I have one and if anyone has others, please feel free to join in.
Mine is as follows:
Ok, I understand the use of 從…到… and that you can use it for places and time. But today I was confronted with this gem: 從…V 到…, especially the verbs 上 and 下.
Can someone explain this usage to me with a simple example or two?
Could you provide an example or two of the sentences you encountered? It could mean “(somebody) went [up/down] to Y from X”, but context helps.
上 is not always a verb, so the original sentence would be useful.
If you’re using this structure to mean “from … to”, then here are some examples:
從一樓上到二樓
從左邊挪到右邊
從曠野回到身邊
從迷惑走到領悟
However, you may also come across what appears to be the 從…到… structure, but in fact, the 從 and 到 are not interrelated. Rather, the 到 is there only to indicate past tense, such as:
從張老師我學到做人的道理
In the above sentence, 到 is the past tense modifier of the verb 學.
Chris and Trevelyan - Sorry guys, haven’t checked the thread in a while. Actually, I didn’t have any examples and was just wondering about the grammar structure…
sjcma - Cheers, that more than answered my question. Got it now. 
ok…I have another quandary. Chinese question words as indefinites. To those of you who still have the old Shi Da series (practical audio visual chinese), I’m refering to the syntax practice on page 233 (chapter 13), which I assume would be in chapter one of the new book two. And specifically the exercises in Chapter 14 of the exercise book; or page 92.
The exercise is as follows:
III. Answer the following questions using question words as indefinites:
你去過加拿大嗎? 你是怎麼去的?
現在你的右邊是誰? 你的左邊是誰?
離這兒最近的郵局怎麼走?
美國中部最大的河叫什麼名字?
中國字應該從左往右寫，英文呢?
I’m finished with book one and I was going through the exercise book for some review when I came across this. Now, I can answer these questions well enough, but not [color=#FF0000]
using question words as indefinites
[/color].
Eg: 你說什麼? 我沒說[color=#FF0000]什麼[/color].
那兒夏天熱不熱? 不[color=#FF0000]怎麼[/color]熱.
For some reason I can’t remember this form very well, and the five questions above have me stumped. I asked my wife and she’s not entirely sure either. So, thought I’d give you lot a go. Any takers??
No answers yet… 
sjcma? Ironlady? Maoman? No one?
[quote=“bismarck”]ok…I have another quandary. Chinese question words as indefinites. To those of you who still have the old Shi Da series (practical audio visual chinese), I’m refering to the syntax practice on page 233 (chapter 13), which I assume would be in chapter one of the new book two. And specifically the exercises in Chapter 14 of the exercise book; or page 92.
The exercise is as follows:
III. Answer the following questions using question words as indefinites:
你去過加拿大嗎? 你是怎麼去的?
現在你的右邊是誰? 你的左邊是誰?
離這兒最近的郵局怎麼走?
美國中部最大的河叫什麼名字?
中國字應該從左往右寫，英文呢?
I’m finished with book one and I was going through the exercise book for some review when I came across this. Now, I can answer these questions well enough, but not [color=#FF0000]
using question words as indefinites
[/color].
Eg: 你說什麼? 我沒說[color=#FF0000]什麼[/color].
那兒夏天熱不熱? 不[color=#FF0000]怎麼[/color]熱.
For some reason I can’t remember this form very well, and the five questions above have me stumped. I asked my wife and she’s not entirely sure either. So, thought I’d give you lot a go. Any takers??[/quote]
我[color=#FF0000]什麼[/color]都不知道.
Meanie!
I forget all Chineses. Sorry. I learning Japanese now.
Well…at least you used the grammar pattern I’m having trouble with. :bravo:
The answer to each question should be: 你[color=#FF0000]怎麼[/color]問我都沒用, 我[color=#FF0000]什麼[/color]都不會說.
BTW, it’s a stupid exercise.
[quote=“sjcma”]The answer to each question should be: 你[color=#FF0000]怎麼[/color]問我都沒用, 我[color=#FF0000]什麼[/color]都不會說.
BTW, it’s a stupid exercise.[/quote]
I feel that way, also. 
Many of these exercises do seem stupid. But I do have a problem with Chinese QW as indefinites. I also don’t seem to hear people using that form very often either…
But why do they want to cram these sort of patterns into our heads anyway??!!
It just freaks me out when there is something that I’ve covered before and I’m not completely comfortable with it.
I find the way the questions are asked don’t lend themselves easily to being answered using QW as indefinites. That’s why it’s a stupid exercise.
That’s what I told my wife. 
This exercise is in Chapter 14 of the exercise book. The QW as indefinites grammar is introduced in Chapter 13 of the main book. Is it perhaps possible that the exercise is entitled wrongly?
So what’s being presented in Ch 14? I’ve never seen these books.
That seems kind of likely, for one thing it’s hard to imagine an indefinite answer to how you got to Canada.
Yeah, I struggled with it (and didn’t answer) for the same reason. Don’t lose any sleep over it. Move on to the next page. 加油! jia1you2!
Well, the theme for chp 1 (book 2 second edition)/chp 13 (book 1 first edition) is 我生病了, and QW as indefinites is one of the main grammar features in that chapter. chp2 (bk2 2nd ed)/chp 14 (bk1 1st ed) is 到哪兒去怎麼走? and concentrates on directions (giving and explaining).
Yeah, I struggled with it (and didn’t answer) for the same reason. Don’t lose any sleep over it. Move on to the next page. 加油! jia1you2![/quote]
I’m going with that. Thanks DB.
Thanks everyone for attempting answers and giving your thoughts and explanations. I guess sometimes I think too much.