Chinese Grammar: Using 有的 to mean “some”

To refer to just certain members of group, you can use 有的 (yǒude). This usage is normally translated as “some” in English. It is often used multiple times in one sentence to refer to different groups.

 

All you need to do is put 有的 (yǒude) before the nouns there are “some of” in the sentence. If there is already some context, you can omit the subject, and the 有的 (yǒude) can just mean “some” instead of “some of something.”

 

Structure: 有的 + (Subj.) + Predicate

 

Also, you aren’t limited to just two 有的 (yǒude) in the sentence. You can have multiple groups doing different things, and just precede them with a 有的 (yǒude) each time.

 

Examples:

外国人有的很有钱,有的没钱。(wàiguó rén yǒude hěn yǒuqián, yǒude méi qián) = Some foreigners are rich, but some are not.

我们公司有一些电脑,有的是新的,有的是旧的。(wǒmen gōngsī yǒu yīxiē diànnǎo, yǒude shì xīn de, yǒude shì jiù de) = Our company has some computers. Some are new, and some are old.

他写了很多书,有的卖得很好,有的卖得不好。(tā xiě le hěn duō shū, yǒude mài de hěn hǎo, yǒude mài de bù hǎo) = He has written a lot of books. Some sell well, but some don’t.

中国菜有的好吃,有的不好吃。(zhōngguó cài yǒude hāochī, yǒude bù hāochī) = Some Chinese foods are tasty, while some aren’t.

这家店的衣服有的贵,有的便宜。(zhè jiā diàn de yīfu yǒude guì, yǒude piányi) = In this shop, some of the clothes are expensive and some are cheap.

他有很多房子,有的在国内,有的在国外。(tā yǒu hěn duō fángzi, yǒude zài guónèi, yǒude zài guówài) = He has a lot of houses, some of them are within the country and some are abroad.

晚上六点以后,有的人下班了,有的人在加班。(wǎnshang liùdiǎn yǐhòu, yǒude rén xiàbān le, yǒude rén zài jiābān) = After six o’clock some people are off work, while some are still working.

我的大学老师有的很年轻,有的很老。(wǒ de dàxué lǎoshī yǒude hěn niánqīng, yǒude hěn lǎo) = Some of my college teachers are young, some are old.

酒吧里,有的人在喝酒,有的人在跳舞,还有的人在聊天。(jiǔbā lǐ, yǒude rén zài hējiǔ, yǒude rén zài tiàowǔ, hái yǒude rén zài liáotiān) = In the bar, some people are drinking, some are dancing, and some are chatting.

因为工作,我认识了很多人,有的是大学老师,有的是CEO。(yīnwèi gōngzuò, wǒ rènshi le hěn duō rén, yǒude shì dàxué lǎoshī, yǒude shì CEO) = I know a lot of people because of my work. Some are college teachers, and some are CEOs.


Post time: Jul-30-2020