In the last post, I looked at (what I call) a ‘Chinglish’ Verb.
So, what’s a Chinglish Verb? It’s a verb in Chinese which has two verbs in English. Yes, English often makes it complicated by having two verbs for something which in Chinese is just one verb. This leads to ‘Chinglish’ mistakes.
Now, let’s look at: live & stay.
In Chinese, a single verb (sounding like ‘ju’) is used. In class, I often hear incorrect (‘Chinglish’) sentences such as:
1. I lived in the hospital for three days.
2. They stayed in New York for five years.
Live suggests a long time. We live in a town, city, and a nice apartment for many years.
Stay suggests a short time. We stay in a hospital, a hotel, and a friend’s house for the night.
So, look at the picture at the top. Maybe you could stay in this house for one night, but would you want to live there for five years?
Got it?
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