into going to school.
- 若然勿聽好說話必定敗家蕩產 záh zén veh t’ing ’hau seh wó‘ pih ding‘ bá‘ ká dong‘ ’t’san, if you are unwilling to listen to good advice, you will certainly ruin your family and lose your property.
- 倘有婚喪喜慶應該請伊吃酒 ’t’ong ’yeu hwun song ’h’í k’iung‘, yung ké ’t’sing í k’iuk ’tsieu, if there be marriages, funerals and rejoicing days, you ought to invite them to a feast.
d. Examples of the conditional clause as a fact introduced by 旣然 kí‘ zén, or 末 meh.
- 旣然望雨落勿要惹厭日頭 kí‘ zén mong‘ ’ü loh, veh yau‘ ’zá íen‘ nyih deu, if you long for rain, still you should not murmur at sun-shine.
- 旣然嘸末勿要昨日話有 kí‘ zén m meh veh yau‘ zóh nyih wó‘ ’yeu, there being none, you need not have said yesterday that there was any.
- 旣然要末再去買末者 kí‘ zén yau‘ meh tsé‘ kí‘ ’má meh ’tsé, since you want it, go again and buy it.
e. Examples of conditional clauses introduced into the midst of the principal clause.
- 但是娘子雖然聰明勿好撥伊辦外頭個事務 tan‘ ’zz niáng ’tsz sûe zén t’sóng ming veh ’hau peh í pan‘ ngá‘ deu kú‘ zz‘ vú‘, but your wife, although she be clever, you should not allow to act in matters beyond her sphere.
Obs. Several illustrations have occurred in the preceding pages of the fact that the laws of position often render particles superfluous. Thus, in adverbial phrases of succession, and, by, etc. are omitted in 一個一個 ih kú‘ ih kú‘ one by one; 一日大一日 ih nyih dú‘ ih nyih, greater and greater every day. So, prepositions are usually omitted in subordinate clauses of cause, manner, agent, etc. because they precede their subject and are readily understood. The omission of the conjunction, for the same reason does not affect conditional clauses (a).
407. If the verb and adjective groups with 得, 勿, 來 are rightly considered as originally forming independent propositions, including in themselves a subject and its predicate, they must be regarded in many instances as subordinate clauses.
a. One of these groups may form an adjective clause, or a predicate to a subject.